Slaty-backed Forktail

The slaty-backed forktail is a slim, medium-sized forktail, distinguished from similar species by its slate-grey forehead, crown and mantle; the sexes look alike. It has a long, deeply forked tail banded black and white, a white rump and a white bar across the primaries, the rest of the plumage predominantly white. The bill is black and the feet pale pinkish or greyish (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is found in the central and eastern Himalayas from Uttarakhand to Myanmar, including Nepal and Bhutan, where it occurs at 800 to 2,200m; 15 birds were seen along one stretch of river in Bhutan. It frequents the edges of fast-flowing streams, hunting small invertebrates by hopping among rocks or flying out over the water, generally alone. It breeds from February to July, with both sexes incubating three or four eggs in a nest of bryophytes, leaves and grass.