We had previously seen the Little Forktail (Enicurus scouleri) in Bhutan. The next time we saw this species was in the mountains Sichuan, China along the rivers at Labahe (altitude 1,900 m) and Tangjiahe (1500 m). I was close enough to take some video of the species feeding on the rocks in the river, searching the algal growths for small invertebrates. Although forktails are known to enter the water, this one kept moving out of the way of large splashes of water that seemingly could have swept it downstream. The Little Forktail differs from the others in that its tail—which is raised then lowered and splayed constantly—is short. Particularly noticeable were the white, smooth legs. I suppose it is not surprising that the legs are so smooth since any protrusion of scales would catch the water flowing past and, therefore, require more energy expenditure in order simply to stand on a rock.
We saw a second, larger, species, at Tangjiahe, the White-crowned Forktail (Enicurus leschenaulti) but they did not linger and were soon out of sight.
Another species along the rivers was the Brown or Pallas’s Dipper (Cinclus pallasii). I caught it diving under the water. Also in the area were White-throated Dipper (C. cinclus), a species I can see at home any day of the week.
As we walked downstream we met a troupe of Tibetan Macaques (Macaca thibetana). We saw lots of them in Sichuan especially where they can hang around to pester tourists for food. The fur is incredibly thick and the species must rank as one of the more attractive species of macaque.
I have made a video of the two walks we had along the river at Labahe which shows these as well as other species.
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