The flora and fauna of Ladakh was first studied by Ferdinand Stoliczka, an Austrian Czech palaeontologist, who carried out a massive expedition in the region in the 1870s. The fauna of Ladakh have much in common with that of Central Asia generally, and especially those of the Tibetan Plateau. An exception to this are the birds, many of which migrate from the warmer parts of India to spend the summer in Ladakh. For such an arid area, Ladakh has a great diversity of birds — a total of 318 species have been recorded (Including 30 species not seen since 1960). Many of these birds reside or breed at high-altitude wetlands such as Tso Moriri. Birds Many species of finches, robins, redstarts (like the black redstart) and the hoopoe are common in summer. The brown-headed gull is seen in summer on the river Indus, and on some lakes of the Changthang. Resident water-birds include the brahminy duck also known as the ruddy sheldrake, and the bar-headed goose (). The black-necked crane () is a rare species found scattered in the Tibetan plateau, and is also found nesting in summer in parts of Ladakh. Other birds include the raven, red-billed chough (), Tibetan snowcock and chukar (a partridge, ). The lammergeier and the golden eagle are common raptors here. Marshes of Ladakh is a good breeding ground for many migratory birds. A list of the bird species recorded is as follows: Snow partridge (Lerwa lerwa) Tibetan snowcock (Tetraogallus tibetanus) Himalayan snowcock (Tetraogallus himalayensis) Chukar partridge (Alectoris chukar) Tibetan partridge (Perdix hodgsoniae) Common quail (Coturnix coturnix) Rain quail (Coturnix coromandelica) Greylag goose (Anser anser) Bar-headed goose (Anser indicus) Brahminy shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea) Gadwall (Anas strepera) Eurasian wigeon (Anas penelope) Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) Northern shoveller (Anas clypeata) Garganey (Anas querquedula) Common teal (Anas crecca) Red-crested pochard (Rhodonessa rufina) Common pochard (Aythya ferina) Ferruginous pochard (Aythya nyroca) Tufted pochard (Aythya fuligula) Common merganser (Mergus merganser) Eurasian wryneck (Jynx torquilla) Large scaly-bellied green woodpecker (Picus squamatus) Common hoopoe (Upupa epops) European roller (Coracias garrulus) Indian roller (Coracias benghalensis) Small blue kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) Blue-cheeked bee-eater (Merops persicus) European bee-eater (Merops apiaster) Pied crested cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus) Common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) Asian koel (Eudynamys scolopacea) Alpine swift (Tachymarptis melba) Common swift (Apus apus) Pacific swift (Apus pacificus) House swift (Apus affinis) Pallid scops owl (Otus brucei) Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo) Little owl (Athene noctua) Long-eared owl