Birds of Kanha

Kanha Forest though popular for tiger safaris is an excellent bird habitat. Though a diverse habitat by all means it lacks large water bodies. The wetlands basically comprise Sondhar and Bisanpura and a medium-sized tank at Kanha Meadow called Shravan Taal. There are many small shallow lakes beside the rivers Banjar and Halon and their tributaries. The water bodies are the habitat of quite a number of aquatic birds but are not as impressive as in other birding habitats.

The National Park is an excellent habitat for forest birds as well as some grassland birds. The surveys conducted by me and many naturalists checklist an exciting number of resident and migratory birds.

The most popular birds of Kanha are those that are easily seen. Among them are Grey Headed Barbet, Coppersmith Barbet, Racket Tailed Drongo, Golden and Black Headed Oriole, Shama, Blackrumped Flameback, Grey Francolin, Painted Francolin, Northern Pintail, Lesser Whistling Teal, Common Teal, Malabar Pied Hornbill, Grey Hornbill, Alexandrine Parakeet, Red Billed Malkoha, Plum Headed Parakeet, Rose Ringed Parakeet, Crested Hawk Eagle, Crested Serpent Eagle, Grey Headed Fishing Eagle,White Eyed Buzzard, Oriental honey Buzzard, Shikra, Osprey, White Backed Vulture, King Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, Brown Fish Owl, tawny Fish Owl, Mottled Fish Owl, Jungle Owlet, Spotted Owlet, Indian Scimitar Babbler, Paradise Flycatcher, Lesser Adjutant Stork, Open Billed Stork, Painted Stork, Woolly Necked Stork, Black Ibis, White Ibis, Great Cormorant, Egrets, Orange Headed Ground Thrush, Common Iora, Brown Cheeked Fulvetta, Spangled Drongo, White Bellied Drongo, Ashy Drongo, Black Drongo, Gold Mantled Chloropsis, Jerdon’s Leaf Bird, Common Wood Shrike, Large Cuckoo Shrike, Black Headed Cuckoo Shrike, Oriental Turtle Dove, Red Collared Dove, Emerald Dove, Green Footed Pigeon, Laughing Dove, Spotted Dove, Eurasian Ring Dove, Black Naped Monarch, Verditor Flycatcher, Blue Capped Rock Thrush, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Red Throated Flycatcher, Ultramarine Flycatcher, Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher, Grey Headed Canary Flycatcher, Little Minivet, Black redstart, Rosy Starling, Jungle Myna, Chestnut Bellied Nuthatch, Velvet Fronted Nuthatch, Great Tit, Black Lored Tit, Wire Tailed Swallow, Plain Martin, Barn Swallow, Red Rumped Swallow, Streak Throated Swallow, Grey Breasted Prinia, Crested Tree Swift, Plain Prinia, Hume’s Warbler, Lesser White Throat, Common Chiff Chaff, Tickell’s Leaf Warbler, Sulphur Bellied Warbler, Tawny Bellied Babbler, Yellow Eyed Babbler, Purple Swamphen, Black and White Ibis, Peacock, red Jungle Fowl, and many more birds.

The birds check listed includes residents and winter migrants. There are more than two hundred and fifty avian species in the Kanha Nature Preserve in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

The best birding season is winter from Mid October to March. After March migrants depart from the tiger reserve. Kanha offers the best tiger sightings and wildlife watching. Like in Bandhavgarh preserve one can enjoy birding as well as tiger safaris at Kanha. Most of the birds can be sighted on tiger safaris in the park while trekking in the buffer zone will yield more sightings.

Birding in Central India is becoming very popular as the concept of forest birding dawns upon tourists. The added fun of enjoying the preserves is having an all-encompassing outlook. Bird watching adds to your experience at Central Indian Parks. Seek a good naturalist.

Exciting Birds of Kanha

Kanha National Park earlier known as Kanha Kisli is home to the endangered tiger and hard-ground swamp deer. But the tiger overshadows Kanha's popularity over its other famed aspects.

Birding at Kanha Tiger Preserve is a highly interesting activity. The bird watching at Kanha is popular among birders who come on tiger safaris in the park. Now many tour operators are planning full-fledged birding tours.

Kanha is a habitat for approximately two hundred and fifty bird species the checklist includes winter visitors. At Kanha wildlife refuge the forest birds are best seen. Since there are no large water bodies, wetland bird watching is not as exciting as Bharatpur in Rajasthan.

Forest birding is a very exciting but arduous task. Long hours of waiting, highly focused vision for spotting birds in the canopy, and good knowledge of bird calls is a prerequisites. This is for both - bird guides and birders. Not forgetting high-class pair of binoculars and spotting scope and good bird books.

The most exciting finds (though not rare) are Malabar pied hornbill, Shama, Indian scimitar babbler, and Paradise flycatchers. Racket-tailed drongo, Spangled Drongo also take the cake. It requires trained eyes and skills to locate these birds since they are mostly hiding in thick foliage. Malabar pied hornbill prefers higher canopy of the tree while the Shama keeps to bushes and low grounds often. Shama is rated as the best songbird by Salim Ali. These birds are seen in intact ecosystems of the park, and with difficulty outside in the buffer zone.

The common birds are parakeets, orioles, drongos, babblers, bush chats, Indian robins, tree pie, spotted owlet, barred jungle, owlet, orange-headed thrush, common grey hornbill, and mynas. These birds can easily be seen in and around hotels of Kanha in neighboring forests and gardens. Catch hold of the hotel naturalist to assist you.

Among good finds are chloropsis - blue cheeked and gold mantled. Ultramarine flycatchers and wintering warblers are exciting to see the former with difficulty. Iora, Brown cheeked fulvetta, crimson-breasted barbet, grey-headed barbet, grey francolin, painted francolin, rain quail, night jars, red spurfowl, Indian scimitar babbler, and Shama are more often heard than seen. Some of the birds call consistently in the wildlife preserve. If you develop a good ear for bird calls your birding will succeed fourfold.

Large owls and raptors are often seen at the wildlife refuge. Brown Hawk Owl can be seen around trees neighboring marshes with luck. Mottled wood owl is often heard at the night, while collared scops owl can be seen often in pairs near the Pakur tree at the Kisli Gate. Among raptors, honey buzzards, pariah kites, and white-eyed buzzards along with shikra are often seen. Crested serpent eagle and crested hawk eagle though not rare are exciting to spot. The serpent eagle is a persistent caller in the meadows. One can see Ospreys at the water body before the Kisli Gate in winter. Vultures seen are white-backed now rare, King vultures, and often Egyptian vultures on the top of the trees.

Water birds can be seen around Sravan Taal, Bishenpura water body, and Saundher lake. in winter Northern pintail and common teals arrive in respectable numbers. Lesser whistling teals, Nakta, white-necked storks, painted storks, and lesser adjutant storks are resident wetland birds.

The list of birds at Kanha is endless. Bird watching is exciting at this park only if you are not involved in a frantic tiger chase. For any tourist, an effort should be made to appreciate a more holistic picture of the preserve rather than run after tigers or leopards. The best time for a bird tour is in winter whence the numbers are augmented by migrants.