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Birdwatching In India - My Favourite Birds

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Birdwatching in India

Birdwatching in India can be a very rewarding experience. With the large size of the country and the huge variety of habitats, ranging from snowy mountains in the north to tropical rainforest in the south, there are a huge number of species to be found. Not only that, but birds are very abundant throughout the country and even in suburban areas and farmland it is not very difficult to find a good birdwatching spot.

I have made a few limited birdwatching trips to India, my first in 1997, but even with this limited experience it is not hard to for some species to leap out as favourites.

This lens highlights my ten favourite species that I have seen in India.

Birdwatchers who want to learn more about how to improve their birdwatching should read this lens: How to be a Good Birdwatcher.

The Birds Of India Field Guides - Identify Indian Birds!

Two birding Indian field guides

These two excellent field guides, together, cover the whole of India. Previous field guides which covered the whole subcontinent became rather congested and had little room for informative text. These two field guides solve that problem and are more useable in the field for it.

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1. Siberian Crane

Sadly, Siberian Cranes have not been seen in India since 2002 after the last few survivors of the central population of Siberian Cranes went missing. I was very lucky and saw 3 at Bharatpur in 1997, two adults and a juvenile.

I had spent 4 days birdwatching at Bharatpur and had not seen the Siberian Cranes as had no other birders. On my last day I took a bicycle and went around some of the least accessible parts of the park and at just about the furthest spot from the entrance I found the three Siberian Cranes feeding together in a small pool.

Unfortunately, Siberian Cranes are now an endangered species, this quote is from the Siberian Crane Flyway Coordination Website;

"Siberian Crane (Grus leucogeranus) is the third rarest of all cranes and probably the most threatened. It's a large charismatic bird that symbolizes long life and good marriages, but the species has fallen prey to hunting, mostly in Afghanistan and Pakistan."

If you are interested in visiting Bharatpur for birdwatching check out this website: Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary.

My Favourite Bird In India - Siberian Crane

Siberian Crane at International Crane Foundation, Baraboo, Wisconsin

Buy at AllPosters.com

Siberian Crane is my favourite bird that I have seen in India for a number of reasons; firstly, it took a few days of searching to find it; secondly, it made a very memorable sight; thirdly, I will probably never get the chance to see one again.

2. Yellow-crowned Woodpecker

Yellow-crowned Woodpecker is a bird I have only seen once on one of my few visits to India, so, for me, the scarcity of sightings make it one of my favourites, even though it is actually a widespread bird in India.

There are some groups of birds that I am always delighted to see no matter how common they may be, and for me woodpeckers are one of those. Any sighting of a woodpecker is excellent as far as I am concerned and this little beauty is one of the woodpeckers I have seen the most seldom.

Hopefully I can get back to India and see him again.

More photos of Yellow-crowned Woodpecker can be found here: Yellow-crowned Woodpecker.

3. Comb Duck

Before going to India Comb Duck was one of the birds I most wanted to see, due to its strange bill and that it would be one of only a few new waterfowl species that I could see there.

I wasn't disappointed. I saw only a few Comb Ducks at Bharatpur, but fortunately one of the birds was a male with its splendid and rather awkward-looking bill.

Apart from its bizarre bill, the Comb Duck is quite unusual in that it is found in Asia, Africa and South America; very few other birds occur on all three of these continents.

Learn more about Comb Duck.

4. Wire-tailed Swallow

Wire-tailed Swallow is one of sleekest, most clean-cut birds I have ever seen. Whereas most swallows are a combination of smudgy underparts and shiny blue upperparts, Wire-tailed Swallow is pure white below and has very irridescent blue upperparts with a contrasting chestnut cap. The wires of the tail are almost invisible to the naked eye unless the bird is perched, but the whole combination makes for a very striking bird.

I first saw this bird at the rear of the Taj Mahal,which turned out to be a good spot for birdwatching,but have seen it many times since in Northern Thailand.

The photo here was taken by Johan Svensson. You can see more of his photos here: Johan Svensson's Gallery.

5. Rufous Treepie

What is not to like about Rufous Treepie? It is big and brightly coloured and has a ridiculous call. Although Rufous Treepie is a fairly common bird in India, to me it is always a welcome sight and its colours are far more contrasting and bright than most field guides suggest.

When I worked as a science teacher in a school in Bangkok I used to play bird calls as the children were doing their work (I used to teach a unit on birds) and the favourite call of almost every class was that of Rufous Treepie.

The happy news about Rufous Treepie is that it is a common bird and of Least Concern in terms of its conservation status. I hope it stays that way!

More photos and information on Rufous Treepie here: Rufous Treepie.

6. White-rumped Vulture

On my first visit to India in 1997 this species was amazingly abundant. I was really surprised to see so many vultures hanging around in all sorts of urban areas and seeing this prehistoric looking bird on rooftops and roadsides is what put it so high in my affections.

Sadly, these days White-rumped Vulture is a rare sight in India and it is now regarded as critically endangered, which is quite astonishing. It is thought that poisoning by the drug diclofenac which was used as an anti-inflammatory drug in cattle is the cause of the species' decline.

For more information on White-rumped Vultures take a look at the Birdlife International Species Factsheet on it: White-rumped Vulture.

7. Yellow-footed Green Pigeon

Yellow-footed Green Pigeon really is an attractive bird. The first time I saw it, I had not really thought about this species at all and I just noticed a few birds in a nearby tree and saw that they were a group of Yellow-footed Green Pigeons. I was really surprised at how beautiful they were.

Whilst this species is relatively common, it is one I never tire of seeing due to its colourful plumage and cute nature; there is something attractive about doves and pigeons and this is one of the most beautiful.

More photos of this species can be found here: Yellow-footed Green Pigeon.

8. Indian Peafowl

The Indian Peafowl is the peacock of zoos and gardens around the world. We have probably all seen this species in collections, but to see it in the wild is something else. Indian Peafowl live in scrub and dry woodland and are surprisingly common in India but it is amazing to see a male running around in the wild with his long tail dragging behind him.

The female (peahen) is a lot less colourful but still an impressive bird and what really made me love this bird was seeing females strutting around with groups of chicks that looked so funny with their little fancy crests, just like the group in the photo here.

Find out more about this species here: Indian Peafowl.

9. White-tailed Lapwing

Ever since I was attacked by a Northern Lapwing, whilst birdwatching in Britain, when I foolishly went too close to its nest, Lapwings have been amongst my favourite birds. They seem to have a lot of character to me and they certainly have quite noisy and strange calls.

White-tailed Lapwing was one of the last birds I saw on my first visit to India and felt like one of those bonus birds that sometimes one gets when not expecting it. Sitting amongst a group of the much commoner Red-wattled Lapwings, this bird really stood out and impressed me with its sleek shape and subtle markings.

10. Bay-backed Shrike

In England, my home country, the Red-backed Shrike had disappeared as a breeding bird before I was old enough to be birdwatching. As such, shrikes have a certain appeal and Bay-backed Shrike is one of the more colourful and memorable of the family.

My first Bay-backed Shrike was a splendid male in some dry scrub at Bharatpur, feeding on large insects such as dragonflies and grasshoppers. Like many other shrikes, this one sits out on exposed perches making it easy to spot and with its colurful plumage it is always a welcome sight to me.

Happily, Bay-backed Shrike is fairly common and its conservation status is "Least Concern". More can be read about the species here: Bay-backed Shrike - Birdlife Species Factsheet.

Birds of India Photos - Pictures Of Indian Birds

Roufus Treepie by Nimesh M
Indian Grey Hornbill by Naseer Ommer
Long-tailed broadbill by lightmatter
Mr. Big Bill by CharlesLam
Green Bee-eater by wildxplorer
Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) by dominic sherony
Purple-rumped Sunbird (Male) by arunkumud
Black Kite by arunkumud
Indian Robin by arunkumud
Jungle Babbler(Turdoides striata) by arunkumud
Loten's Sunbird(Female) by arunkumud
White-browed Wagtail(Motacilla maderaspatensis) by arunkumud
curated content from Flickr

Favourite Birds of India

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Handbook Of The Birds Of India And Pakistan

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Birdwatching In India Links - Some Helpful Birdwatching In India Websites

Common Tailorbird by Alex Vargas

  • Wild Saurashtra
    Birds of the Saurashtra region, Gujarat.
  • Birding in India
    Photo galleries, forums and information on birds of India.
  • Birds of India
    Photo galleries of Indian birds.
  • Birds of India
    Information, photos and forums on birdwatching in India.
  • India Birds
    Information, photos and forums on India birds.

    • Some More Field Guides For The Birds Of India

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    India Guidebook - A Guide For Visitors To India

    India (Lonely Planet Country Guide)

    India (Lonely Planet Country Guide)

    by: Sarina Singh, Daniel McCrohan

    Amazon Price: $21.00 (as of 02/16/2012)Buy Now

    Lonely Planet is probably the best-known series of guidebooks available and this India guide is invaluable for those visiting the country for birdwatching or just general travel.

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    I have been birdwatching since I was seven years old and there are many birds and birdwatching trips that I have taken that have stuck in my memory. O... more »

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