Wild India: Painted Storks and Blue Bulls

November 28th – December 19th, 2003

Lead by Phil Benstead and Adrian Binns

Daily Report by Phil Benstead

29th November Travel to Delhi
We all met up in the baggage reclaim in Delhi at midnight after an assortment of flights from six different locations in the UK and US! Unfortunately June’s bag had not arrived at our current location and she had to spend her first hour in India filling in forms and shuttling between desks. When all this had been sorted out we met up with Vinod and got into the bus for the short ride to the Centaur and some much needed sleep.

30th November Delhi to Jaipur – The Amber Fort [check]
After an early breakfast we headed for the bus and began the drive to Jaipur. We were immediately catapulted into the mayhem of the Indian road system. Our bus driver vying for space with an unlikely assortment of transportational devices. There always seemed to be enough space but those sitting at the front seemed to be slightly less relaxed during the journey. During the drive we became familiar with many of the common roadside birds of this part of India. A pair of bank mynas hitch-hiking on top of a lorry through a toll-station caused much amusement. We broke the journey at a motel for a quick cup of tea and a chance to have a look at some passerines and butterflies. Driving on we eventually arrived in Jaipur in perfect time for a very pleasant lunch at the Trident Hotel and a meeting with our local guide – Jay.

Lunch was digested on board a brace of elephants as the group journeyed in style up to the Amber Fort. Here we spent an interesting two hours taking in the superb architecture of this 16th – 18th century edifice, culminating in the impressive “Hall of Mirrors”. Making our way through the Sunday crowds we boarded the jeeps which whisked us back to the bus and the drive through town to the Observatory. Here we tried our best to take in the finer points of the various solar time-pieces but Adrian swiftly diverted our attention by finding a splendid fruiting banyan that was jam-packed with birds including Indian grey hornbill, yellow-footed green pigeon and a very confiding Asian koel. Other birds here included the ever-splendid Brahminy starling, a glorious little green beeeater and a brace of tiny red collared doves. Very quickly we were being politely herded out by security and we all elected to end the day there and get back to the hotel for an early dinner.

1st December Jaipur to Ranthambore
We spent the morning pottering around Jaipur taking in the photogenic frontage of the Palace of Winds before heading for the City Palace. En route it was evident that polling for the national elections was underway with open air polling booths doing a brisk trade. The city palace was packed with interesting features including an art gallery and we spent an enjoyable 2 hours here before heading off on the six hour journey to Ranthambore. After a couple of hours we stopped at a restaurant to eat our packed lunches and satisfy our growing addiction to chai marsala. In a nearby ditch we found a number of nice birds at very close range including a fine bluethroat and our first green sandpiper.

Continuing on we eventually stopped in a small village which had a large waterfowl -filled reservoir but sadly we were received in a rather robust manner by the local children. We lasted about 20 minutes before we had had enough attention but in that time managed to see many new birds. The reservoir was covered in coot and dabbling duck. Wigeon, pintail, gadwall and teal abounded and in amongst these were a few ferruginous duck, red-crested pochard, pochard and tufted duck. Around the margins we spotted river lapwing and other shorebirds as well as a large Indian mud turtle sunning itself. Driving on a little further we found a splendid muddy area just before Sawai Madohpur. This was also near a small village but here we were treated with respect and enjoyed the company of the small group of children and adults who came to see what we were up to. Allowed space to bird we were soon watching a variety of waders including some lovely spotted redshank, wood sandpipers, black-tailed godwit, little ringed plover and Temminck’s stint. Nearby pools allowed us to get to grips with the identification of the three egret species, great, intermediate and little. But before long it was time to continue on to the hotel which we reached just before dusk and were met by the friendly staff. This fine hotel is perched on a ridge and afforded views over the plain and into the buffer zone of the park.

Over dinner we talked over the plans for the next few days and looked forward with considerable excitement to getting into the park and having a crack at Sher Khan.

2nd December Ranthambore NP
After an early breakfast we wrapped up warm for the surprisingly chilly drive to the park. We split into two jeeps, each hoping (rather uncharitably) that the other would not see a tiger first! After our routes had been allotted we headed off and starting searching. Straight away we found pugmarks and heard the alarm calling of nilgai and sambar but it was distant and we failed to convert this into a more solid encounter. Also here we found the pugmarks of the sloth bear and hoped fervently to see it too during our stay here. After this early bit of excitement the morning settled down into a leisurely examination of the tiger food in the park, we encountered several large groups of chital (spotted deer), many sambar and nilgai and a few of the gorgeous chinkara (Indian gazelle). Other mammals included a splendid ruddy mongoose, boisterous groups of langurs and herds of wild boar.

Naturally our attention was not exclusively on mammals during the morning and we also saw many good birds. In the early morning many raptors were just sitting around in the tops of trees and we had excellent views of crested serpent-eagle and crested honey-buzzard. Hume’s warblers and olive-backed pipits called from the forest but were hard to track down confined as we were to the jeep. But some birds did appear beside the track including a covey of grey francolin, a spotted owlet peeping from its roost hole and a flock of lovely small minivets. Halfway round we stopped for a break and stretched our legs near one of the guardposts. There was a small pool here and we had brown crake here as well as our first views of olive-backed pipit. Continuing on the two jeeps diverged, we went on to see two fantastic brown fish-owls and as time was running out briefly visited a lake that was packed with birds including lesser whistling duck, cotton pygmy-goose, purple heron, the peculiar darter and many other wetland species. Before long however it was time to leave the park and we headed back to the hotel.

Before an early lunch many of us spent a pleasant hour checking out raptors from the second floor roof-top. We were pleased to note both white-rumped and long-billed vultures, albeit in small numbers, the recent crash in the populations of both these species being of enormous concern. Also flying from here we had red-headed vulture, short-toed eagle and crested honey-buzzard. Garden birds noted during this period included great tit, common iora and white-browed fantail.

After lunch it was back into the jeeps for the afternoon session, this time we did a different route. We spent about two hours carefully scanning the forest floor for big cats before coming round a bend and finding a large female tiger lying on the road in front of an oncoming stationary jeep! Easy! We could not believe our good fortune as this relaxed beast ambled off the road and then moved parallel to the track just metres from the jeep. Pretty soon there were many more vehicles involved but the tiger remained unfazed by it all and went about its everyday business drinking from a riverbed pool, scent-marking and dunging. We were over-joyed but immediatley concerned that the other jeep may not have seen one. In fact when we met up with them they had seen two! They had encountered two cubs so we had managed to see three tigers between us on the first day! On a high we left the park and headed for the sandgrouse pool where 6 dutiful painted sandgrouse performed for us at dusk. Fantastic birds and a great end to our first day at Ranthambore.

Just when we thought things could not get better ,we got back to the hotel to see June finally re-united with her bag. What a relief - it had been a long two days wait and tomorrow she would not have to wear Adrian’s silly hat!

3rd December Ranthambore National Park
Up bright and early again and into the jeeps for another drive into the park. Back on route 1 & 2 this morning. It was great to be in the park without the worry of having to see tiger – we could all relax. Those in Phil’s jeep enjoyed good views of perched raptors including shikra, white-eyed buzzard and yet another crested serpent-eagle. Other birds included small minivet, chestnut-shouldered petronia and white-bellied drongo. Adrian’s jeep encountered one of the tiger cubs from yesterday, resting infront of a palm tree. After watching her for a short time, she got up and stretched herself as far up the trunk as she could before walking away into the forest. Continuing around our assigned track we encountered small groups of Nilgai, almost always with a blue bull; Indian gazelle, wild boar and a pair of golden jackals whom we disturbed while having their mid morning siesta. Before too long though it was time once again to get out of the park.

Today though instead of going back to the hotel we were to climb up to the fort. Parking by the gate we walked through the gang of langurs, carefully hiding the bag of sandwiches away from their greedy stares and grabbing hands. The walk uphill to the fort was surprisingly gentle and we stopped halfway to eat our sandwiches and enjoy the view of the park and the nearby lake. Around the lake were many muggers taking the sun, and a pair of wooly-necked storks. Continuing on we climbed to the fort gate and slowly walked to the temple. Along the was we got our first chance to study some of the butterflies that we had only previously seen as fly-bys including plain tiger, lemon pansy, and common gull as well as two blue species side by side, cerulean and zebra blue. There was much excitement here because a tiger had been spotted walking along an adjacent ridge earlier on. The Ganesh temple here was a hive of activity – it is visited from all over India. Erica and Roberta went in with offerings and came out with flower garlands around their necks which were promptly stolen and eaten by a passing cow and a langur! The walk back down was quick and we were soon all aboard an open-topped bus (canter) and whisked back to the hotel for lunch before heading out yet again into the park.

Phil’s jeep took route 7 and had a fabulous time, seeing black-backed flameback, jungle cat and right at the end of the day a stunningly located adult female tiger. It was sitting in grass in the late afternoon sun beside a lake and looked fantastic in this classic setting. It alternated bouts of intense concentration (fish-watching?) with some pretty impressive yawning. Big teeth. Meeting up with Adrian at the end we discovered that they had got very close to the two cubs again during their drive. We also heard the news that many people had seen sloth bear during the afternoon and we all hoped fervently to connect with one in the coming days. We could not and would not grumble though as we had recorded tiger on 5 of 8 jeep trips so far.

The evening ended with a roof-top dinner whilst being entertained by a local band. Dancing was involved but I prefer to draw a veil over it (as did the bloke who was dancing the female lead).

4th December Lake Soorwal, “Blackbuck area and Ranthambore
An early start for the canter ride to Lake Soorwal. The drive took us through Sawai Madhopur and we saw officials counting the votes from the election before the big announcement in the afternoon. Leaving the town behind we went through several small villages before reaching the bund of Lake Soorwhal. The whole journey provided a real glimpse of rural life in this part of India. We disembarked and walked the bund slowly, birding as we went, it was pleasant to be on foot. The number of ruff here was phenomenal and as the sun hit the water regular flights took off and headed out to the fields to feed. Waders were well represented here with curlew, marsh sandpiper and little stint being new for us. Good numbers of other water birds here too including a small flock of white pelicans, spoonbills, comb duck and spot-billed duck.

The other side of the bund did not disappoint either with great thick-knee, rosy starling and rufous-tailed shrike. Ann and Tony went on ahead with Pankaj and had superb views of jungle cat which left the rest of us green with envy. Driving through more arid areas produced a number of larks and wheatear’s – short-toed larks and ashy-crowned finch-larks were especially common but we also had small numbers of desert and isabelline wheatear and rufous-tailed and bimaculated lark. Driving on we searched desperately for blackbuck but the crops were too high and there was not enough open ground for us to have a hope of seeing them so reluctantly we carried on to the hotel for lunch.

After lunch it was back into the jeeps for another run into the park. Fairly quiet if you discount the the three tigers seen by each jeep! We really were having a field day with the tigers. A few new birds were spotted including steppe eagle. During dinner we all voted for a night drive option and so we headed out in a canter at 8 o’clock for an hour and a half. During this time we saw nilgai, sambar, black-naped hare, porcupine, jackal and a single nightjar specie. But the best was to come because ten minutes after we got back the lucky few left doing the log call were invited by the canter driver to get back aboard because he had seen a sloth bear on his way out of the hotel grounds. We did excellent impressions of headless chickens before finally heading for our optics and spotlights and driving off. Driving down the hill Adrian spotted it close to the road! A superb sub-adult completely unconcerned by our presence and watched digging stuff up, rubbing all parts of itself against a tree and then climbing a tree. Fantastic! We must have watched it for about ten minutes before it shambled off into the night.

5th December Ranthambore and Mansarovar
Another early morning jeep safari into the park resulted in good sightings of the female and two cubs again. We also managed a sighting of the Indian tiger guru – Valmek Thapar (famous for his BBC tiger series a few years back). Other highlights included great views of painted spurfowl and wooly-necked stork. Afterwards we walked the access track for a short distance (seeing more spurfowl) and resolved to forego our ride in the park tomorrow and come back for a more thorough examination in the morning. Then it was an early return to the hotel to allow time for postcard writing (did anyone avoid buying the fantastic postcards of tiger available from the ever present salesmen at the park entrance?) and raptor-watching from the terrace.

The afternoon saw us driving through Sawai Madhopur (Junction) and then Sawai Madhopur (proper). En route we checked out the camel shavers – using hand shears to create geometric designs in the camel’s coat. The old town was rather picturesque, the Rat temple being especially impressive with its twin gates guarded by large stone elephants. We were heading for Mansarovar Lake to look for some more wetland birds. We had an interesting afternoon covering just a fraction of the shoreline. Highlights included bar-headed goose, black stork, openbill stork, pied kingfisher, more great thick-knee and a single brown shrike but pride of place went to the bird spotted by Tony as we left the place – a superb and very obliging male painted snipe.

We drove back through the gathering dusk seeing many roadside spotted owlets and enjoying the spectacle of the evening traffic which comprised of every form of road transport imaginable.

6th December 6th Ranthambore to Bharatpur
Well we ended our stay at Ranthambore with a belter. We drove the access track stopping occasionally and walking. First stop was for a roadside brown fish-owl which flew on slowly up the river occasionally giving excellent views. We also had excellent views of common kingfisher, white-throated kingfisher and yellow-eyed babbler around a small pond. As we walked along the road we heard various animals alarm calling and considered it prudent to get back into the canter. We never saw the culprit! As we approached the first guard-post Pankaj beckoned us forward. A leopard had been spotted on a nearby ridge! It took some time for us to spot it but eventually it looked up and then sat and even walked along the ridge a short distance. What an impressive sight! We all had plenty of time to take in this impressive animal and could not believe our good fortune. We were eventually joined by the Birdquest group and the appreciative audience grew even larger.

Eventually we had to tear ourselves away however and headed out to look for white-naped woodpecker. Sadly we failed to find it but did find our first yellow-crowned woodpecker , sulphur-bellied warbler and had more good view of spotted owlet. Regretfully we left and returned back to the hotel to pack and prepare for the railway journey to Bharatpur. After packing and saying thanks to the cheerful staff of the Joomer Baori hotel we all boarded a canter for the journey to the station. After a short wait the train pulled in and we found our carriage and settled down for the two and a half hour journey to Bharatpur.

As we watched rural India go by we ate our packed lunches and reflected on the many splendid animals we had seen at Ranthambore and looked forward to the delights of Bharatpur. Before long we arrived at the station and met up with Divanker and our trusty bus crew and were quickly whisked off to the hotel. We got our rooms and selves sorted out and had a hour in the park along a nearby trail. It was an excellent introduction to the place with large numbers of waterbirds covering the jheels and small colonies of storks and ibises dotted around. As dusk all too quickly fell we heard the eerie call of the dusky eagle owl.

7th December Bharatpur
Over breakfast we met Rattan Singh who was to be our guide whilst we stayed in the Park. We all managed to get assembled outside the hotel by 8 o’clock and were bundled into the waiting rickshaws. We repeatedly stopped for new birds, white-eared bulbul, roosting spotted owlet and so on. The number of birds to look at was monstrous. In an area of tall tree we quickly saw Tickell’s thrush and orange-headed ground thrush – things were going well. As bodies of open water opened up around us we started to see plenty of wetland birds all occasionally flying up as the resident eagles tried there luck. We did not see any kills but it was exciting stuff. Rattan Singh pointed out a roosting pair of collared scops-owl and a partially concealed dusky eagle-owl. By now the rickshaws were redundant as we ambled from one bird spectacle to another – we saw three black bitterns, stately pairs of sarus crane, the fantastic black-necked stork, masses of pintail and other duck, perched eagles and many in flight including greater spotted, Indian spotted and imperial.

It was not all birds though we saw small numbers of nilgai, spotted deer and jackal and also common garden lizard and Indian saw-back (a turtle). When we reached an intersection we met back up with our rickshaw drivers and were peddled back for lunch after a great mornings birding.

The afternoon started with a quick visit to a brace of pythons that had been located by Rattan Singh during our lunch break. We ‘rick-shawed‘ the short distance to the first of these impressive reptiles and watched it as it travelled slowly through the dense thorn forest. It was at least 12 feet long and very thick for most of its length, but with a disproportionatlely small head. This was the last member of the cast of “The Jungle Book” that we needed to see in India and we felt justifiably pleased with our haul! After taking some photos we left this animal in peace but Rattan took us to its big burrow which it shared with a porcupine. Nearby a much smaller python was dozing in a tangle of roots.

After that it was business as usual as we headed down the main bund stopping when necessary before getting to the point where we had turned back at lunch time. Here we walked on for a spell enjoying views of many new birds. We watched marsh harriers greedily devouring unidentified birds. Huge flocks of coot slowly rotated as they fed out on the open water. Majestic imperial eagles surveyed the marsh from exposed perches allowing us time to get great views. Blyth’s reed warblers ‘chacked’ from dense bushes and proved a little more difficult to see. The end of the day saw us gazing out over a vast marsh dotted with grazing animals (domestic and wild) and enjoying a small flock of common cranes that trumpeted away. Then it was a mad ride back to get to our rendezvous with the dusky eagle-owl which on arrival called several times before flying to an exposed perch and allowing us to fully appreciate it.

After dinner an intrepid band accompanied Phil on a nightwalk looking for porcupine, we had great looks at a small group of jackals and heard another dusky eagle-owl but failed to find anything else.

8th December Bharatpur
This morning breakfast worked a little more smoothly and we were out the door by 7.30. Ratttan Singh was waiting for us and lead us to the Ram Bund where there were so many things to look at that we made very slow progress. Highlights included golden oriole, common hawk-cuckoo, wryneck, superb views of black-rumped flameback and we also managed to find the lesser fish-eagle. The latter bird had amazed everyone by arriving at the park two months earlier. The last Ichthyophaga fish-eagle spotted in the park was a grey-headed and that was 35 years ago! In amongst all these highlights was a chance to get much better views of many of the commoner wetland birds of India.

After lunch it was back into the rickshaws for a shuttle down to the Temple, here we searched for warblers and looked at the memorial stone to the thousands of wildfowl shot during various big shoots in the early part of the last century. Still the park is a legacy of that sport and so we set off once again to enjoy the masses of wildfowl. At the end of the trail we reached a dry area which contained a few pipits but not the hoped for dry-country plovers. Highlights during this session included very good views of black bittern, two garganey (hard to find in the park) and yellow-crowned woodpecker.

In the evening we visited Raj Singh’s new and nearby hotel as we had been invited for dinner and they put on an excellent spread for us in delightful surroundings. We gaped in awe at the simple splendour of the rooms – if we could just get it moved inside the park…..

9th December Agra day out – the Taj Mahal
Today we left bright and early for Agra, leaving Adrian at the hotel to try and shift the stubborn flu bug he had been carrying since the start of the trip. We stopped almost immediately to pick up Rattan and then negotiated with the chowkidar of a nearby park to be let in to view the resident brown hawk-owl. Rattan lead us straight to the tree and sure enough there it was. Superb views of yet another owl. En route to the bustling city of Agra we stopped just once to view a roadside black ibis at a slightly closer range than the birds we saw at Mansarovar Lake. We also saw a number of ‘dancing’ bears by the side of the road and being transported into Agra in trucks.

After picking up our guide we headed straight for Agra Fort where we were walked around by the very knowledgeable Rajiv. We all learnt a great deal about the Moghul era and before we left you could just about make out the Taj Mahal as the smog started to clear. Rattan kindly warned us of a massive swarm of rock bees which was heading our way and we all managed to get out of the way before it engulfed the ramparts. Before we left here we picked Rajiv’s brain about various aspects of Indian culture that had puzzled us so far and he was once again a fount of information. Next we split into two as Phil, Erica and Rattan headed for the River Yamuna below the fort and the rest went off to visit a marble factory. The birders saw a selection of great birds despite the less than salubrious surroundings including sand lark, rufous-winged lark and black-bellied tern. The shoppers made various purchases and seemed to enjoy themselves. We all met up again to drive to the Trident and lunch.

After a splendid lunch we headed for the high point of the day – the Taj Mahal. Even if you have been before the first real view of the place through the gate is an electric moment. Rajiv sat us all down and filled us in on the history of the place and exploded a few popular myths whilst he was at it. Then those that wished accompanied him inside whilst the birders gathered round the back (philistines all) and checked out the river hoping for a new bird (in vain although we enjoyed watching the hovering technique of pied kingfishers). Before we left the grounds though we had time to find a fruiting banyan tree which held a couple of rather comical brown-headed barbets. And so back to Bharatpur, pleasantly tired after a great day.

10th December Bharatpur & Fatephur Sikri
Adrian stayed abed in the morning but the rest of us headed off with Rattan Singh to the nursery where we had fantastic views of large-tailed nightjar (which patiently dealt with the blizzard of flash photography) and we also saw brown-headed barbet and long-tailed minivet here too. We walked on through some nice forested areas of the park, we searched in vain for some time for better views of dusky eagle-owl but had to settle for views of the female hunched over the nest. We also successfully checked out a number of python lairs all of which had pythons close-by. We saw six in total. In the same area we searched in vain for the 200-odd flock of stone-curlews – Rattan could not believe it! It was just one of those days!

Because the cold weather had yet to arrive there were very few wintering forest birds in these woodlands but we did manage brief views of a verditer flycatcher and prolonged views of a gorgeous calling chestnut-headed nuthatch. Walking on towards Sapan Mari (and the waiting rickshaws) we entered the wetland zone again and wandered along enjoying the spectacle of painted stork colonies and close perched kingfishers. Then it was off to lunch and we were joined by Adrian who was starting to look a bit more human!

After lunch we had two choices birding with Rattan or a side trip to nearby Fatephur Sikri. Erica and Adrian opted to go out with Rattan, whilst the rest headed for the abandoned city. Well it is definitely not abandoned now! We had a splendid two hours here, wandering the place with our guide and enjoying all the various palaces and tombs. The high-diving boy who jumped into the tank on request was a truly magnificient end to the day. During our rambles a number of birds were evident including Egyptian vulture, brown rock-chat and a calling coppersmith barbet. But it was those that went with Ratttan that had the lionshare their afternoon walk produced more views of large-tailed nightjar in the nursery, and by walking around outside the park they found Brooke’s leaf-warbler but no yellow-wattled lapwing.

After dinner we were treated to a slide show by Bholui-ji who showed us some great slides of the classic birds of the park and told us a bit about the seasonal changes through the year.

11th December Bharatpur (Python Point and the boat ride)
Breakfast was a splendid affair this morning. Roberta was inadvertently given a cereal bowl with a hole in it and chatted away as she poured milk all over the table! It had dawned foggy though and it did not clear until after lunch. This certainly affected our birding but allowed us to concentrate on birds in the margins along the bund and we got views of black bittern, Tickell’s blue flycatcher and water rail and flushed a number of large-tailed nightjars. We searched another area for stone-curlew but again drew a blank, although we did see another two rock pythons. Here at Python Point we found the pugmarks of a tiger which added a frisson of danger to the walk and reminded us that there was indeed a female tiger in the Park. On the way back to the hotel we stopped off at the small shop by the checkpoint and made a few purchases.

After lunch we headed for the boats to try and get close to some of the waterbirds we had been seeing during the week. There followed a very pleasant two hours floating about getting fantastic views of spotted and lesser spotted eagles and a host of water birds. True to form we had a fleeting encounter with another dusky eagle-owl a bird we seem fated not to get a good look at. There were plenty of opportunities for photography as we cruised past trees filled with storks, ibises and herons and the camera shutters and other digital-type noises filled the air. As the sun fell the boatman positioned us for the cliched ‘sunset behind stork colony shot’ and we were all happy. As we were poled back one of the boatmen treated us to some excellent animal impressions which had us in fits of laughter.

12th December Bharatpur to Delhi and beyond
In the early morning we headed out up the Ram Bund for one last birding session. There was a little mist but nothing like yesterday’s pea-souper. The undoubted highlight was finally getting to grips with smoky warbler and the photographers enjoyed a couple of trees festooned with yellow-footed green pigeons. Before long though it was time to get back to the hotel to pack and say our goodbyes. Rattan sent us off in fine style with garlands of flowers, petal confetti and tasty indian sweets.

We stopped en route to Delhi at a wetland which produced a number of good birds including our first baya weavers. We also stopped for lunch and saw red-headed vulture and a close immature shikra. Before long though we were in the outskirts of Delhi and travelling slowly through this bustling metropolis. The Park Hotel provided a pleasant respite, a shower and some outstanding food – the red snapper was fantastic. During dinner we said our heartfelt goodbyes to Erica who was flying back to the States. We however were off on another week of adventure starting with the much-discussed overnight train ride from Old Delhi railway station. The traffic had calmed down and the bus made good time to the railway station – an enormous building filled with people sleeping and waiting for trains. We picked our way through the crowds and as we reached platform 3 the Ranikhet Express pulled into the station. After eventually locating our carriages we settled everyone into their berths and said goodbye once again to Vinod.

13th December Kathgodam to Nainital, “Low Fields” and Snow View
We awoke at dawn to find the train trailing behind its timetabled arrival time. In the ned we had a bit of a lie-in. Most agreed that they had spent a comfortable night. Eventually we pulled into Kathgodam at 0720 and met up with Sirdar and Bahadur who had driven through the night and arrived at 0230. Running late we headed straight for Nainital because buses are not allowed inside town after 0830. On the drive up it was immediately apparent that we had left the plains behind, the air was clear and new birds appeared beside the road including red-billed blue-magpie, blue whistling-thrush and Himalayan bulbul. Arriving at the Vikram our home for the next two days we quickly settled into our rooms and headed for breakfast.

Before long we had re-assembled and walked up and then down to the ‘low fields’. On the way down we saw our first Himalayan griffon vultures and two splendid lammergiers and called in some excellent flocks which added many new birds to the trip list. These included the splendid array of tits available at this altitude; black-lored, spot-winged, green-backed and black-throated. We also saw our first rosefinch (pink-browed), the fantastic white-capped water redstart, and a flock containing at least 20 buff-barred warblers. There were birds everywhere, which made pointing out individuals rather difficult in the milling melee. Knowing we would have more chances to see these species we climbed aboard the bus and headed for lunch.

After lunch we took the bus up to near Snow View and walked along the ridge, by now the temperature had dropped and bird activity slowed to a standstill, we found one small flock which included a single yellow-browed tit and as we walked back down the ridge we saw five Oriental turtle doves. Birding the Kalbari road was eventually abandoned due to rain which allowed us to head into town and do a bit of shopping before dinner.

14th December Snow View and Sat Tal
We decided to start early this morning in order to be up at Snow View as the sun hit the Himalayas. The weather did not let us down and we were treated to a fantastic 45 minute show as the rising sun slowly picked out the mountain range that spread out in front of us – the impressive centrepiece being Nanda Devi. The nearest peak was 75 miles away but it looked much closer in the fine weather. Walking back to the van we had a large flock of fantastic white-throated laughingthrushs.

The next stop was the fields en route to Sat Tal where we saw black-chinned babbler, rusty-cheeked scimitar-babbler, Himalayan rubythroat, common rosefinch, russet sparrow and white-capped bunting whilst searching for black-throated accentor. The birding here was very good and there was plenty to look at including stacks of Himalayan bulbuls! Moving on we headed down to the lake to have an early lunch and enjoy the sun. Afterwards we walked down through the campsite and along a small stream which held a spotted forktail and we called in a massive flock of birds with several new species for us including yellow-bellied fantail and small niltava. The birding here was also superb and we had a number of great birds as we wandered along including red-billed leiothrix, slaty-headed parakeet, scaly-breasted wren-babbler and grey-sided bush-warbler. The butterflies here were also rather special and included the Rustic, Common Leopard, Sailor, Indian Tortoiseshell and a Common banded Awl.

On the way home we stopped by the church where we were amazed to find a brown-fronted woodpecker on a bird table, as well as more red-billed leiothrix and black-throated sunbird. Before heading home finally we stopped for one more look at the fields but despite seeing a large flock of white-capped bunting, our first grey treepies and more black-chinned babblers, we failed to see the accentor.

15th December Naini Tal, Ramnagar and Quality Inn
This morning we had a leisurely start, said our goodbyes and got into the van for the two hour drive to the barrage at Ramnagar. The drive down into the lowlands wound through good forest before we reached the plain. We stopped for half an hour at the barrage and quickly got to grips with our first wallcreeper, crested kingfisher and plumbeous water redstart. The skies overhead held Egyptian vulture, crested honey-buzzard and black stork. After this pleasant interlude we drove on for 45 minutes to the delightful Quality Inn and were quickly settled into our bungalows and having another enormous and very tasty Indian lunch.

Afterwards we worked two sections of the Kosi trying to find the wintering ibisbill but to no avail. We did have plenty of great views of other riparian birds though including spotted and little forktail, plumbeous redstart, white-capped water-redstart, crested kingfisher and another wall creeper at very close range. The bordering woodland revealed ashy bulbul and grey-capped pygmy-woodpecker, lineated barbet and a large number of grey treepies. At dusk we called it a day and headed back to the Quality Inn.

After dinner some of us headed out for a short nightwalk and we managed to see a barking deer, a jungle owlet and a rather loudly stridulating grasshopper. The sky was clear and we had a good look at a few constellations and planets before heading for our beds.

16th December Quality Inn area
Today we all awoke at dawn to the sound of rain drumming on the roof and this grey rain dogged us for the rest of the day finally cllearing up in mid-afternoon. Because of these inclement conditions some elected to enjoy the comforts of hotel whilst the rest went off birding. We drove off in the van to a nearby road that followed a small stream and en route we had views of red junglefowl (prototype chicken) and a big flock of kalij pheasants crossed the road in front of us. Roadside stops produced our first, rather bedraggled jezabel butterfly and large, fast-moving canopy flocks of minivets, flycatcher-shrikes, woodpeckers and nuthatches.

The streamside road walk produced a number of new birds including Himalayan flameback, grey-headed woodpecker, golden-spectacled warbler and the diminuitive chestnut-headed tesia – all of which were components of large mixed-species flocks. The sal forest understorey contained a few new flycatchers too with rufous-bellied niltava easily being the most eye-catching. The rain and chill weather got the better of us by 1230 though and we headed to the hotel to refuel on hot soup and more excellent butter chicken and other dishes.

After lunch it was another search for ibisbill on the river near the hotel and yet again we failed to find the bird. We did however have great views of a pair of brown dipper and more views of a wallcreeper. The usual accompaniment of redstarts and wagtails and kingfishers easily make Himalayan rivers the most attractive in the world. On our return to the hotel we were informed that someone had located the nearby roosting tawny fish-owl so it was back to the van and the short ride up the road to see this majestic beast. He was just snoozing on a branch and trying his best to ignore us as we admired him from the road. A last ditch effort for wallcreeper by the suspension bridge was doomed to failure but we all enjoyed watching the sun go down as we swayed gently on the bridge.

17th December Corbett National Park
This morning we dressed up warm and got into two jeeps for the ride into Corbett National Park. En route we stopped for a few birds including a fine brown fish-owl just before Mohan. At the gate we stopped to visit the souvenir shop and Adrian bought a whole herd of elephants! Driving in we startled many barking deer and smaller numbers of sambar and chital. The birding highlights included splendid views of slaty-backed forktail on the rocks in a sun-dappled stream, a flock of superb pin-tailed green pigeons, fishing osprey and a number of flocks of woodpeckers. We searched the river in vain for gharial, turning up a lone mugger crocodile and a number of enormous river fish. But best of all were two alarmed elephants that had obviously seen something scary and were trumpeting away. The noise could be heard for miles. We never did find the scary thing although we later found out that some people had seen a tiger just after we went through. Eventually we reached Dhikala and had a well-earned lunch.

After lunch we split up one group went on an elephant safari whilst the other took to the jeep once again to scour the nearby grasslands for birds. During the jeep ride we carefully checked through all the available stonechats hoping for a white-throated bushchat. During this period we also saw changeable hawk-eagle, stork-billed kingfisher, yellow-eyed babbler and a marsh harrier.

The elephant crew stunned us all with details of their journey. They had watched elephants mating before their mahout got understandably nervous and forced his beast into a run in the opposite direction. At one point Tony’s hat was brushed off by an over-hanging branch and the elephant behind reached down, picked it up and handed it back to him. They also saw a number of intriguing birds.

18th December Journey to Delhi via the Ganges
This morning we slowly motored out of the park, adding a few new birds to the list including lesser yellownape and Oriental pied hornbill. The drive to Delhi is a long one and we had elected to break it twice. Once for lunch at Moradabad and again at the crossing of the Ganges. The road trip went reasonably smoothly – once again we were vying for space with an incredible variety of wheeled and hooved transport. Somehow we found our way through the seemingly endless confusion and reached our lunch stop at the appointed time. During the journey we said our goodbyes to the now familiar roadside birds of northern India. Every pond had its heron, every village its Egyptian vultures or kites.

The Ganges was rather narrower than we all expected but was rather serene. Sadly no gangetic dolphins broke the tranquillity of the steadily flowing water. We spent nearly two hours here birding and turned up sandlark, common crane, red avadavat, yellow-legged gull, brown-headed gull and Pallas’ gull. Firm favourites still though were the spotted owlets that we found roosting in a hole in a dead tree. Eventually we had to board the bus again and head for Delhi. We reached the outskirts at dusk and were staggered by the number of black kites around a large landfill site. They were uncountable but certainly numbered in the tens of thousands. A huge flock wheeled over the tip itself and countless other festooned every tree for about a kilometre. Still more crossed the road on their way to more distant roosts. It was amazing – didn’t smell that good though. Soon after we were mired in the Delhi traffic and making our way slowly towards the hotel. Here we had a shower and packed for the flight before eating and saying our goodbyes to Roberta and Ramani. Then it was all aboard the bus for one last trip to the airport and more goodbyes and thanks to the driver (Sudir) and assistant (Bahadur) and of course the unstoppably helpful Vinod.

We all survived the immigrations, customs and security measures at the airport and met up on the other side to say goodbye to the US contingent before finally sitting down to wait for our flight.

Systematic List Number 1 Birds

The systematic order is taken from the ‘Birds of the Indian Subcontinent’ (1998) by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp.

Where a species was seen by only one observer the observation is annotated with their initials. ‘Himalayan foothills’ refers to all areas around Nainital and also Quality Inn and Corbett whereas ‘lowlands’ refers to Ranthambhor and Bharatpur as does ‘Rajasthan’.

Itinerary
30/11 Delhi to Jaipur, sightseeing Jaipur
1/12 Jaipur
2/12 Ranthambore (Jeep routes R6, R7, F1, R1)
3/12 Ranthambore (Jeep routes F2, R7, F1)
4/12 Lake Soorwal and Ranthambore (Jeep routes R2, F2)
5/12 Ranthambore (Jeep routes F2, R2) and Mansarovar Lake
6/12 Entrance road to Ranthambore and train to Bharatpur (Ram Bund)
7/12 Bharatpur (main bund to Sapan Mari and Sapan Mari to Ghana Canal)
8/12 Bharatpur (Ram Bund and B block)
9/12 Agra area
10/12 Bharatpur (nursery and C block) and Fatepur Sikri or dry area outside park.
11/12 Bharatpur (main track to Python Point and afternoon boat ride)
12/12 Bharatpur (Ram Bund) and transfer to Delhi (and ulitmately Kathgodam)
13/12 Kathgodam to Naini Tal (Low Fields), then Snow View area and Kilbury Road
14/12 Snow View (dawn) and Sat Tal
15/12 Naini Tal to Quality Inn via Ramnagar Barrage, Kosi River
16/12 Mohan area and Kosi River
17/12 Transfer to Corbett, Dhikala area
18/12 Corbett too Delhi via the Ganges River crossing.

Black francolin
Francolinus francolinus
Small numbers at Corbett.
Grey francolin
F. pondicerianus
Common in Rajasthan.
Hill partridge
Arborophila torqueola
Heard at Naini Tal.
Painted spurfowl
Galloperdix lunulata
Noted on three days at Ranthambor.
Red junglefowl
Gallus gallus
Noted in small numbers at Quality Inn and Corbett.
Kaleej pheasant
Lophura leucomelanos
Small numbers at Quality Inn, including one male in the garden.
Indian peafowl
Pavo cristatus
Noted at every site and in the wider countryside (except days up at Naini Tal).
Lesser whistling-duck
Dendrocygna javanica
Ranthambore and Bharatpur.
Greylag goose
Anser anser
Ranthambore and Bharatpur.
Bar-headed goose
Anser indicus
Ranthambore, Bharatpur and the Ganges.
Ruddy shelduck
Tadorna ferruginea
Widspread.
Comb duck
Sarkidiornis melanotos
Soorwal Lake and Bharatpur.
Cotton pygmy-goose
Nettapus coromandelianus
Ranthambore and Bharatpur.
Gadwall
Anas strepera
Ranthambore, Bharatpur and the Ganges.
Eurasian wigeon
Anas penelope
Ranthambore and Bharatpur.
Spot-billed duck
Anas poecilorhyncha
Soorwal Lake and Bharatpur.
Northern shoveler
Anas clypeata
Ranthambore, Soorwal Lake and Bharatpur.
Northern pintail
Anas acuta
Ranthambore and Bharatpur.
Garganey
Anas querquedula
Small numbers at Bharatpur.
Common teal
Anas crecca
Ranthambore and Bharatpur.
Red-crested pochard
Rhodonessa rufina
Recorded on four dates in Rajasthan.
Common pochard
Aythya ferina
Recorded on six dates in Rajasthan.
Ferruginous pochard
Aythya nyroca
Recorded on three dates in Rajasthan.
Tufted duck
Aythya fuligula
Recorded on four dates in Rajasthan.
Eurasian wryneck
Jynx torquilla
Singles on three dates in Rajasthan.
Speckled piculet
Picumnus inominatus
Single at Sat Tal.
Grey-headed woodpecker
Picus canus
Several in Quality Inn area.
Streak-throated woodpecker
P. xanthopygaeus
Single male at Corbett.
Greater yellownape
P. flavinucha
Two at Quality Inn.
Lesser yellownape
P. chlorolophus
Single outside the park gate at Corbett.
Grey-capped pygmy-woodpecker
Dendrocopos canicapillus
Noted at Quality Inn.
Brown-fronted woodpecker
Dendrocopos auriceps
Single at Sat Tal.
Yellow-crowned woodpecker
D. mahrattensis
Recorded at Ranthambore and Bharatpur.
Black-rumped flameback
Dinopium benghalense
Ranthambore and Bharatpur.
Himalayan flameback
D. shorii
Noted at Quality Inn and Corbett
Greater flameback
Chrysocolaptes lucidus
Noted at Corbett (AB).
Brown-headed barbet
M. zeylanica
Recorded in small numbers at Agra and Bharatpur.
Lineated barbet
M. lineata
Recorded at Quality Inn and Corbett.
Blue-throated barbet
M. asiatica
Heard at Quality Inn and Corbett.
Coppersmith barbet
M haemacephala
Recorded on five dates in Rajasthan.
Indian grey hornbill
Oxyceros birostris
Recorded on 7 dates in Rajasthan.
Oriental pied hornbill
Anthraceros coronatus
Two noted in flight as we left Corbett (AB).
Common hoopoe
Upupa epops
Commonly encountered in Rajasthan, less so elsewhere.
Indian roller
Coracias benghalensis
Small numbers throughout.
Common kingfisher
Alcedo atthis
Widespread and not uncommon.
White-throated kingfisher
Halcyon smyrnensis
Recorded on nearly every day.
Stork-billed kingfisher
H. capensis
Single at Corbett.
Crested kingfisher
Megaceryle lugubris
Noted at Ramnagar Barrage, Quality Inn and Corbett.
Pied kingfisher
Ceryle rudis
Noted on four dates.
Green bee-eater
Merops orientalis
Frequently recorded in Rajasthan.
Common hawk-cuckoo
H. varius
Single first-year bird at Bharatpur.
Asian koel
Eudynamys scolopacea
Single males recorded at Jaipur and Ranthambore.
Greater coucal
Centropus sinensis
Jaipur and Bharatpur.
Alexandrine parakeet
Psittacula eupatria
Small numbers daily at Ranthambore.
Rose-ringed parakeet
P. krameri
Recorded daily in Rajasthan.
Slaty-headed parakeet
P. himalayana
Recorded at Sat Tal, Quality Inn and Corbett.
Plum-headed parakeet
P. cyanocephala
Recorded at Ranthambore
Himalayan swiftlet
Collocalia brevirostris
Noted near Quality Inn and in Corbett.
White-rumped spinetail
Zoonavena sylvatica
Noted at Corbett.
Common swift
Apus apus
Six on the first day (AB).
Alpine swift
Tachymarptus melba
Recorded at Corbett in small numbers.
House swift
Apus affinis
Recorded on five dates.
Crested treeswift
Hemiprocne coronata
Noted near Quality Inn (AB).
Indian scops-owl
Otus bakkomoena
Ranthambore and Bharatpur. Including one calling and well-observed outside the hotel at Ranthambore.
Dusky eagle owl
Bubo coromandus
At least five individuals at Bharatpur.
Brown fish-owl
Ketupa zeylonensis
Three birds on two dates at Ranthambore and a single near Quality Inn.
Tawny fish-owl
K. flavipes
Single roosting bird at Quality Inn and two spotlighted on the river at Dhikala (Corbett).
Jungle owlet
Glaucidium radiatum
Single bird whilst spotlighting at Quality Inn and another in Corbett.
Spotted owlet
Athene brama
Ranthambore and Bharatpur.
Brown hawk-owl
Ninox scutulata
Single roosting individual on two dates just outside Bharatpur.
Large-tailed nightjar
Caprimulgus macrurus
Only at Bharatpur – single roosting bird in the Nursery seen very well and 2 others elsewhere.
Savannah nightjar
C. affinis
Single whilst spotlighting outside Ranthambore.
Rock pigeon
Columba livia
Ubiquitous.
Oriental turtle dove
Streptopelia orientalis
Naini Tal (small numbers)
Laughing dove
S. senegalensis
Widespread.
Spotted dove
S. chinensis
Ranthambore.
Red collared dove
S. tranquebarica
Jaipur and Lake Soorwal.
Eurasian collared dove
S. decaocto
Common in Rajasthan.
Yellow-footed green-pigeon
Treron phoenicoptera
Frequently encountered in Rajasthan.
Pin-tailed green-pigeon
T. apicauda
Small flock in Corbett.
Common crane
Grus grus
Small flock at Bharatpur, three on the Ganges.
Sarus crane
G. antigone
Only seen in the vicinity of Bharatpur.
Water rail
Rallus aquaticus
Single at Bharatpur (AB).
Brown crake
Amaurornis akool
Small numbers at Ranthambore only.
White-breasted waterhen
A. phoenicurus
Frequently encountered in Rajasthan.
Purple swamphen
Porphyrio porphyrio
Small numbers at Bharatpur and en route to Delhi.
Common moorhen
Gallinula chloropus
Recorded on suitable wetlands on ten dates.
Common coot
Fulica atra
Recorded on suitable wetlands on 7 dates.
Painted sandgrouse
Pterocles indicus
Small numbers most evenings at dusk at Ranthambore. Several seen coming to drink at the pool by the entrance to the Park.
Common snipe
Gallinago gallinago
Recorded on three dates in Rajasthan.
Pintail snipe
G. stenura
Single at Mansarovar Lake (PB).
Black-tailed godwit
Limosa limosa
Recorded on four dates in Rajasthan.
Eurasian curlew
Numenius arquata
Only noted in small numbers at Soorwal.
Spotted redshank
Tringa erythropus
Noted on two dates in Rajasthan.
Common redshank
T. totanus
Noted on five dates in Rajasthan.
Marsh sandpiper
T. stagnatilis
Small numbers on three dates, maximum of 3 at Soorwal Lake.
Common greenshank
T. nebularia
Noted on six dates ina variety of wetlannd habitats.
Green sandpiper
T. ochropus
Widespread.
Wood sandpiper
T. glareola
Noted on just three dates in Rajasthan.
Common sandpiper
Actitis hypoleucos
Widespread.
Little stint
Calidris minuta
Common at Lake Soorwal and Agra.
Temminck’s stint
C. temmincki
Noted on two dates.
Dunlin
C. alpina
30+ at Lake Soorwal.
Ruff
Philomachus pugnax
Large numbers at Lake Soorwal.
Greater painted-snipe
Rostratula benghalensis
Single male at Mansarovar Lake.
Pheasant-tailed jacana
Hydrophasianus chirurgus
Small numbers at Bharatpur.
Bronze-winged jacana
Metopidius indicus
Ranthambore and Bharatpur.
Great thick-knee
Esacus recurvirostris
Recorded at Lake Soorwal and Mansarovar Lake.
Black-winged stilt
Himantopus himantopus
Widespread in Rajasthan.
Little ringed plover
Charadrius dubius
Noted on four dates in Rajasthan.
Kentish plover
C. alexandrinus
Noted on two dates in Rajasthan.
River lapwing
V. duvaucelli
Present in small numbers along all major rivers.
Red-wattled lapwing
V. indicus
Widespread and common.
White-tailed lapwing
V. leucurus
Noted on three dates in very small numbers.
Yellow-legged gull
Larus cachinnans
Single on the Ganges (AB).
Pallas’s gull
L. ichthyaetus
Single winter adult on the Ganges (PB).
Brown-headed gull
L. brunnicephalus
Several in small roost on Ganges.
Black-headed gull
L. ridibundus
Three outside Sawai Madhopur, one at Lake Soorwal and small numbers on the Ganges.
Gull-billed tern
Gelochelidon nilotica
Six outside Sawai Madhopur and one at Lake Soorwal.
River tern
Sterna aurantia
Recorded on 9 dates in Rajasthan, mostly around Ranthambore.
Black-bellied tern
S. acuticauda
Two on the Jamuna near Agra Fort.
Whiskered tern
Chlidonias hybridus
Noted in small numbers at Lake Soorwal and the Jamuna River at Agra.
Osprey
Pandion haliaetus
Noted in small numbers at Corbett.
Oriental honey-buzzard
Pernis ptilorhynchus
Ranthambore, Bharatpur and Ramnagar.
Black-shouldered kite
Elanus migrans
Widespread.
Black kite
Milvus migrans
Abundant in the vicinity of towns.
Pallas’s fishing-eagle
Haliaeetus leucoryphus
Single immature at Corbett.
Lesser fish-eagle
Ichthyophaga humilis
Singles at Bharatpur and Corbett.
Lammergier
Gypaetus barbatus
Small numbers around Naini Tal.
Egyptian vulture
Neophron percnopterus
Small numbers at Bharapur, common along rivers at Agra and Ramnagar.
White-rumped vulture
Gyps benghalensis
A total of six on two days at Ranthambore.
Indian vulture
G. indicus
Recorded on four days only in the vicinity of Ranthambore (max. 20).
Himalayan griffon
G. himalayensis
Noted in small numbers around Naini Tal.
Eurasian griffon
G. fulvus
Single at Corbett.
Cinereous vulture
Aegypius monachus
Small numbers over Dhikala (Corbett).
Red-headed vulture
Sarcogyps calvus
Widespread in small numbers.
Short-toed snake-eagle
Circaetus gallicus
Singles on most days at Ranthambore.
Crested serpent-eagle
Spilornis cheela
Almost daily at Ranthambore, small numbers at Bharatpur and Corbett.
Eurasian marsh harrier
Circus aeruginosus
Bharatpur and Corbett.
Shikra
A. badius
Widespread.
Eurasian sparrowhawk
A. nisus
Single at Bharatpur.
White-eyed buzzard
Butastur teesa
Single at Ranthambore perched at close range.
Common buzzard
Buteo buteo
Recorded in small numbers at Ranthambore and Sat Tal.
Indian spotted eagle
Aquila hastata
Singles most days at Bharatpur.
Greater spotted eagle
A. clanga
Common at Bharatpur, small numbers at Corbett.
Steppe eagle
A. nipalensis
Noted in small numbers at Ranthambore and Naini Tal.
Imperial eagle
A. heliaca
Maximum of three on three dates at Bharatpur.
Bonelli’s eagle
Hieraattus fasciatus
Small numbers in Rajasthan, especially Bharatpur.
Booted eagle
H. pennatus
Four on one date at Ranthambore.
Mountain hawk-eagle
Spizaetus nipalensis
Two at Quality Inn.
Changeable hawk-eagle
S. cirrhatus
Three birds at Corbett.
Common kestrel
Falco tinnunculus
Noted at Lake Soorwal only.
Little grebe
Tachybaptus ruficollis
Widespread in Rajasthan.
Great crested grebe
Podiceps cristatus
Noted at Lake Soorwal only.
Darter
Anhinga melanogaster
Widespread – recorded on ten dates.
Little cormorant
Phalacrocorax niger
Widespread in Rajasthan.
Indian cormorant
P. fuscicollis
Present in small numbers at Bharatpur.
Great cormorant
P. carbo
Widespread.
Little egret
Egrettta garzetta
Widespread.
Grey heron
Ardea cinerea
Widespread.
Purple heron
A. purpurea
Widespread in Rajasthan.
Great egret
Casmerodius alba
Widespread.
Intermediate egret
Mesophoyx intermedia
Recorded on six dates but probably overlooked.
Cattle egret
Bubulcus ibis
Widespread.
Indian pond heron
Ardeola grayii
Widespread and common.
Little heron
Butorides striatus
Singles on five dates at Ranthambore, Bharatpur and the Ganges.
Black-crowned night-heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
Large roost at Bharatpur, occasionally seen by roadside wetlands.
Black bittern
Dupetor flavicollis
Noted almost daily at Bharatpur.
Glossy ibis
Plegadis falcinellus
Small numbers at Bharatpur.
Black-headed ibis
Threshkiornis melanocephalus
Widespread in Rajasthan.
Black ibis
Pseudibis papillosa
Noted at Mansarovar Lake and en route to Agra.
Eurasian spoonbill
Platalea leucorodia
Lake Soorwal and Bharatpur.
Great white pelican
Pelecanus onocrotalus
Sixteen at Lake Soorwal.
Painted stork
Mycteria leucocephala
Widespread especially abundant at Bharatpur.
Asian openbill
Anastomus ocscitans
Recorded at Mansarovar Lake and Bharatpur.
Black stork
Ciconia nigra
Small numbers noted at Ranthambore, Mansarovar Lake, Ramnagar Barrage and Corbett.
Wooly-necked stork
C. episcopus
Widespread in small numbers on nine dates.
Black-necked stork
Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus
Four individuals seen at Bharatpur.
Rufous-tailed shrike
Lanius isabellinus
Three recorded around Lake Soorwal.
Bay-backed shrike
L. vittatus
Small numbers on ten dates in Rajasthan.
Long-tailed shrike
L. schach
Widespread.
Southern grey shrike
L. meridionalis
Small numbers on three dates in the Ranthambore area.
Black-headed jay
Garrulus lanceolatus
Noted both days at Naini Tal.
Red-billed blue magpie
Urocissa erythrorhyncha
Only seen en route to Naini Tal.
Common green magpie
Cissa chinensis
Single in Corbett.
Rufous treepie
Dendrocitta vagabunda
Widespread and common in lowland areas.
Grey treepie
D. formosae
Noted on three dates in Quality Inn/Corbett area.
House crow
Corvus splendens
Recorded almost daily.
Large-billed crow
C. macrorhychus
Recorded almost daily.
Eurasian golden oriole
Oriolus oriolus
Single male bird at Bharatpur.
Black-hooded oriole
O. xanthornus
Heard only at Corbett.
Large cuckooshrike
Coracina macei
Small numbers in Corbett area.
Small minivet
Pericrotus cinnamomeus
Recorded on four dates at Ranthmabore and Bharatpur.
Long-tailed minivet
P. ethologus
Recorded at Bharatpur, Quality Inn and Corbett.
Scarlet minivet
P. flammeus
Small numbers in Quality Inn/Corbett area.
Bar-winged flycatcher-shrike
Hemipus picatus
Small numbers in Quality Inn/Corbett area.
Yellow-bellied fantail
Rhipidura hypoxantha
Naini Tal, Quality Inn and Corbett.
White-throated fantail
R. albicollis
Quality Inn.
White-browed fantail
R, aureola
Ranthambore and Bharatpur – often feeding in association with cattle and wild herbivores.
Black drongo
Dicrurus macrocercus
Widespread in open habitats.
Ashy drongo
D. leucophaeus
Noted on two dates.
White-bellied drongo
D. caerulescens
Noted at Ranthambore, Bharatpur and Quality Inn.
Bronzed drongo
D. aeneus
Noted at Naini Tal and Quality Inn.
Common iora
Aegithina tiphia
Only one seen at Ranthambore.
Common woodshrike
Tephrodornis pondicerianus
Noted in dry woodland at both Ranthambore and Bharatpur.
Brown dipper
Cinclus pallasi
Two on the River Kosi near the Quality Inn.
Blue rock thrush
M. solitarius
Only noted along the Kosi River by Quality Inn.
Blue whistling-thrush
Myophoneus caeruleus
Common in Uttaranchal.
Orange-headed thrush
Zoothera citrina
Single bird seen very well at Bharatpur.
Tickell’s thrush
Turdus unicolor
Single female or first-winter at Bharatpur.
Rufous-gorgeted flycatcher
Ficedula strophiata
Sat Tal and Quality Inn.
Red-throated flycatcher
F. parva
Widespread recorded on nine dates.
Little pied flycatcher
F. basilicana
Single female recorded at Sat Tal.
Small niltava
Niltava macgrigoriae
Sat Tal and Quality Inn.
Rufous-bellied niltava
N. sundara
Single male near Mohan (Quality Inn).
Tickell’s blue flycatcher
Cyornis tickelliae
Single male at Bharatpur.
Verditer flycatcher
Eumyias thalassina
Single at Bharatpur.
Grey-headed canary flycatcher
Culicicapa ceylonensis
Widespread, recorded on 8 days.
White-tailed rubythroat
L. pectoralis
Single male seen well near Sat Tal (PB), others glimpsed around Quality Inn.
Bluethroat
L. svecica
Common in wetland habitats recorded on six dates.
Oriental magpie robin
Copsychus saularis
Widespread in Rajasthan.
Indian robin
Saxicoloides fulicata
Widespread.
Blue-capped redstart
Phoenicrurus coeruleocephalus
Recorded in small numbers at Naini Tal.
Black redstart
P. ochrurus
Widespread in small numbers – recorded on 11 days.
Blue-fronted redstart
P. frontalis
Single female at Naini Tal.
White-capped water redstart
Chaimarronis leucocephalus
Recorded near most of the waterbodies visited in the Himalayan foothills.
Plumbeous water redstart
Rhyacornis fuliginosus
Frequents rivers and stream in the Himalayan foothills.
Little forktail
Enicurus scouleri
Two observed on the Kosi River near Quality Inn.
Spotted forktail
E. maculatus
Total of three noted at Sat Tal and around Quality Inn.
Slaty-backed forktail
E. schistaceus
Single at Corbett National Park.
Common stonechat
Saxicola torquata
Recorded on four dates.
White-tailed stonechat
S. leucura
Single male identified in the grasslands near Dhikala (Corbett).
Pied bushchat
S. caprata
Widespread.
Grey bushchat
S. ferrea
Only recorded in the Himalayan foothills area.
Desert wheatear
O. deserti
Only seen in the dry areas near Soorwal Lake.
Isabelline wheatear
O. isabellina
Only seen in the dry areas near Soorwal Lake.
Brown rock-chat
Cercomela fusca
Widespread in Rajasthan (6 dates).
Brahminy starling
Sturnus pagodarum
Widespread (9 dates).
Rosy starling
S. roseus
Six seen at Lake Soorwal.
Asian pied starling
S. contra
Widespread (11 dates).
Common myna
Acridotheres tristis
Widespread and ubiquitous.
Bank myna
A. ginginianus
Common in the wider countryside.
Chestnut-bellied nuthatch
Sitta castanea
Seen in small numbers at Bharatpur and Quality Inn.
White-tailed nuthatch
S. himalayensis
Naini Tal.
Velvet-fronted nuthatch
S. frontalis
Quality Inn and Corbett.
Wallcreeper
Tichodromia muraria
Singles recorded at Ramnagar Barrage and on two days along the River Kosi (Quality Inn).
Bar-tailed treecreeper
Certhia himalayana
Common flock constituent at Naini Tal and Sat Tal. Single at Quality Inn.
Spot-winged tit
Parus melanolophus
Common flock constituent at Naini Tal.
Great tit
P. major
Widespread on nine dates.
Green-backed tit
P. monticollis
Commonn flock constituent at Naini Tal and Sat Tal.
Black-lored tit
P. xanthogenys
Naini Tal and Quality Inn.
Yellow-browed tit
Sylviparus modestus
Single along Snow View ridge at Naini Tal.
Black-throated tit
Aegithalos concinnus
Recorded in small numbers at Naini Tal.
Pale martin
Riparia diluta
Recorded in small numbers at Ramnagar Barrage. Seen perched.
Plain martin
R. paludicola
Widespread (8 dates).
Eurasian crag martin
Hirundo rupestris
Two recorded at Ranthambore. Frequent in area around Naini Tal.
Dusky crag martin
Hirundo concolor
Frequent around Ranthambore, Soorwal Lake and Lake Mannsarovar. Small numbers at Sat Tal.
Barn swallow
H. rustica
Widespread (12 dates).
Wire-tailed swallow
H. smithii
Lake Soorwal and Bharatpur.
Red-rumped swallow
H. daurica
Widespread (6 dates).
Nepal house martin
Delichon nipalensis
Five at Sat Tal (AB).
White-eared bulbul
P. leucotis
Only recorded around Bharatpur.
Himalayan bulbul
P. leucogenys
Common in Himalayan foothills.
Red-vented bulbul
P. cafer
Common and very widespread.
Ashy bulbul
Hemixos flavala
Recorded on three dates in the Himalayan foothills.
Zitting cisticola
Cisticola juncidis
Corbett.
Bright-headed cisticola
C. exilis
Corbett.
Striated prinia
Prinia criniger
Two in the ‘Low Fields’ at Naini Tal.
Jungle prinia
Prinia sylvatica
Single at Ranthambore.
Yellow-bellied prinia
P. flaviventris
Single in grassland along Ganges (PB).
Ashy prinia
P. socialis
Widespread (6 dates).
Plain prinia
P. inornata
Widespread (11 dates).
Grey-breasted prinia
P. hodgsoni
Only recorded near Quality Inn.
Oriental white-eye
Zosterops palpebrosus
Widespread (10 dates).
Chestnut-headed tesia
Tesia castaneocoronata
Single near Mohan – Quality Inn (PB).
Aberrant bush-warbler
Cettia flavolivacea
Single near ‘Eureka Forbes’ (Sat Tal). (PB)
Grey-sided bush-warbler
C. brunnifrons
Single at Sat Tal (PB).
Blyth’s reed warbler
Acrocephalus dumetorum
Small numbers at Bharatpur.
Clamorous reed warbler
A. stentoreus
Small numbers at Bharatpur.
Common tailorbird
Orthotomus sutorius
Widespread in Rajasthan (10 dates).
Common chiffchaff
Phylloscopus collybita
Widespread in lowland areas (14 dates).
Sulphur-bellied warbler
P. griseolus
Two birds along the access road to Ranthambore.
Buff-barred warbler
P. pulcher
Recorded in good numbers at Naini Tal and Sat Tal.
Lemon-rumped warbler
P. chloronotus
Recorded on three dates in the Himalayan foothills.
Smoky warbler
P. fuligiventer
Single at Bharatpur.
Hume’s warbler
P. humei
Widespread and common winter visitor in Rajasthan.
Brooke’s leaf warbler
P. subviridis
Single in dry area outside Bharatpur.
Greenish warbler
P. trochiloides
Presence suspected at many locations.
Golden-spectacled warbler
Seicercus burkii
Quality Inn.
Grey-hooded warbler
S. xanthoschistos
Common flock constituent in the Himalayan foothills.
White-throated laughingthrush
Garrulax albogularis
Large flock along the Snow View ridge at Naini Tal.
White-crested laughingthrush
G. leucolophus
Recorded at Quality Inn and Corbett.
Streaked laughingthrush
G. lineatus
Fairly common around Naini Tal.
Rusty-cheeked scimitar-babbler
Pomatorhinus erythrogenys
Small flock at Sat Tal (PB), other groups heard only.
Scaly-breasted wren-babbler
Pnoepyga albiventer
Single at Sat Tal.
Black-chinned babbler
Stachyris pyrrhops
Recorded at Sat Tal and Quality Inn.
Yellow-eyed babbler
Chrysomma sinense
Recorded at Ranthambore and Corbett.
Common babbler
Turdoides caudatus
Widespread in lowlands but only recorded on four dates.
Large grey babbler
T. malcolmi
Widespread in lowlands (8 dates).
Jungle babbler
T. striatus
Widespread and frequently encountered.
Red-billed leiothrix
Leiothrix lutea
We did well for this species seeing flocks at Sat Tal and near Mohan (Quality Inn).
Rufous sibia
Heterophasia capistrata
Four noted along the Snow View ridge at Naini Tal.
Lesser whitethroat
Sylvia curruca
Widespread in lowland areas (13 dates).
Orphean warbler
S. hortensis
Noted in small numbers on three dates in Rajasthan.
Bengal bushlark
Mirafra assamica
Noted along the Jamuna at Agra.
Ashy-crowned sparrow lark
Eremopteryx grisea
Large numbers in the environs of Lake Soorwal.
Rufous-tailed lark
Ammomanes phoenicurus
Recorded at Soorwal Lake and Lake Mansarovar.
Bimaculated lark
Melanocorypha bimaculata
Only seen in the dry areas around Soorwal Lake.
Greater short-toed lark
Calandrella brachydactyla
Only seen in the dry areas around Soorwal Lake.
Sandlark
C. raytal
Single by Yamuna at Agra and another on the Ganges.
Oriental skylark
Alauda gulgula
Heard around Lake Soorwal.
Purple sunbird
Nectarina asiatica
Common in lowlands
Black-throated sunbird
Aethopyga saturata
Single male at Sat Tal.
Green-tailed sunbird
A. nipalensis
Two birds (males) around Quality Inn.
House sparrow
Passer domesticus
Present in towns and villages, some resembled the wintering ‘Bactrian’ race.
Russet sparrow
P. rutilans
Small numbers at Sat Tal.
Chestnut-shouldered petronia
Petronia xanthocollis
Highly localised at both Ranthambore and Bharatpur.
White wagtail
Motacilla alba
Widespread (11 dates).
White-browed wagtail
M. maderaspatensis
Widespread, usually along rivers.
Citrine wagtail
M. citreola
Widespread (9 dates).
Yellow wagtail
M. flava
Recorded on three dates in small numbers.
Grey wagtail
M. cinerea
Recorded by waterbodies annd rivers throughout (7 dates).
Paddyfield pipit
Anthus rufulus
Five at Lake Soorwal.
Tawny pipit
A. campestris
Recorded on four dates.
Long-billed pipit
A. similis
Two noted in the Himalayan foothills.
Tree pipit
A. trivialis
Ranthambore and Bharatpur
Olive-backed pipit
A. hodgsoni
Small number noted at both Ranthambore and Bharatpur.
Rufous-breasted accentor
Prunella strophiata
Seen in small numbers on both days in the Naini Tal area.
Black-breasted weaver
Ploceus benghalensis
Single at Lake Soorwal.
Baya weaver
P. phillippinus
Three birds noted at a roadside wetland en route to Delhi were the only birds seen. Plenty of nests of this species from the previous breeding season were seen.
Red avadavat
Amandava amandava
Several small flocks located in grassland fringing the Ganges on the last day.
Indian silverbill
Lonchura malabarica
Widespread in the Ranthambore annd Bharatpur area.
Common rosefinch
Carpodacus erythrinus
Single bird at Sat Tal.
Pink-browed rosefinch
C. rodochrous
Small numbers around Naini Tal.
Rock bunting
Emberiza cia
Recorded on the path to the ‘Low Fields’ at Naini Tal
White-capped bunting
E. sterwarti
Only recorded in the Sat Tal area.