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| Northern India, January/February 2010 |
| I spent 2-and-a-bit weeks in Northern India in January/February 2010 with Bill Baston and a small group assembled by Derek Moore. The plan was to take in lots of different areas and habitats, ranging from the wetlands of Bharatpur to the Himalayan foothills and Corbett National Park. This obviously involved a lot of traveling, but the birding was superb, with over 380 species recorded. The itinerary was as follows: (click on each location for images of scenery, other wildlife and key bird species) > Ranthambhore National Park > Taj Mahal & Bharatpur > Chambal River > The Himalayan foothills - Sattal and Pangot > Corbett National Park Many thanks to Derek Moore for organising the trip, to superb guides Leio De Souza (of Backwoods and India Nature Tours) and Lokesh and to Bill, Derek, Anne and Jill for extra photos of scenery and me. |
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| Little Cormorant Fairly common, seen in most areas aside higher in the hills |
| Painted Stork Seen at Ranthambhore and the Chambal river |
| Bar-headed Goose Seen at Ranthambhore, Chambal river and Bharatpur |
| Ruddy Shelduck Fairly common |
| Black-shouldered Kite Fairly common in lowlands, photographed at Bharatpur and Chambal |
| Crested Serpent Eagle Several seen in forests. Photographed at Ranthambhore and Corbett National Parks |
| Changeable Hawk Eagle Several seen, mostly in Corbett NP |
| Various raptors Pallas's Fish Eagle; White-rumped Vulture; Red-headed Vulture |
| Grey Francolin Fairly common in Ranthambhore |
| Gamebirds Kalij Pheasant photographed near Sattal, Koklass Pheasant photographed near Pangot, Indian Peafowl photographed at Ranthamhore |
| Sarus Crane 4 seen in roadside fields while traveling between sites |
| Greater Painted Snipe c.10 at a site in Bharatpur |
| Ibisbill 3 on the Kosi river in the Corbett bufferzone |
| Great Thick-knee Several at Ranthmabhore NP and the Chambal river |
| Red-wattled Lapwing Very common |
| River Lapwing Fairly common on the Chambal river and around Corbett |
| White-tailed Lapwing Several at Bharatpur |
| River Tern Seen at Ranthambhore and the Chambal river. Photographed at the latter site |
| Indian Skimmer 2 on the Chambal river |
| Painted Sandgrouse A few near Ranthambhore |
| Emerald Dove 1 near Sattal |
| Spotted Dove Fairly common |
| Yellow-footed Green Pigeon Seen at several sites. Photographed at Bharatpur and by the Chambal river |
| Slaty-headed Parakeet Fairly common in the foothills |
| Plum-headed Parakeet Fairly common |
| Rose-ringed Parakeet Very common |
| Tawny Fish Owl 1 at Corbett NP |
| Brown Fish Owl Singles at Ranthambhore NP, Chambal river and Corbett NP |
| Spotted Owlet Fairly common |
| Jungle Owlet Several seen in and around Corbett NP |
| Asian Barred Owlet 1 by the Kosi river in the Corbett area |
| White-breasted Kingfisher Very common |
| Crested (Himalayan Pied) Kingfisher Several seen in the foothills, photographed on the Kosi river |
| Great Barbet Fairly common in the foothills, particularly around Sattal |
| Brown-headed Barbet A few seen, photographed in the grounds of the Chambal river lodge |
| Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker A few seen, photographed near Corbett |
| Himalayan Pied Woodpecker 1 or 2 seen near Pangot |
| Lesser Yellownape Several seen, photographed in the grounds of Dhikala lodge in the Corbett NP |
| Common Woodshrike Several seen. Photographed at Bharatpur |
| Red-vented Bulbul Common in all areas. Seen every day. |
| Himalayan Bulbul Fairly common in the foothills |
| White-eared Bulbul A few seen at Bharatpur and near the Chambal river, where these images were taken |
| Mountain Bulbul 1 at Sattal |
| Southern Grey Shrike Fairly common |
| Long-tailed Shrike Common |
| Yellow-bellied Fantail Fairly common in the foothills |
| White-browed Fantail Fairly common in lowlands, photographed at Ranthambhore |
| White-throated Fantail Fairly common in foothills, photographed at Sattal and Corbett |
| Blue Whistling Thrush Common in the foothills |
| Grey-winged Blackbird A few at Sattal |
| Orange-flanked Bluetail Fairly common in the foothills, photographed at Sattal |
| Himalayan (White-tailed) Rubythroat 1 at Sattal and 1 by the Kosi river near Corbett NP |
| Oriental Magpie Robin Fairly common everywhere |
| Indian (Black) Robin Common in lowlands |
| Little Forktail 1 near Sattal |
| Spotted Forktail Several seen around Sattal, one in Corbett NP |
| Slaty-backed Forktail 3+ near Sattal |
| Plumbeous Water Redstart Common in the foothills, anywhere near water |
| White-capped Water Redstart Fairly common along rivers in the foothills |
| Grey Bushchat Fairly common in the foothills |
| Taiga Flycatcher A few seen, e.g. at Ranthambhore and Corbett |
| Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher A few seen, particularly around Sattal |
| White-crested Laughingthrush Small groups seen at Sattal and in Corbett NP |
| White-throated Laughingthrush Fairly common in the foothills. Photographed at Pangot |
| Other Laughingthrushes Streaked Laughingthrush was the most common laughingthrush in the foothills, plenty seen, one or two of the other species' seen around Sattal/Pangot |
| Jungle Babbler Common |
| Red-billed Leiothrix Several seen, particularly around Sattal |
| Chestnut-headed Tesia 2 singles seen near sites at Sattal |
| Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher Fairly common, particularly in the foothills |
| Northern India Tit species Several of each species seen in the foothills |
| Wallcreeper A few seen by the Kosi river on the outskirts of Corbett NP |
| Indian (Chestnut-bellied) Nuthatch Several seen in the foothills |
| Other Nuthatches White-tailed Nuthatch seen at Pangot, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch photographed in the grounds of Tiger Camp at Corbett |
| Oriental White-eye Fairly common |
| Purple Sunbird Common |
| Maroon Oriole 1 near Dhikala in Corbett NP |
| Bronzed Drongo A few seen in the foothills |
| Spangled Drongo Fairly common, particularly in and around Corbett NP |
| Asian Pied Starling Fairly common |
| Bank Myna Very common in lowlands |
| Common Myna Seen throughout, often very common, though less so at higher altitudes |
| Black-headed Jay Fairly common in the foothills, particularly around Sattal and Pangot |
| Common Green Magpie 1 seen in Corbett NP |
| Rufous Treepie Very common and confiding, particularly at Ranthambhore NP |
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| More non-passerines Black-bellied Tern; Black-headed Ibis; Black-necked Stork (record); Spot-billed Duck; White-breasted Waterhen and Yellow-wattled Lapwing |
| More Owls and Nightjars Collared Scops Owl; Brown Hawk Owl; Grey Nightjar; Large-tailed Nightjar |
| Hornbills and another barbet Great Hornbill; Indian Grey Hornbill; Oriental Pied Hornbill; Blue-throated Barbet |
| More non-passerines II Alexandrine Parakeet; Greater Coucal; Black-rumped and Himalayan Flamebacks; Blue-bearded Bee-eater |
| More passerines Ashy Bulbul; Blue-fronted Redstart; Blue Rock Thrush; Hodgson's Bushchat; Large Grey Babbler; Pied Flycatcher-Shrike; Rufous-bellied Niltava (record); Rufous Sibia (poor), Scarlet Minivet |
| More passerines II Grey-hooded Warbler, Plain Prinia; Striated Prinia; Citrine Wagtail; White-browed Wagtail; Grey Treepie; Indian Silverbill; Dark-breasted Rosefinch; White-capped Bunting |
| Click on the thumbnails below for species galleries: |
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| Black Ibis Several seen, photographed on the Chambal river |