India GOBirds of Kochi
Black-crowned night heron
With the little cormorant it forms the breeding colony that makes Mangalavanam, a 2.74-hectare mangrove patch behind the High Court, the green lung of central Kochi. Nesting there has been recorded from February to July, with the greatest variety of birds in May and July, and the house crow is the colony's main nest predator.
Nycticorax nycticorax
Sri Lanka frogmouth
Salim Ali called Thattekad the richest bird habitat in peninsular India, and it became Kerala's first bird sanctuary on his recommendation; over 300 species have been recorded. It is the most reliable place in India to see this bird.
Batrachostomus moniliger
Malabar grey hornbill
The riverside forest at Athirappilly and Vazhachal holds all four south Indian hornbills, this one included, and young people of the Kadar community guard their nests: by 2019 their watch covered 114 hornbill nests.
Ocyceros griseus
Great hornbill
It is the state bird of Kerala, and the Athirappilly-Vazhachal forest is the only place in South India where all four southern hornbills occur together. Nesting at Vazhachal starts in mid-December: the female seals herself into a tree hollow and the male feeds her through a slit for months, which is why specific old nest trees (Vateria indica, Palaquium ellipticum, Bombax ceiba and others) matter so much. The Kadar community here has protected this habitat for about two decades.
Buceros bicornis
Indian pitta
It is a winter visitor here, not a resident: birds arrive around November and leave before the monsoon, so a summer search for one will fail.
Pitta brachyura
Lesser whistling duck
Vembanad-Kol is a Ramsar site, and January Asian Waterbird Counts here have recorded over twenty thousand waterbirds of thirty-odd species in a single season.
Dendrocygna javanica
The full catalogue, hidden spots and districts on the map, plus “nearby” mode.
Open in India GO