India GOBirds of Varanasi
Brown-headed gull
The gulls that wheel around the boats from November onwards breed on high lakes in Ladakh and Tibet. They are fed from the boats; conservation groups ask visitors not to, because bread and fried snacks are poor food for them.
Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus
Ruddy shelduck
Known as chakwa-chakwi, the pair that is separated every night and reunited at dawn. It is one of the oldest images of longing in Indian verse.
Tadorna ferruginea
Black kite
In several north Indian cities kites are deliberately fed meat from rooftops, a practice with both Sufi and Hindu framings; the birds have adapted their daily movements to it.
Milvus migrans
Indian pond heron
Its Hindi name means “blind heron”, from the way it lets people walk almost up to it before flying: patience, not blindness.
Ardeola grayii
Rose-ringed parakeet
The parrot on a shoulder is a stock image of Indian miniature painting and of the pet trade that once fed on it; trade in Indian parakeets is now illegal, and the birds you see are wild.
Psittacula krameri
House crow
At Varanasi the crow's role in the Pitru Paksha rites is at its most visible: through that fortnight, food set out for ancestors on the ghats is left for crows to take.
Corvus splendens
The full catalogue, hidden spots and districts on the map, plus “nearby” mode.
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