Join the ABA and Rockjumper for the 2016 ABA safari to northern India! Perhaps the world’s richest cultural landscape, India boasts a staggering geographical di- versity, from deserts and forests to tropical, palm-lined shores to the snow-capped peaks of the impossibly high Himalayas. This ABA Safari starts and ends in the capital of New Delhi, an excellent hub for the rich avifauna and iconic mammalian mega-fauna of northern India. Our safari explores two of the most famous birding and wildlife national parks in northern India: the royal wildfowl sanctuary of Keoladeo National Park at Bharatpur, with its spectacular Northern wetlands; and fabled Ranthambhore National Park, a reserve widely known as one of the best places to see the Bengal Tiger, and also a spectacular birding destination. We invite you to join us for this unforgettable celebration of India’s incred- ible birds, iconic mammals, dramatic scenery, rich history and kaleidoscope of cultures! Please see p. 21 for more information. India —George Armistead, ABA Events Coordinator Sarus Cranes and Great Hornbills, Adam Riley • Cascades, South Africa • [email protected] Black-rumped Flameback. Mudamulai National Park, Tamil Nadu. Photo by © Adam Riley. Gray-headed Canary-Flycatcher. Eravikulam National Park, Kerala. Photo by © Adam Riley. Park, Assam. Photo by © Adam Riley. © Adam by Assam. Photo Park, Hornbill. Great Kaziranga National Kaziranga 44 BIRDINg • June 2015 ore than 100 million years ago, the miles (10% of the Asian continent or 3.3% MIndian plate broke away from the of the world’s land surface) but support great southern landmass known as 45% of Asia’s human population and more Gondwanaland and crept northward at a than 25% of the world’s population. slower-than-glacial pace, eventually crash- With more than 1.2 billion citizens, ing into the Eurasian plate. This process India is the world’s second most popu- thrust up the Himalayas, now the world’s lous country, although it’s only the sev- greatest mountain range. Today, the vast enth largest country in area. Nevertheless, Indian subcontinent, also referred to as it’s still a massive nation, encompassing South Asia, is dominated by the Repub- more than 1.2 million square miles. De- lic of India. Other South Asian nations in- spite the high population density, India is clude Pakistan and Bangladesh (the trio a treasure trove for the wildlife watcher. of Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh made Conservation International includes In- up British India), as well as the Himalayan dia among the 17 “mega-diversity” na- nations of Bhutan and Nepal and the scat- tions that support most of the world’s Brahminy Starling. Khujaraho, tered isles of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. plant and animal life. Parts of India are Madhya Pradesh. Photo by © Adam Riley. These countries occupy 1.7 million square matched only by Africa for the big game Painted Spurfowl. Ranthambhore National Park, Rajasthan. Photo Tigers and the Taj Mahal, by © Adam Riley. andand More!More! Painted Stork. Velavadar National Park, Gujarat. Photo by © Adam Riley. ABA.ORG/BIRDING 45 ABA SAFARI experience, and its total of 291 mammal cellent mammal opportunities (includ- species—most famously the bulk of the ing the best chance of seeing a tiger in world’s tiger population—is formidable. the wild), a staggering cultural expe- Boasting no fewer than 1,274 bird spe- rience, and breathtaking landscapes cies, of which 82 are endemic, India’s from the endless Gangetic Plains to the bird list is surpassed only by Indonesia snow-capped Himalayas. The recom- and China outside the Neotropics. mended time is the northern winter Getting to grips with such a vast and from November to February when tem- bird-rich country is a formidable chal- peratures are pleasant and large num- lenge to any world-birder. To obtain a bers of Palearctic and Himalayan mi- comprehensive coverage of South Asia, grants are present. a big lister would need to visit northern, Situated on the expansive Gangetic southern, northeastern, and western In- Plains, the natural starting point for ex- dia, as well as Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Ne- ploring Northern India is India’s sprawl- pal. Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Mal- ing capital, New Delhi. Despite a bur- Indian Peafowl. Bharatpur, Rajasthan. Photo by © Adam Riley. dives offer relatively limited opportunities geoning population in excess of 16 mil- for supplementing a big lister’s life list. lion people, more than 450 bird species have been recorded within the bound- his article focuses on northern In- aries of Delhi giving the city the title of Tdia, which is the classic Indian bird- the second highest bird list of any na- ing tour. Northern India is on any list of tional capital in the world. (Nairobi is the ten must-do birding journeys on the the winner.) Any leafy suburb or pub- planet. If you have not been to India, lic garden teems with birds; Lodi Gar- this is the recommended introduction, den is a great example. Typical Indian offering world- urban species include Black-rumped Red Avadavit. Bharatpur, class birding, ex- Flameback, an impressive Rajasthan. Photo by © Adam Riley. Bar-headed Goose. Bharatpur, Rajasthan. Photo by © Markus Lilje. 46 Birding • June 2015 Kalij Pheasant. Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand. Photo by © Adam Riley. woodpecker, noisy groups of Jungle Bab- blers, Rose-ringed and Alexandrine para- keets, Brown-headed and Coppersmith barbets, Oriental Magpie-Robin, Red-whis- kered Bulbul, and a diversity of starlings in- cluding Asian Pied and Brahminy as well as Common and Bank mynas. Farther afeld, but within close proxim- ity to the city, excellent birding sites in- clude Okhla Sanctuary on the holy Yamu- na River. Although Okhla is one of the most polluted and flthy places I have ever visited, it also counts as one of the locations hosting the most birds I have ever seen. Waterfowl, famingoes, gulls, shorebirds, and passerine migrants are everywhere during the north- ern winter, and desiderata include Brown Crake, Jack Snipe, White-tailed Stonechat, Streak-throated Swallow, and Red Avada- vat. Tughlaqabad Fort is another superb birding and historical site. This deserted, walled city was built within a dry scrubby zone that supports Rufous-tailed Lark, Ru- fous-fronted Prinia, and the strange Sirkeer Malkoha. A little farther from the city is Sul- tanpur Lake National Park, also known as Himalaya view from Nainital, Uttarakhand. Photo by © Adam Riley. ABA.ORG/BIRDING 47 ABA SAFARI Sultanpur Jheel. (A jheel is a pool ging the roadways. People are con- or lake, usually seasonally inundat- tinuously busy, going about their ed.) This park hosts water birds and daily chores, be it selling roasted overwintering raptors, among them peanuts and vegetables from carts, Painted Stork, Bar-headed Goose, collecting cow patties for cooking and Imperial and Greater Spotted fuel, or working the felds. eagles. The key location at the end of However, time around Delhi is this journey is Keoladeo National only a precursor to even better sites! Park, an extensive series of shallow River Lapwing. Near Ranthambhore National ponds artifcially created as a duck- Park, Rajasthan. Photo by © Adam Riley. eading southward into the regal hunting preserve by a former ma- Hstate of Rajasthan, one reaches haraja of Bharatpur. Now it is a wet- the birding mecca of Bharatpur. A land sanctuary attracting thousands frst-time visitor’s primary taste of of wintering waterfowl, shore- traditional India is usually experi- birds, cranes, and raptors. The enced when exiting New Delhi to best method for exploring the re- the quieter, but nevertheless hu- serve is by means of bicycle rick- manity-flled rural areas. One pass- shaw, following the network of es through small towns and villag- raised dikes that crisscross the lab- es and farming homesteads where yrinth of ponds. These rickshaws, people still live lives little changed each capable of transporting only by the modern world. Domestic two people, are operated by lo- livestock abound including camels, cal guides, many of whom know donkeys, goats, sheep, holy cows the park and its birds intimate- Chestnut-headed Tesia. Kosi River near Jim Corbett and, at times, even elephants clog- ly. Scanning through the water National Park, Uttarakhand. Photo by © Adam Riley. Gypsy family. near Bharatpur, Rajasthan. Photo by © Markus Lilje. 48 Birding • June 2015 bird assemblage is a treat, and frst- while Wire-tailed and Red-rumped time visitors are often overwhelmed swallows hawk insects overhead. Rap- by the staggering numbers of species. tors are especially well represented in Regulars include Knob-billed Duck, the reserve, with concentrations of large Lesser Whistling-Duck, and Indian migrant eagles such as Eastern Imperi- Spot-billed Duck, Pied and White- al, Greater Spotted, Steppe, and Indian throated kingfshers, Oriental Dart- Spotted being of special interest. Other er, Indian Pond-Heron, Woolly-necked raptors include Short-toed Snake-Eagle, and Black-necked storks, Asian Open- Bonelli’s and Booted eagles, Eurasian Spotted Owlet. Gir National Park, bill, Black-headed Ibis, Dalmatian Marsh-Harrier, Shikra, Eurasian Spar- Gujarat. Photo by © Adam Riley. Pelican, Pheasant-tailed and Bronze- rowhawk, and Laggar Falcon. winged jacanas, Greater Painted-Snipe, Extensive areas of arid acacia-dom- and White-tailed Lapwing. inated woodland and dry grasslands Standing at nearly six feet tall, the world’s tallest fying bird, the Sarus Crane, is joined during the north- ern winter by small numbers of mi- gratory Common Cranes. Sadly, the population of Siberian Cranes that overwintered here were extirpated in 2002. Marshy edges attract a variety of migrant passerines including Blue- throat, Blyth’s and Clamorous reed war- blers, and Western Yellow, Citrine, White and White-browed wagtails, Greater Painted Snipes. Bharatpur, Rajasthan.