List of Bird Sanctuaries In India With Map | UPSC

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary

• The famous Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is also known as Keoladeo Ghana National Park .
• It is situated in Rajasthan.
• Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is one of the best bird sanctuaries in India and one of the finest bird parks in the world.
• Apart from the Great Thar Desert, Big forts and beautiful lakes, the Birds of Bharatpur Sanctuary are one of the major tourist attractions in Rajasthan.
• Thousands of rare and highly endangered birds come here during the winter season.

Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary

• The Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary is the oldest bird sanctuary in India
• It Is situated in Tamil Nadu.
• The Vedanthankal Lake region attracted a variety of birds such as pintail, garganey, grey wagtail, blue-winged teal, common sandpiper.
• One-sixth of the landmass of Tamil Nadu is covered with forests, which is a paradise for animal lovers and bird watchers.
• Kunthakulam bird sanctuary and Pulicat lake bird Sanctuary are also famous for bird watching situated at the border of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary

• Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary is situated near to the banks of the Kaveri River in Karnataka.
• Exotic migratory birds like light Ibis, Egret, Partridge, Heron, River Tern, Snake Bird, stone Plougher are the attraction for the tourist.
• This is an important tourist destination of Mysore and is located about 20 kilometers from the famous Brindavan garden lies adjoining the Krishnarajasagara dam.

Kaundinya Bird Sanctuary

• Kaundinya Bird Sanctuary is one of the best bird sanctuaries in India, situated near Chittor in Andhra Pradesh.
• The habitat is rugged with high hills and deep valleys and Kaigal and Kaundinya are two beautiful streams, which flow through the sanctuary.
• Kaundinya Sanctuary offers the best of wildlife and bird watching in India.
• Kolleru Lake Bird Sanctuary also offers a variety of migratory birds to its largest freshwater Kolleru Lake.

• Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary is also known as Vembanad Bird Sanctuary is situated in Kerala, near the famous Vembanad Lake.
• It offers a home to a large number of migratory birds like Flycatcher, Teal, Siberian Stork, Crane, Parrots, and Wood Beetle by riding a houseboat will be the best way for birdwatching in Kerala.
• Nehru Trophy Boat Race is a popular Vallam Kali (boat race) held in the Punnamada Lake near Alappuzha, Kerala on the second Saturday of August every year.
• Vembanad Lake is also known as Vembanad Kayal, Vembanad Kol, Punnamada Lake.
• It is a favorite spot for migratory birds .

Other bird Sanctuaries in Kerala are : 

• Mangalavanam and Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary, situated on the banks of the Periyar River and famous for some of the rarest species of birds and other unique fauna.

• Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary is an estuarine mangrove habitat, which is declared as the bird sanctuary, and located on the western tip of the Island of Chorão along the Mandovi River in Goa.
• The sanctuary is named after Salim Ali, the eminent Indian ornithologist.

• The Mayani Bird Sanctuary is globally reckoned for its gigantic range of species for migratory birds situated in the Satara district of Maharashtra.
• Many migratory birds pass through the area, such as Flamingos from Siberia come in large numbers.
• It is one of the most prominent and Famous Bird Sanctuaries in India.

• Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary, consisting primarily of the lake and ambient marshes, is situated about 64 km to the west of Ahmedabad near Sanand Village, in Gujarat.
• Mainly inhabited by migratory birds in winter and spring, it is the largest wetland bird sanctuary in Gujarat, and one of the largest in India.
• Nalsarovar in Gujarat is a bird watcher’s paradise, one can find rosy pelicans, lesser and greater flamingos, crakes, brahminy ducks, purple moorhen, herons, white storks, various species of bitterns, grebes, etc in the lake.

• Pulicat Lake is the second-largest brackish water ecosystem in the country after Chilika Lake (Odisha).
• Pulicat Lake is located on the border of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
• It lies majorly in Andhra Pradesh.
• The sanctuary is most noted for the many greater flamingos seen here.
• It also attracts many migratory birds and also is a feeding and nesting ground for aquatic and terrestrial birds such as pelicans, storks, etc.
• The large varieties of birds like grey pelicans, painted storks, visit the site annually.
• Grey Pelican and Painted Stork both are near-threatened species under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

• Atapaka Bird Sanctuary at Kolleru Lake is an important safe breeding ground for two migratory species namely, Grey Pelicans and Painted Storks.
• Grey Pelican and Painted Stork both are near-threatened species under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
• Kolleru lake is located between the deltas of the Krishna and Godavari rivers in Andhra Pradesh.