Thattekad Bird Sanctuary
Species
The Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary has a rich and varied birdlife. Several species of birds, both forest birds as well as water birds, visit the sanctuaries; notable ones include the following:
The Indian pitta, which visits the sanctuary during winter and spends almost six months here.
- Orange-headed thrush
- Large-billed leaf-warbler
- Jerdon's nightjar
- Indian cuckoo
- Oriental darter
- Cormorants
- Whiskered terns
- Collared scops owl
- Ceylon frogmouth
- Grey-fronted green pigeon
- Yellow-browed bulbuls
The sanctuary is a habitat for different varieties of cuckoos and a region of the sanctuary popularly called "Cuckoo Paradise" is home to them, among which are the:
- Drongo cuckoo, which may be easily mistaken for drongo,
- Indian hawk cuckoo, which is highly vocal, and the
- Large hawk cuckoo, which looks relatively massive compared to other types of cuckoos, and is characterized by a dark grey and heavily streaked throat.
The Idamalayar forest is located about 15 km from Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary. There is a large evergreen forest to the east and south-east of the Idamalayar Dam, extending from Malakkappara to as far as Rajamala. The mountain hawk eagles are found in this forest. Other birds in this forest include dark-fronted babbler, brown-cheeked fulvetta, brown-backed and white-rumped needletails, and emerald green pigeons.
See also
Gallery
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Ceylon Frogmouth (Sri Lankan Frogmouth), surroundings of Thattekad Bird Sanctuary
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View of Periyar from Pappitta Bird Trail
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A landscape at Thattekad Bird Sanctuary
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A landscape at Thattekad Bird Sanctuary
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Thattekad Reservoir
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Thattekad Bird Sanctuary Trail