More popularly renowned for its forts and palaces, Rajasthan is also a birder’s paradise
Home to nearly 450 species of birds, many of them migratory birds seen in winter, Rajasthan boasts of a vast diversity of bird life. And the best place to take in the deserts and forests under the star-lit sky and watch the lakes teeming with a storm of stunning birds is RAAS Chhatrasagar.
Eco-conscious and design-forward, RAAS was made for nature and nature lovers alike. Birding enthusiasts can experience a taste of how the royals of yore set up camp in the wilderness. Thoughtfully designed amid 1,500 acres of wilderness, Chhatrasagar offers a rare opportunity to engage with the rich birdlife without sacrificing any creature comforts. A truly luxe camping experience, where you can spot coots and tufted ducks savouring the water of the 130-year old reservoir or red-wattled lapwings, streaking through, from your deck chairs while sipping on drinks the same colour as the multi-hued sky or our fine feathered friends delighting you with every dip and twirl.
From inquisitive green bee-eaters and iridescent blue kingfishers to flocks of shoveler ducks, you will learn to open your ears to the forest, rich in birdsong and replete in a grammar that’s all its own.
India hosts a dizzying variety of birds, like a dizzying variety of everything else.
RAAS Chhatrasagar alone is home to over 200 bird species, thanks to our commitment to rewild the land, engage local farming communities and create a lush environment that contributes to a thriving birdlife.
We believe this is particularly important and necessary given that several bird species in India are endangered and their habitats are increasingly threatened, as we rapidly expand roads, mines and steel plants into environmentally sensitive areas.
RAAS Chhatrasagar is quietly making a name for itself as a storied birding destination, and a lavish one that affords you a sensorial experience.
A lazy lake safari will take you to the home of gorgeous avians like great white pelicans and common cormorants. Under the expert guidance of our resident naturalist Bhanu Pratap Singh, guests can expect to be delighted and amazed by how much nature can tell us, if only we learn to look for the signs.
Birding can teach us to appreciate the rewards of being still. You hear a call. You see a flash of colour. A slight flutter and you hold your breath. Suddenly something magnificent appears, as if in a vision. And then disappears gracefully, leaving you with a sense of awe and wonderment.
In the age of information, much of it inconsequential, it’s worth remembering the advice of yogis: Sit still, they say, so still that a bird can land on your head. And at RAAS Chattrasagar, they just might.
Think of it as a secluded retreat, a little slice of paradise where for a brief while, you can forget the world as it is and experience it as it could be — a world that’s in perfect harmony with nature.
BIRDS SEEN AT CHHATRASAGAR
Pelican, Darter, Cormorants and Grebe
1. Great White Pelican
2. Dalmatian Pelican
3. Darter
4. Great Cormorant
5. Little Cormorant
6. Indian Cormorant
7. Great Crested Grabe
8. Little Grebe
Egrets and Herons
9. Great Egret
10. Intermediate Egret
11. Little Egret
12. Cattle Egret
13. Grey Heron
14. Purple Heron
Little Heron, Pond Heron, Night Herons
15. Little Heron
16. Indian Pond Heron
17. Black-crowned Night Heron
Storks, Spoonbill, Famingos and Ibis
18. Wolly-necked Storks
19. Black Stork
20. Lesser Adjuntant
21. White Stork
22. Asian Openbill
23. Painted Stork
24. Eurasian Spoonbill
25. Greater Flamingo
26. Black Headed Ibis
27. Glossy Ibis
28. Black Ibis
Geese and Ducks
29. Grey Lag Goose
30. Bar Headed Goose
31. Lesser Whistling-duck
32. Comb Duck
33. Rudy Sherduck
34. Common Sheduck
35. Cotton Pygmy
36. Red Crested Pochard
37. Common Pochard
38. Ferruginous Pochard
39. Tufted Duck
40. Norther Pintail
41. Common Teal
42. Spot-billed Duck
43. Mallard
44. Gadwal
45. Eurasian Wigeon
46. Gargeney
47. Northern Shoveler
Honey Buzzard and Kites
48. Oriental Honey-buzzard
49. Black-shouldered Kite
Accipiters
50. Northern Goshawk
51. Shikra
52. Eiurasian Sparrowhead
Buzzard
53. Long-leggard Buzzard
54. White-eyed Buzzard
Hawk Eagles
55. Changable Hawk Eagle
56. Bonnelli’s (Hawk) Eagle
57. Booted (Hawk) Eagle
Aquila Eagle
58. (Eastern) Imperial Eagle
59. Tawny Eagle
60. Steppe Eagle
61. Greater Spotted Eagle
Osprey
62. Osprey
Vultures
63. Egyptian Vulture
64. Long Billed Vulture
65. White-rumped Vulture
Harriers
66. Pallied Harrier
67. Montagu’s Harrier
68. Eurasian Marsh Harrier
Snake and Serpent Eagles
69. Snort-toed Snake Eagle
70. Crested Serpent Eagle
Falcons and Falconets
71. Peregrine Falcons
72. Leggar Falcon
73. Common Kestral
74. Red-necked Falcon
75. Eurasian Hobby
Galiforns or Gamebirds
76. Grey Francolin
77. Painted Francolin
78. Rock Bush Quail
79. Rain Quail
80. Common Quail
81. Yellow-legged Buttonquail
82. Barred Buttonquail
Peafowl
84. Indian Peafowl
Cranes
84. Common Crane
85. Sarus Crane
86. Demoiselle Crane
Rails and Gallinules
87. Water Rail
88. White-brested Waterhen
89. Common Moorhen
90. Common Coot
91. Purple Swamphen
Waders
92. Peasant-tailed Jacana
93. Eurasian Thick-knee
94. Great Think-knee
95. Pied Avoctet
96. Black-winged Stilt
97. Small Pratincole
98. Cream-coloured Courser
100. White-tailed Lapwing
101. Sociable Lawping
102. Yellow-wattled Lawping
103. Red-wattled Lawping
104. Little Ronged Plover
105. Kentish Plover
106. Black-tailed Godwit
107. Bar-tailed Godwit
108. Ruff
109. Pacific Golden Plover
110. Eurasian Curlvew
111. Spotted Redshank
112. Common Redshank
113. Common Greenshank
114. Marsh Sandpiper
115. Wood Sandpiper
116. Green Sandpiper
117. Common Sandpiper
118. Common Snipe
119. Dunlin
120. Cerlew Sandpiper
121. Little Stint
Gulls, Terns and Skimmers
129. Chestnut-bellied Sangrouse
130. Painted Sandgrouse
131. Red Collared Dove
132. Eurasian Collared Dove
133. Laughing Dove
134. Spotted Dove
135. Oriental Turtle Dove
136. Yellow-footed Green Pigeons
137. Rock Pigeons
Parakeets
138. Plum-headed Parakeets
139. Rose-ringed Parakeets
Cuckoos and Malkohas
140. Common Hawk Cuckoo
141. Grey-bellied Cuckoo
142. Sirkeer Malkoha
143. Pied Cuckoo
Koels, Coucals and Nightjars
144. Asian Koels
145. Greater Koukals
146. Indian Nightjars
147. Grey Nightjars
148. Eurasian Nightjars
Owls
149. Barn owl
150. Eurasian Eagle Owl
151. Short-eared Owl
152. Spotted Owlet
Swifts
153. Hose (Little) Swifts
Rollers, Kingfishers
154. European Roller
155. Indian Roller
156. Pied Kingfisher
157. White-throated Kingfisher
158. Common Kingfisher
Bee-Eater, Barbets and Hoope
159. Blue-checked Bee-Eater
160. Green Bee-Eater
161. Coppersmith Barbet
162. Commopn Hoopeo
Hornbill
163. Indian Grey Hornbill
Woodpecker and Wryneck
164. Black-rumped Flameback
165. Yellow-crowned woodpecker
166. Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker
167. Eurasian Wryneck
Ioras, Oriole and Pitta
168. Common Lora
169. Eurasian Wryneck
170. Indian Pitta
Larks
171. Indian Bushlark
172. Ashy-crowned Sparrow Lark
173. Black-crowned Sparrow Lark
174. Desert Lark
175. Oriental Sky Lark
176. Greater Short-toed Lark
177. Crested Lark
Swallows and Martins
178. Dusky Crag Martin
179. Barn Shallow
180. Wire-tailed Shallow
181. Red-rumped Shallows
182. Streak-throated Shallows
Drongoa
183. Black Drongo
Woodshrikes and Shrikes
184. Common Woodshrikes
185. Large Woodshrikes
186. Southern Grey Shrikes
187. Long-tailed Shrike
188. Bay-backed Shrike
189. Rufous tailed Shrike
Starlings and Mynas
190. Brahminy Sharling
191. Rosy Starling
192. Common Starling
193. Asian Pied Starling
194. Back Myna
195. Common Myna
Treepies
196. Rufous Treepie
Crows and Ravens
197. House Crow
198. Common Raven
Minivets
199. White-bellied Minivet
200. Small Minivet
Bulbuls
201. red-vented Bulbul
202. White-eared Bulbul
Babblers
203. Yellow-eyed Babbler
204. Jungle Babbler
205. Large Grey Babbler
206. Common Babbler
Flycatcher
207. Red Thoated Flycatcher
208. Grey-headed Canary Flycather
209. Verditer Flycatcher
210. Asian Paradise Flycatcher
211. Black-naped Monarch
212. White-browed Fantail
Prinias
213. Grey-breasted Prinia
214. Ashy Prenia
215. Rufous-frounted Prenia
216. Plain Prenia
Tailorbirds and Warblers
217. Common Tailor Bird
218. Lesser Whitethroated
219. Orpean Warbler
220. Common Chiffchaff
Robins and Redstarts
221. Bluethroat
222. Black redstart
223. Oriental Magpie Robin
224. Indian Robin
Wheatears, Stonechats and Bushchats
225. Isabelline Wheatear
226. Desert Wheatear
227. Finsch’s Wheatear
228. Variable Wheatear
229. Common Stonechat
230. Stoliczka’s Bushchat
231. Pied Bushchat
232. Grey Bushchat
233. Blue Rock Thrush
Creepers
234. Spotted Creeper
Pipits
235. Ovile-backed pipit
236. Tree Pipit
237. Paddyfield Pipit
238. Tawny Pipit
239. Long-billed Pipit
Wagtails
240. White-browed Wagtail
241. Grey Wagtail
242. White Wagtail
243. Yellow Wagtail
244. Citrine Wagtail
White-eyes and Sunbirds
245. Oriental White-eye
246. Purple-rumped Sunbird
247. Purple Sunbird
Silverbill and Munia
248. Indian Silverbill
249. Scaly-Brested Munia
250. Black-headed Munia
Sparrows, Petronias and Weavers
251. House Sparrow
252. Chestnut-shouldered Petronia
253. Baya Weaver
Rosefinches
254. Common Rosefinch
Buntings
255. Black-headed Bunting
256. Red-headed Buntings
257. White-capped Bunting
258. Grey-necked bunting
259. Chestnut-eared Bunting
Published On: January 3rd, 2022Categories: Chhatrasagar
