Sariska National Park, Rajasthan
23/1/99 - 26/1/99
by
Clive Harris
A family trip, only 4 hours drive from our house in Delhi. Most birding
done from Gypsy rides into park. This is probably a relatively good way
of seeing francolins and quails. I took one walk up along the river
from the Sariska Palace Lodge. This produced the fish-eagle (see bird
list), perched on a tree over the river, probably the most unexpected
bird of the trip. We also spent one hour at the hotel overlooking
Siliserh Lake. Nice views and some good birds, but not a safe place for
toddlers. There were arid, open areas outside the park (overgrazed
areas?) which might have been good for larks and other semi-desert
specialists, but I never got a chance to explore them. If you are
really only interested in birds, the jeep trips are quite good, as long
as you get them to go slowly, and stop every now and then.
Francolins. I had hoped to see a Painted Francolin as Sariska is
supposed to be a good guide for this species. There are very large
numbers of Grey Francolin, and I did see a male Black Francolin. We
also saw two francolin that were neither Grey nor male Black, but they
disappeared before I could get them in the binocs. In "Birds of the
Indian Subcontinent" (Grimmett, Inskipp & Inskipp), Black and Painted
Francolins are reported to hybridize where their ranges meet. This makes
me wonder whether the Painted Francolins at Sariska are hybrids or not.
Buntings. Both White-capped and Crested Buntings were very common.
Mammals. No luck with tigers, though alarm calls were heard, a killed
deer (being eaten by Wild Boar!) was also seen as were pugmarks. Hard
to look for these when you have two noisy toddlers in the jeep! However,
there were abundant Spotted and Sambar Deer, Wild Boar, Nilgai, Langur,
Rhesus Macque as well as Jackal and Jungle Cat.
Bird List
1 Grey Francolin Francolinus pondicerianus
2 Black Francolin F. francolinus
Single male.
3 Jungle Bush Quail Perdicula asiatica
Several coveys crossing road.
4 Indian Peafowl Pavo cristatus
5 Greylag Goose Anser anser
Lake Siliserh.
6 Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea
7 Spot-billed Duck A. poecilorhyncha
8 Northern Shoveler A. clypeata
9 Northern Pintail A. acuta
10 Common Teal A. crecca
11 Common Pochard Aythya ferina
Lake Siliserh.
12 Tufted Duck A. fuligula
Lake Siliserh.
13 Barred Buttonquail* Turnix suscitator
Two birds crossing road.
14 Yellow-crowned Woodpecker Dendrocopos mahrattensis
15 Black-rumped Flameback Dinopium benghalense
16 Coppersmith Barbet Megalaima haemacephala
Heard only.
17 Common Hoopoe Upupa epops
18 Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis
19 Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis
20 White-throated Kingfisher Halcyon smyrensis
21 Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis
22 Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis
23 Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri
24 Plum-headed Parakeet P. cyanocephala
25 House Swift Apus affinis
26 Spotted Owlet Athene brama
27 Rock Pigeon Columba livia
28 Laughing Dove Streptopelia senegalensis
29 Spotted Dove S. chinensis
30 Eurasian Collared Dove S. decaocto
31 Yellow-legged Green Pigeon Treron phoenicoptera
32 Sarus Crane Grus antigone
En route from Delhi.
33 Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus
34 Common Coot Fulica atra
Lake Siliserh.
35 Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus
36 Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucus
37 Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus
38 Yellow-wattled Lapwing Vanellus malabaricus
En route from Delhi.
39 Red-wattled Lapwing V. indicus
40 River Tern Sterna aurantia
Lake Siliserh.
41 Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hyrbida
Lake Siliserh area.
42 Oriental Honey-buzzard Pernis ptilorhynchus
43 Black-shouldered Kite Elanus caeruleus
44 Black Kite Milvus migrans
45 Greyheaded Fish Eagle* Icthyophaga icthyaetus
Seen on walk up river from
Palace Lodge.
46 Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus
47 White-rumped Vulture Gyps bengalensis
48 Long-billed Vulture G. indicus
49 Red-headed Vulture Sarcogyps calvus
Both adult and immatures seen.
50 Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus
51 Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus
52 Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis
53 Little Cormorant Phalacrocorax niger
54 Indian Cormorant P. fuscicollis
55 Great Cormorant P. carbo
56 Little Egret Egretta garzetta
57 Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
58 Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
59 Great Egret Casmerodius alba
60 Indian Pond-heron Ardeola grayii
61 Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus
Lake Siliserh. Single bird (identified by underwing pattern)
fishing with cormorant flock.
62 Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala
63 Asian Openbill Anastomus oscitans
Lake Siliserh.
64 Black Stork Ciconia nigra
Flock of 34 at small lake inside park.
65 Woolly-necked Stork C. episcopus
Single bird with Black Storks.
66 Bay-backed Shrike Lanius vittatus
67 Long-tailed Shrike L. schach
68 Southern Grey Shrike L. meridionalis
Outside park only.
69 Rufous Treepie Dendrocitta vagabunda
70 House Crow Corvus splendens
71 Small Minivet Pericrocotus cinnamomeus
72 White-browed Fantail Rhipidura aureola
73 Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus
74 Blue Whistling-Thrush Myophonus caeruleus
75 Red-throated Flycatcher F. parva
76 Grey-headed Flycatcher Culicicapa ceylonensis
77 Oriental Magpie Robin Copsychus saularis
78 Indian Robin Saxicoloides fulicata
79 Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros
80 Common Stonechat Saxicola torquata
81 Pied Bushchat S. caprata
82 Brahminy Starling Sturnus pagodarum
83 Asian Pied Starling S. contra
84 Common Myna Acridotheres tristis
85 Bank Myna Acridotheres ginginianus
86 Great Tit Parus major
87 Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
88 Wire-tailed Swallow H. smithii
89 Red-rumped Swallow H. daurica
90 Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer
91 Grey-breasted Prinia Prinia hodgsonii
92 Ashy Prinia P. socialis
93 Oriental White-eye Zosterops palpebrosus
94 Common Tailorbird Orthotomus atrogularis
95 Common Chiffchaff Phylloscopus tristis
96 Hume's Warbler P. humeii
97 Yellow-eyed Babbler Chrysomma sinense
98 Common Babbler Turdoides caudatus
99 Large Grey Babbler T. malcolmi
100 Jungle Babbler T. striatus
101 Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia hortensis
102 Indian Bushlark* Mirafra erythroptera
Single bird in open scrub seen from dirt track inside park.
103 Purple Sunbird Nectarinia asiatica
104 White Wagtail Motacilla alba
105 White-browed Wagtail M. maderaspatensis
106 Grey Wagtail M. cinerea
107 House Sparrow Passer domesticus
108 Indian Silverbill Lonchura malabarica
109 Common Rosefinch* Carpodacus erythrinus
Quite common.
110 Crested Bunting Melophus lathami
Common along main road.
111 White-capped Bunting* Emberiza stewarti
Very common, especially on dirt tracks.
A * means this was a life bird.
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