Nagarahole Tiger Reserve

National Park · India

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Photo © Rohitjahnavi

Photo © Rohitjahnavi — CC BY 4.0 — Source: Wikimedia Commons

Where granite escarpments rise above dense deciduous forests and the Kabini River carves through pristine wilderness, one of India's most biodiverse landscapes unfolds across the Western Ghats. This 643-square-kilometre reserve pulses with ecological richness, its terrain shifting from sal and teak forests to bamboo thickets and grassland clearings that support an astonishing array of fauna. The reserve's varied elevations and water sources create distinct habitat zones, each supporting specialized species. Monsoon rains animate the landscape between June and September, transforming dry riverbeds into flowing waterways that draw wildlife in concentrated numbers.

For serious wildlife photographers and ornithologists, few destinations rival the photographic opportunities and bird diversity on offer here. The reserve's tiger population provides the headline draw, but Asian elephants, gaur, and elusive wild dogs are equally compelling subjects. The dry season, from December through May, concentrates animals around water sources, rewarding patient observers with intimate encounters. Guided jeep safaris and boat excursions along the Kabini offer complementary perspectives, while the reserve's proximity to Bandipur and Mudumalai creates an unparalleled circuit for extended natural history expeditions.

Pitta brachyura

Crested Serpent Eagle

Spilornis cheela

Red-whiskered Bulbul

Pycnonotus jocosus

Oriental Magpie-Robin

Copsychus saularis

White-throated Kingfisher

Halcyon smyrnensis

White-browed Wagtail

Motacilla maderaspatensis

Malabar Grey Hornbill

Ocyceros griseus

Greater Racket-tailed Drongo

Dicrurus paradiseus

Black-rumped Flameback

Dinopium benghalense

Spilopelia chinensis

Pericrocotus flammeus

Little Cormorant

Microcarbo niger

Grey Junglefowl

Gallus sonneratii

Paddyfield Pipit

Indian Spot-billed Duck

Anas poecilorhyncha

Coracias benghalensis

Indian Pond Heron

Passer domesticus

Long-tailed Shrike

Mycteria leucocephala

Changeable Hawk-Eagle

Nisaetus cirrhatus

Acridotheres fuscus

White-cheeked Barbet

Psilopogon viridis

Malabar Starling

Sturnia blythii

Plum-headed Parakeet

Psittacula cyanocephala

Red-vented Bulbul

Pycnonotus cafer

Anastomus oscitans

Great Cormorant

Phalacrocorax carbo

Pseudibis papillosa

Brahminy Starling

Sturnia pagodarum

Oriental Darter

Anhinga melanogaster

Purple-rumped Sunbird

Leptocoma zeylonica

Common Kingfisher

Black-headed Ibis

Threskiornis melanocephalus

Southern Hill Myna

Ploceus philippinus

Motacilla cinerea

Vernal Hanging Parrot

Loriculus vernalis

Tickell's Blue Flycatcher

Cyornis tickelliae

Jerdon's Bush Lark

Plocealauda affinis

Pericrocotus cinnamomeus

White-rumped Munia

Lonchura striata

Egretta garzetta

Blue-winged Parakeet

Psittacula columboides

Saxicola caprata

Western Yellow Wagtail

Motacilla flava

Crimson-backed Sunbird

Leptocoma minima

Centropus sinensis

Red-headed Vulture

Sarcogyps calvus

Acridotheres tristis

Yellow-footed Green Pigeon

Treron phoenicopterus

Tachyspiza badia

White-rumped Vulture

Gyps bengalensis

Yellow-browed Bulbul

Acritillas indica

Lesser Whistling Duck

Dendrocygna javanica

Aegithina tiphia

Lanius cristatus

Dusky Crag Martin

Ptyonoprogne concolor

Dicrurus macrocercus

Indian Grey Hornbill

Ocyceros birostris

Large-billed Crow

Corvus macrorhynchos

Pandion haliaetus

White-bellied Woodpecker

Dryocopus javensis

Indian White-eye

Zosterops palpebrosus

Golden-fronted Leafbird

Chloropsis aurifrons

Orange-headed Thrush

Geokichla citrina

Streak-throated Woodpecker

Picus xanthopygaeus

Black-winged Stilt

Himantopus himantopus

Tringa glareola

Tachybaptus ruficollis

Loten's Sunbird

Cinnyris lotenius

Ketupa zeylonensis

Velvet-fronted Nuthatch

Sitta frontalis

Rose-ringed Parakeet

Psittacula krameri

Prinia socialis

Ardea intermedia

Indian Black-lored Tit

Machlolophus aplonotus

Indian Paradise Flycatcher

Terpsiphone paradisi

Coppersmith Barbet

Psilopogon haemacephalus

Malabar Flameback

Chrysocolaptes socialis

Psilopogon malabaricus

Grey-headed Fish Eagle

Icthyophaga ichthyaetus

Nilgiri Flowerpecker

Dicaeum concolor

Cinnyris asiaticus

Harpactes fasciatus

Dicrurus aeneus

Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Lark

Eremopterix griseus

Chestnut-tailed Starling

Sturnia malabarica

Grey-fronted Green Pigeon

White-breasted Waterhen

Amaurornis phoenicurus

Yellow-wattled Lapwing

Vanellus malabaricus

Malabar Woodshrike

Tephrodornis sylvicola

Anthus trivialis

Scaly-breasted Munia

Lonchura punctulata

Crested Honey Buzzard

Pernis ptilorhynchus

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater

Merops leschenaulti

Sterna aurantia

Wire-tailed Swallow

Hirundo smithii

Eastern Red-rumped Swallow

Cecropis daurica

Indian Golden Oriole

Asian Brown Flycatcher

Muscicapa dauurica

Clamator jacobinus

Blue-tailed Bee-eater

Merops philippinus

Bar-headed Goose

Cotton Pygmy Goose

Nettapus coromandelianus

Galloperdix spadicea

Ortygornis pondicerianus

Sri Lanka Frogmouth

Batrachostomus moniliger

Tachymarptis melba

Eudynamys scolopaceus

Grey-bellied Cuckoo

Cacomantis passerinus

Fork-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo

Surniculus dicruroides

Cuculus micropterus

Oriental Turtle Dove

Streptopelia orientalis

Spilopelia senegalensis

Common Emerald Dove

Chalcophaps indica

Gallinula chloropus

Bronze-winged Jacana

Metopidius indicus

Green Sandpiper

Tringa ochropus

Common Greenshank

Tringa nebularia

Indian Cormorant

Phalacrocorax fuscicollis

Eurasian Spoonbill

Platalea leucorodia

Black-crowned Night Heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

Aviceda leuphotes

Hieraaetus pennatus

Bonelli's Eagle

Aquila fasciata

Crested Goshawk

Lophospiza trivirgata

Western Marsh Harrier

Circus aeruginosus

White-bellied Sea Eagle

Icthyophaga leucogaster

White-eyed Buzzard

Glaucidium radiatum

Indian Scops Owl

Otus bakkamoena

Spot-bellied Eagle-Owl

Ketupa nipalensis

Strix leptogrammica

Stork-billed Kingfisher

Pelargopsis capensis

Pied Kingfisher

Blue-bearded Bee-eater

Nyctyornis athertoni

Heart-spotted Woodpecker

Hemicircus canente

Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker

Yungipicus nanus

Lesser Yellownape

Picus chlorolophus

Common Flameback

Dinopium javanense

Rufous Woodpecker

Micropternus brachyurus

Peregrine Falcon

Falco peregrinus

Alexandrine Parakeet

Psittacula eupatria

Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike

Hemipus picatus

Ashy Woodswallow

Indian Cuckooshrike

Black-headed Cuckooshrike

Lalage melanoptera

Black-hooded Oriole

Oriolus xanthornus

White-bellied Drongo

Dicrurus caerulescens

White-spotted Fantail

Rhipidura albogularis

White-browed Fantail

Rhipidura aureola

Black-naped Monarch

Hypothymis azurea

Dendrocitta vagabunda

Corvus splendens

Galerida malabarica

Flame-throated Bulbul

Rubigula gularis

White-browed Bulbul

Pycnonotus luteolus

Greenish Warbler

Phylloscopus trochiloides

Large-billed Leaf Warbler

Phylloscopus magnirostris

Western Crowned Warbler

Phylloscopus occipitalis

Blyth's Reed Warbler

Acrocephalus dumetorum

Grey-breasted Prinia

Prinia hodgsonii

Prinia inornata

Common Tailorbird

Orthotomus sutorius

Yellow-eyed Babbler

Chrysomma sinense

Indian Scimitar Babbler

Pomatorhinus horsfieldii

Puff-throated Babbler

Pellorneum ruficeps

Yellow-billed Babbler

Asian Fairy-bluebird

Indian Nuthatch

Indian Blackbird

Turdus simillimus

White-rumped Shama

Copsychus malabaricus

Verditer Flycatcher

Eumyias thalassinus

Blue-throated Blue Flycatcher

Cyornis rubeculoides

White-bellied Blue Flycatcher

Cyornis pallidipes

Jerdon's Leafbird

Chloropsis jerdoni

Pale-billed Flowerpecker

Dicaeum erythrorhynchos

Little Spiderhunter

Arachnothera longirostra

Yellow-throated Sparrow

Gymnoris xanthocollis

Tricolored Munia

Lonchura malacca

Amandava amandava

Dendronanthus indicus

Knob-billed Duck

Sarkidiornis melanotos

Spatula querquedula

Northern Shoveler

Spatula clypeata

Anas platyrhynchos

Northern Pintail

Jungle Bush Quail

Perdicula asiatica

Painted Bush Quail

Perdicula erythrorhyncha

Jungle Nightjar

Caprimulgus indicus

Jerdon's Nightjar

Caprimulgus atripennis

Indian Nightjar

Caprimulgus asiaticus

Crested Treeswift

Hemiprocne coronata

Indian Swiftlet

Aerodramus unicolor

White-rumped Spinetail

Zoonavena sylvatica

Brown-backed Needletail

Hirundapus giganteus

Asian Palm Swift

Cypsiurus balasiensis

Sirkeer Malkoha

Taccocua leschenaultii

Banded Bay Cuckoo

Cacomantis sonneratii

Large Hawk-Cuckoo

Hierococcyx sparverioides

Cuculus canorus

Nilgiri Wood Pigeon

Columba elphinstonii

Eurasian Collared Dove

Streptopelia decaocto

Green Imperial Pigeon

Malabar Imperial Pigeon

Grey-headed Swamphen

Porphyrio poliocephalus

Ruddy-breasted Crake

Barred Buttonquail

Turnix suscitator

Great Stone-curlew

Esacus recurvirostris

Indian Stone-curlew

Burhinus indicus

Pacific Golden Plover

Pluvialis fulva

Anarhynchus alexandrinus

Greater Painted-snipe

Rostratula benghalensis

Pheasant-tailed Jacana

Hydrophasianus chirurgus

Black-tailed Godwit

Pin-tailed Snipe

Gallinago stenura

Gallinago gallinago

Common Sandpiper

Actitis hypoleucos

Marsh Sandpiper

Tringa stagnatilis

Temminck's Stint

Calidris temminckii

Calidris minuta

Small Pratincole

Glareola lactea

Sternula albifrons

Hydroprogne caspia

Chlidonias hybrida

Brown-headed Gull

Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus

Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus

Lesser Adjutant

Leptoptilos javanicus

Ciconia ciconia

Plegadis falcinellus

Western Reef Heron

Egretta gularis

Spot-billed Pelican

Pelecanus philippensis

Black-winged Kite

Elanus caeruleus

Egyptian Vulture

Neophron percnopterus

Short-toed Snake Eagle

Circaetus gallicus

Legge's Hawk-Eagle

Nisaetus kelaarti

Rufous-bellied Eagle

Lophotriorchis kienerii

Indian Spotted Eagle

Greater Spotted Eagle

Eurasian Sparrowhawk

Accipiter nisus

Circus macrourus

Lesser Fish Eagle

Icthyophaga humilis

Eastern Barn Owl

Ninox scutulata

Oriental Scops Owl

Mottled Wood Owl

Malabar Pied Hornbill

Anthracoceros coronatus

Oriental Dollarbird

Eurystomus orientalis

Speckled Piculet

Picumnus innominatus

Yellow-crowned Woodpecker

Leiopicus mahrattensis

White-naped Woodpecker

Chrysocolaptes festivus

Falco tinnunculus

Red-necked Falcon

Falco chicquera

Common Woodshrike

Tephrodornis pondicerianus

Black-naped Oriole

Oriolus chinensis

Hair-crested Drongo

Dicrurus hottentottus

Bay-backed Shrike

Lanius vittatus

White-bellied Treepie

Dendrocitta leucogastra

Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher

Culicicapa ceylonensis

Rufous-tailed Lark

Ammomanes phoenicura

Oriental Skylark

Mongolian Short-toed Lark

Calandrella dukhunensis

Square-tailed Bulbul

Hypsipetes ganeesa

Hirundo rustica

Streak-throated Swallow

Petrochelidon fluvicola

Tickell's Leaf Warbler

Phylloscopus affinis

Phylloscopus nitidus

Clamorous Reed Warbler

Acrocephalus stentoreus

Thick-billed Warbler

Arundinax aedon

Zitting Cisticola

Cisticola juncidis

Prinia sylvatica

Tawny-bellied Babbler

Dumetia hyperythra

Dark-fronted Babbler

Dumetia atriceps

Brown-cheeked Fulvetta

Alcippe poioicephala

Large Grey Babbler

Copsychus fulicatus

Brown-breasted Flycatcher

Muscicapa muttui

Luscinia svecica

Malabar Whistling Thrush

Myophonus horsfieldii

Indian Blue Robin

Larvivora brunnea

Rusty-tailed Flycatcher

Ficedula ruficauda

Red-breasted Flycatcher

Taiga Flycatcher

Ficedula albicilla

Blue Rock Thrush

Monticola solitarius

Siberian Stonechat

Saxicola maurus

Streaked Weaver

Indian Silverbill

Euodice malabarica

Black-throated Munia

Lonchura kelaarti

Citrine Wagtail

Motacilla citreola

Anthus campestris

Olive-backed Pipit

Anthus hodgsoni

Common Rosefinch

Carpodacus erythrinus

Centropus bengalensis

Butorides striata

Aviceda jerdoni

Yellow-browed Warbler

Phylloscopus inornatus

Tytler's Leaf Warbler

Phylloscopus tytleri

Paddyfield Warbler

Acrocephalus agricola

Wayanad Laughingthrush

Pterorhinus delesserti

Eastern Yellow Wagtail

Motacilla tschutschensis

Panthera tigris

Elephas maximus

Panthera pardus

Indian Giant Squirrel

Malabar Sacred Langur

Semnopithecus hypoleucos

Eurasian Wild Pig

Stripe-necked Mongoose

Urva vitticollis

Smooth-coated Otter

Lutra perspicillata

Northern Red Muntjac

Muntiacus vaginalis

Jungle Palm Squirrel

Funambulus tristriatus

Indian Gray Mongoose

Melursus ursinus

Semnopithecus johnii

Indian Palm Squirrel

Funambulus palmarum

Lepus nigricollis

Indian Flying Fox

Pteropus medius

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