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250+ years old Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India - a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Intriguing - Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary was established about 250 years ago known as Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary and is named after Shiva temple and was a hunting ground for the Maharajas of Bharatpur. 

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. How to reach Keoladeo National Park?

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: Dr. Raju Kasambe | Update: 14-Mar-2021
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Migratory Birds at Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India

Keoladeo National Park used to be a waterfowl hunting ground as thousands of migratory waterfowl visit the park for breeding. The reserve is a mosaic of diverse habitats including - dry grasslands, woodlands, woodland swamps and wetlands.

Keoladeo National Park is equally rich with its mammal population - right from Leopard Cat, Fshing Cats plus Golden Jackals, Stripe Hyena and Bengal fox ++

You also find raptors like osprey, peregrine falcon, short-toed eagle, tawny eagle, spotted eagle and crested serpent eagle. 

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. How to reach Keoladeo National Park?

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: Gerd Eichmann | Update: 14-Mar-2021
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Rare Feast for Birdwatchers - Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India

The famous Keoladeo National Park or  Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, Rajasthan, India is a man-made wetland - an avifauna sanctuary that houses thousands of birds, especially during its winter season and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Keoladeo National Park is located on the Gangetic Plain making it an unrivaled breeding site for storks, herons or cormorants - the park is an important wintering ground for vast numbers of migrant ducks.

Common waterfowl found at Keoladeo National Park include common teal, little cormorant, great cormorant, painted stork, white spoonbill, oriental ibis, ++ The sarus crane, with its spectacular courtship dance, also lives here. How to reach Keoladeo National Park?

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: Dr. Raju Kasambe | Update: 14-Mar-2021
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Siberian Crane at Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India

Siberian Crane at Keoladeo National Park are easy to spot - as also known as Snow Crane - both genders are distinctive - nearly snowy white, except black wing tips which are clearly seen when they are in flight - their fore-crown, face and side of head is brick red, so is their their serrated bill and they have pink legs.

Siberian Cranes are highly territorial found in small flocks and they feed almost through the day. Their heads are entirely underwater when they feed on submerged plants. They are omnivores and feed on a range of plants their roots, seeds plus prefer earthworms, fish, lemmings or voles. Studies have found that Siberian Cranes prefer animal food only when vegetation is covered by snow.

All Siberian Cranes make the long distance migration - unfortunately their numbers are drastically declining primarily due to hunting and habitat degradation - thus are a rare sight at Keoladeo National Park. 

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. How to reach Keoladeo National Park?

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: Bernard Dupont | Update: 14-Mar-2021
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Sarus Crane at Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India

Sarus Crane at Keoladeo National Park is a social bird found mostly in pairs or small groups of 3 or 4. The tall Sarus Crane is easily distinguished due to its contrasting red head and upper neck + pale red legs.

Known to be monogamous they mate with a single partner for life. They build enormous nests with reeds and grass in natural wetlands - breed during the rainy season - and their clutch usually has 1-2 eggs, which are incubated by both parents for a period of about 4+ weeks. The young ones follow their parents from the day of birth.

Habitat loss and degradation due to draining of the wetland and conversion of land for agriculture is the main threat to the Sarus Crane in India.

Sarus Cranes forage on marshes and shallow wetlands searching for crustaceans, small vertebrate prey, insects as well as roots and tubers. 

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. How to reach Keoladeo National Park?

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: Sourav Ghosh | Update: 14-Mar-2021
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Painted Storks at Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India

Painted Storks at Keoladeo National Park enjoy feeding in groups or flocks that range from 5 to 50 commonly found in shallow wetlands along lakes or rivers.

Painted Storks are waders - they do so to stir the water with their feet to flush out the hiding out small fish or frogs. They immerse their beaks which are half open and sweep it side to side till they sense their prey and snap it up as soon as they touch it. Once fed they can literally stand still on the bank or shore for long a long time.

The adult Painted Storks have pink legs and typically fly with their neck as well as their head drooped almost at or below their belly level. 

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. How to reach Keoladeo National Park?

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: Forkanika | Update: 14-Mar-2021
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Wood Sandpiper at Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India

Wood Sandpiper at Keoladeo National Park is a thrush-sized, tail-bobbing wader with a short fine bill, white belly, a brown back with pale spotting and pale yellowish legs.

Wood Sandpiper forage by probing wet mud or shallow water predominantly preying on insects. They either builds nests on the ground or may use an abandoned old nest are found to lay four pale green eggs usually between March and May.

Wood Sandpiper young or adults are known to potentially cross distances of 2000–4000+ km in one non-stop flight. 

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. How to reach Keoladeo National Park?

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: J M Garg | Update: 14-Mar-2021
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Verditer Flycatcher Eumyias at Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India

Verditer Flycatcher at Keoladeo National Park a (Eumyias thalassinus) species that is distinctive with a vivid turquoise blue shade - found usually perched upright in hill forests and forest edges predominantly feeding on insects and their larvae, bees and wasps. During the egg laying phase the female Flycatcher hunt for calcium rich prey like snails and woodlice. 

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. How to reach Keoladeo National Park?

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: Dr. Raju Kasambe | Update: 14-Mar-2021
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Spotted Owlet at Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India

Spotted Owlet at Keoladeo National Park is a greyish-brown stocky bird streaked with white spots - it has distinctive white eyebrows and neckband too.

Spotted Owlets are nocturnal though it may not be uncommon to sight them during the day. Perched in a tree it preys on insects bats, toads, small snakes and eats even scorpions.

Spotted Owlets have a loud and a harsh call that you may hear when it is active at dawn or dusk. 

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. How to reach Keoladeo National Park?

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: Himansu Tripathy | Update: 14-Mar-2021
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Red Wattled Lapwing at Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India

Red Wattled Lapwing at Keoladeo National Park is a large plover and a wader with a characteristic loud alarm call that indicates human or animal movements.

Red Wattled Lapwings are seen in pairs or small flocks that are not far from water - and being ground birds they are incapable of perching.

Lapwings feed during the day and at times in the night - their diet includes a snails, invertebrates and many insects. 

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. How to reach Keoladeo National Park?

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: Bernard Dupont | Update: 14-Mar-2021
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Parrots at Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India

Parrots at Keoladeo National Park - are commonly found nesting in tree hollows or cavities and typically lay white eggs from which hatch altricial young parrots [Altricial species are the ones whose young ones are incapable of moving around on their own soon after hatching or being born.)

Parrots have a curved bill, strong legs and clawed feet. While most Parrots have a primary vivid colore you also find species that have multiple vibrant colors.

Whilst they feed on flower buds, fruits, pollen, nectar, berries - most Parrots actually enjoy seeds - and their powerful bill has evolved enough to crack open hard seeds as well as remove the poisonous seed coat. 

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. How to reach Keoladeo National Park?

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: Rahul Dey | Update: 14-Mar-2021
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Eurasian Golden Oriole at Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India

The Eurasian Golden Oriole at Keoladeo National Park known simply as the Golden Oriole - and are found pick insects out of crevices - they also feed on fruits making them omnivores.

The build a deep cup-shaped nest high in the tree - and the nest held tight by plant fibres and lined with fine grass, feathers and wool. Their clutch commonly consists of 3 to 5 eggs. The eggs hatch after about 16+ days and the young birds are fed by both parents. Their clutch is seldom lost to predators as both the parents vigorously defend their nest. 

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. How to reach Keoladeo National Park?

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: Bernard Dupont | Update: 14-Mar-2021
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Spot-billed Duck at Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India

Indian Spot-billed Duck at Keoladeo National Park is so named as it has a characteristic red spot at the base of a yellow tipped bill.

Its easy to spot them from a distance due to their distinct white tertials that form a stripe on the side when dabbling in fresh water lakes.

Spot-billed Duck hides its nests within vegetation near water bodies and have chicks that are black with a yellow back. They feed on snails, worms, insect larvae as well as plants - they also prefer rice when walking around cultivated fields. 

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. How to reach Keoladeo National Park?

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: J M Garg | Update: 14-Mar-2021
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Greyleg Geese at Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India

Greyleg Geese at Keoladeo National Park - is a large bird with mottled grey white plumage, a short orange beak and pink legs.

Greylag Geese normally mate for life and build nest on the ground amongst vegetation. They are also known to have both homosexual as well as heterosexual partners.

Greylag Geese prefer being herbivorous and are usually eating all the time on young actively growing grasses - plus berries + water plants like duckweed or sweetgrass. They are also known to feed on mollusks, crustaceans, small fish and amphibians. Its not uncommon to find them grazing with sheep or cows and in winter they occupy semi-aquatic habitats. 

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. How to reach Keoladeo National Park?

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: J M Garg | Update: 14-Mar-2021
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Ruddy Shelduck at Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India

Ruddy Shelducks at Keoladeo National Park are also known as Brahminy Duck in India. They have a orange-brown body plumage - usually found in pairs or small flocks near water-bodies or reservoirs, lakes and rivers. They commonly build a nest in a crevice or hole in a tree or rocks - and both parents believed to be paired for life, look after their young ones.

Ruddy Shelducks are migratory birds predominantly nocturnal and omnivores - so feed on both young shoots of plants, grain, water plants plus aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates. Ruddy Shelduck dabbles in the shallow water and on land it forages on foliage. 

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. How to reach Keoladeo National Park?

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: J M Garg | Update: 14-Mar-2021
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Lesser Whistling Duck at Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India

The Lesser Whistling Duck at Keoladeo National Park is also known as Indian Whistling Duck or Lesser Whistling Teal.

Usually gregarious by nature Lesser Whistling Ducks are nocturnal feeders and found in flocks during daytime mostly in lakes and fresh water wetlands. They usually feed on water plants, small fish, mollusks, worms and if around paddy fields than they also feed on rice grains.

Known in India also as Sili and Silhahi - Lesser Whistling Ducks sometimes build their nest in the hollow of a tree. 

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. How to reach Keoladeo National Park?

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: Koshy | Update: 14-Mar-2021
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Egyptian Vulture at Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India

Egyptian Vulture at Keoladeo National Park is known by many interesting names - one being Pharaoh's Chicken and the other a White Scavenger Vulture.

The Egyptian Vulture is commonly found solo or in pairs either soaring high with other birds of prey, or perched on the ground or atop a rock.

It has distinctive wedge-shaped tail and being an opportunist it preys on small mammals, birds, reptiles, bird eggs and insects hidden in dung - though commonly feed mainly on carrion or decaying flesh.

A riveting note is that Egyptian vultures roll up wool around twigs for building their nests - and are known to use pebbles as a hammer to break bird eggs.

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. How to reach Keoladeo National Park?

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: J M Garg | Update: 14-Mar-2021
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Common Hoopoe Upupa at Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India

Common Hoopoe Upupa at Keoladeo National Park - are notable for their distinctive crown of colorful feathers. Hoopoe's enjoy sun bathing where they seem to almost preen spreading out their wings - they are also known to enjoy dust and sand baths.

Hoopoe predominantly feed on crickets, locusts, beetles, earwigs, cicadas, bugs, ants and at times eat smaller reptiles, frogs, seeds and berries.

Its common foraging style is to stride around on flat ground or in a pile of leaves - pause and probe with its bill that detects and digs out pupa, larvae, crickets and insects from the ground.

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. How to reach Keoladeo National Park?

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: Dr. Raju Kasambe | Update: 14-Mar-2021
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Common Snipe at Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India

The Common Snipe at Keoladeo National Park is a pudgy wader and typically found in marshes and wet meadows.

Common Snipe is a shy bird with short legs and their body is mottled brown with an intricate pattern of usually 3 long Buffy streaks down their back and a striped head - that helps it conceal itself around vegetation.

Mostly inconspicuous, Common Snipes usually forage in soft mud or wood stumps - it starts by probing with its very long bill and picking up food by sight preferring to eat insects, earthworms and plant material. 

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. How to reach Keoladeo National Park?

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: J M Garg | Update: 14-Mar-2021
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Common Kingfisher at Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India

Common Kingfisher at Keoladeo National Park - is typically a sparrow-sized bird with short tail and a large head. It has blue upperparts, orange underparts and a long bill. Note their color hues vary depending on their geographic location. The female Kingfisher is almost similar to the male in its appearance except that her lower mandible (jaw) is orange-red with a black tip

Common Kingfisher feeds mainly on fish (minnows, sticklebacks, small roach or trout) - they have special vision that enables them to spot their prey under water - usually perched on a branch it catches its prey by diving in - it plunges swiftly and steeply down to seize its prey.

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. How to reach Keoladeo National Park?

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: Himansu Tripathy | Update: 14-Mar-2021
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Indian Roller at Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India

Indian Rollers at Keoladeo National Park are best known for their distinctive aerobatic displays - one is talking about 'male Indian Rollers' especially during the breeding season.

A brilliantly colored stocky bird with a brownish breast - whereas its crown, belly and vent are in various shades of blue. Its tail is sky blue and the central feathers are dull green.

Rollers at times are perched really high - have varied tastes - they feed on grasshoppers, crickets, spiders, scorpions, small snakes and amphibians. 

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. How to reach Keoladeo National Park?

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: J M Garg | Update: 14-Mar-2021
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Citrine Wagtail at Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India

Citrine Wagtail at Keoladeo National Park - its a slender songbird who constantly wags its tail and is usually found in wet meadows. [SongBirds include about 5000 or so bird species who have  a well-developed vocal organ that produces an elaborate bird song.]

Breeding male Citrine Wagtail have a spectacular bright yellow head with contrasting body colors - black collar and gray back.

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. How to reach Keoladeo National Park?

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: J M Garg | Update: 14-Mar-2021
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Turtles at Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India

Indian roofed turtle at Keoladeo National Park is usually found in quiet streams, canals, ponds or man-made water tanks. It is easy to spot turtles in the morning as they enjoy basking in the early morning sun.

Keoladeo National Park houses seven species of turtles out of the ten species of turtles found in Rajasthan - it is common to find the skipper frog and the bullfrog in the wetlands. You may easily catch a python or two basking in the sun and the park also has venomous snakes such as krait, cobra and russell’s viper. 

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Keoladeo National Park near Agra, located in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. How to reach Keoladeo National Park?

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: Bernard Dupont | Update: 14-Mar-2021
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How to reach Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India?

Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan, India is a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

How to reach Keoladeo National Park by air? Which is the nearest airport to
Keoladeo National Park ?
You could reach Keoladeo National Park by air either by traveling to Delhi or Jaipur. Nearest airport is Agra Airport but it has very limited connectivity.
Distance between Delhi International Airport to Keoladeo National Park is about 211 km.
Distance between Jaipur International Airport to Keoladeo National Park is about 188 km.

How to reach Keoladeo National Park by train? Which is the nearest railway station to Keoladeo National Park ?
Bharatpur railway station is the nearest to Keoladeo National Park and it is at a distance of about 5.5 km.

How to reach Keoladeo National Park by road?
Game driving to Keoladeo National Park - seems like a short drive of less than 1-4 hours…
Distance between Agra and Keoladeo National Park is 56 km
Distance between Mathura and Keoladeo National Park is 44 km
Distance between Jaipur and Keoladeo National Park is 183 km
Distance between Delhi and Keoladeo National Park is 223 km

The best time to visit Keoladeo National Park (okd name Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary) is through the year - if you prefer opting for the cooler months than between November to February is ideal time to travel to Keoladeo National Park.

Tag : Keoladeo National Park | Content: gud2travel.com | Image: Bernard Dupont | Update: 14-Mar-2021