In April 2025, Birdwatching Asia was privileged to have been invited for a 10-day birding trip around North India, organized by Asian Adventures. And where better to start our Indian adventure by going birding at Ranthambore National Park! Located near the southern border of Rajasthan, this national park is well-known the world over for offering close encounters of the striped feline kind. Nevertheless, it’s also an excellent birding destination.

Birding at Ranthambore National Park: Trip Report

This stunning wildlife preserve was the first stop on our North India birding adventure. We spent 3 days and 2 nights here (7-9 April 2025). During our visit, we stayed at the luxurious Ranthambore Heritage Haveli Hotel, located just outside the park boundary.

For me, birding at Ranthambore NP offered something I’ve never done before, which is birding in a dry forest environment. Our hotel area was even more arid, as it’s surrounded by desert/dry scrub. It’s truly an eye-opener, as these habitat types are in stark contrast to the dense jungles of my home country, Malaysia.

Our Experience Birding at Ranthambore NP

Birding at Ranthambore National Park is done via safari excursions. For obvious reasons, access to the park is strictly on safari vehicles only. There are two types of vehicles: 6-seat jeeps and 20-seater ‘canters’ (truck-like vehicles with an open top). For our safaris, we went on the canters.

Our visit to Ranthambore came at the peak of the dry season. Coincidentally, this was also the best time to see the main stars of Ranthambore: the Bengal Tiger. The dry and hot weather forces the big cats (and other animals) to seek the cool respite of water bodies, hence making them more visible.

Needless to say, 99% of visitors to Ranthambore during our visit were interested in one thing only: to see the tigers! I was pretty sure we were the only birders there at the time. Unfortunately for us, this meant the safari drivers prioritized searching for the tigers first, with other wildlife (such as birds) being merely secondary objectives. Even so, we had a great time, and saw plenty of birds.

Species Seen While Birding at Ranthambore NP

We visited two zones within the park: Zone 3 in the morning, and Zone 2 in the afternoon. The park encompasses a variety of habitats, ranging from freshwater wetlands fringed with dry deciduous forests to grasslands, rocky cliffs and boulder-strewn streams.

The following are several standout species:

1. Asian Wooly-necked Stork. This stately bird is very aptly named, since it really has a wooly-looking neck! We spotted a pair of these birds at the lake near the entrance of Zone 3. 
2. Great Thick-knee. Certainly my favourite bird of Ranthambore. An amazing-looking shorebird that’s mainly found around inland water bodies. Their name is somewhat misleading, as the ‘thick’ part of their legs isn’t their ‘knee’, but rather their ‘ankle’. 
3. Indian Peafowl. The national bird of India was ubiquitous throughout the park. Nevertheless, seeing them in the wild was still special. Despite their size, they can fly quite well. Indeed, they’ll fly up and take refuge among the tall trees as darkness falls.
4. River Tern. With their large size, yellow bill and forked tail, these terns reminded me of a souped-up version of the familiar Little Tern. As their name suggests, this is an inland species not found at sea.
5. Rufous Treepie. It was a bit weird seeing a treepie living in semi-arid habitats, as treepies in Malaysia live in dense, wet jungles! The Rufous Treepie is rather common around India, but a beautiful bird nonetheless.
6. White-bellied Drongo. Unlike other drongos we’re familiar with, this one stands out by virtue of its white belly. 

Ranthambore’s Royalties

While our main objective was birding, it would’ve been foolish of us to ignore Ranthambore’s roaring royalties. Since we’ve never seen wild tigers before, we were very excited to have the opportunity to see them from the safety of a safari vehicle.

And saw them, we did! Thankfully, the tigers weren’t difficult to find, as we saw one within 15 minutes of entering Zone 3. We got excellent views, as they were used to being around the safari vehicles. During the morning safari, we saw a total of 4 tigers, one mother and her three, almost adult cubs. The afternoon session was similarly successful, as we saw another three individuals within Zone 2.

Unlike other countries in Asia, the tiger population in India is actually increasing, the result of effective conservation measures – the so-called ‘Project Tiger’. This project has been on-going since 1973, and has successfully established many tiger reserves throughout the country. Ranthambore NP is one of these reserves, balancing conservation and ecotourism effectively.

Birding Around Our Hotel

Besides birding at Ranthambore NP, we also took time to search for birds around our hotel. The hotel was surrounded by desert and scrub that, despite being dry and semi-arid, was surprisingly chock-full of birds. In one of our sessions, we logged 55 species in two hours!

Several notable species are highlighted below:

1. Painted Sandgrouse. Sandgrouse are a group of birds that resemble a cross between a pigeon and a partridge. These birds are typically found in arid habitats; thus aren’t found in Malaysia. Needless to say, this bird was our first ever sandgrouse! Despite its bold patterns, this bird was almost impossible to spot as it crouched quietly on the ground, until it’s too late. Consequently, we couldn’t get any photos of this amazing bird.
2. Several types of shorebirds. There were several small water bodies around the hotel which attracted several species, including the Spotted Redshank and Green Sandpiper.
3. Eurasian Wryneck. A weird-looking woodpecker with a cool scientific name – Jynx torquila.
4. Bay-backed Shrike
5. Wire-tailed Swallow
6. Jungle Babbler, Common Babbler and Large Grey Babbler. These common birds are actually drab-looking cousins of the laughingthrushes.
7. Indian Robin. A smaller, browner cousin of the familiar Oriental Magpie-Robin
8. Purple Sunbird. 
9. Migratory passerines, such as the Western Yellow Wagtail, Siberian Stonechat and Grey-necked Bunting. These were all resplendent in their breeding plumage.

A Desirable Detour

After saying goodbye to Ranthambore, we headed northeast, towards Bharatpur. But before reaching Bharatpur, our guide made sure we took a short detour to a cluster of red sandstone hills in order to see a special bird. The bird in question was none other than the critically endangered Indian Vulture.

According to our guide, the population here is small but holding steady, thanks to concerted conservation efforts. Nevertheless, the future of the species remains uncertain. Like several other vulture species found in Asia, the Indian Vulture has suffered precipitous declines in its population due to the previous widespread use of the drug diclofenac in cattle. This drug is toxic to the birds, which inadvertently ingest it when scavenging on dead livestock. While veterinary use of the drug has largely ceased in India, the Indian Vulture population has yet to recover to previous levels.

I was absolutely chuffed to see this species, not only due to its rarity but also because it’s my first ever vulture! Hopefully this species will survive well into the future, so others may have the chance to see this magnificent bird for themselves.

Conclusion

Birding at Ranthambore National Park was the perfect introduction to birding in North India. Despite the dry and hot conditions, birdlife was fantastic, and we saw a multitude of species including many lifers. Additionally, the gorgeous scenery and encounters with the majestic Bengal Tigers made the experience even more wholesome. 

Next up: Keoladeo Ghana National Park in Bharatpur!

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REFERENCES

Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C. & Inskipp, T. (2016) Helm Field Guides Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. Christopher Helm, London, England.