The Thattekad Bird Sanctuary covers an area of barely 25 km2 between two branches of the Periyar River, yet its rich avifauna prompted Salim Ali, India’s greatest ornithologist, to describe Thattekad as ‘the richest bird habitat on peninsular India’.
Thattekad’s varied natural habitat includes the Periyar river, lagoons, marshes, tropical wet evergreen, semi-evergreen and moist deciduous forests on the foothills of the Western Ghats. Teak, rosewood and red sandalwood are the major trees. This living canvas supports a richly varied fauna of 34 mammalian, 260 bird, 30 reptilian, 15 amphibians and 47 fish species. Thattekad is a hotspot for endemism.
Elephants are seasonal migrants here, frequenting two seasonal streams. Other mammals include sambar, barking deer, sloth bear, porcupine, bonnet macaque, Indian (or Malabar) giant squirrel, and the magnificent Travancore flying squirrel.
Several species of forest birds, water birds and migratory birds including Western Ghat endemics are spotted on the birding trails. The common ones include the powerful crested hawk eagle, paradise flycatcher, Sri Lankan bay owl, Ceylon frogmouth, red spurfowl, grey-headed bulbul, Malabar grey hornbill, Malabar trogon, rufous babbler, crested serpent eagle, rose-billed roller, crimson-throated barbet, Indian Pitta, black bazza, Oriental dwarf kingfisher, Oriental Darter, fairy bluebird, Malabar pied and great Indian hornbills.
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