Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary also known as Keoladeo Ghana National Park is
one of prominent bird sanctuary in the world. Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary
is a very popular birding spot in India. It is the largest bird
sanctuaries in Asia. It was founded in the year 1956 and was declared
as a national park on 10 March 1982. It is among one of the best bird
sanctuaries.
The sanctuary is a very peaceful place to watch unique Indian and
foreign birds. Different types of migratory birds come here from
Russia and Siberia during winters. This sanctuary covers an area of
about 29 square kms. In this sanctuary more than 280 species of birds
are found.
This sanctuary is visited by more than 300 species of water birds every
year like
the rare Siberian cranes from Siberia and
the migratory birds from
Afghanistan, Tibet,
Central Asia. |
Keoladeo Ghana National Park |
Keoladeo is derived from an ancient Hindu temple which is devoted to
Lord Shiva, which is situated at the centre of the park. 'Ghana' means
dense, which exactly means thick forest, which used to cover the area.
This national park is one of the best duck shooting wetlands in the
world. It was also the hunting area for the royal family of
Bharatpur. A residence has also been built by Maharaja in Keoladeo.
During ancient times, Bharatpur town gets flooded regularly at every
monsoon. To save the town, from the floods an earthen dam (Ajan Dam)
was built in the year 1760. Afterwards, the misery which is due to the
extraction of soil was finally sort out, and this became the Bharatpur
Lake. |
Prominent attractions of this park are the various migratory birds
which come from Central Asia, Russia and Siberia and spend their
winters in Bharatpur. Then these birds return to their homes. These
migratory birds include: Brahminy ducks,
herons, Siberian crane, ibis, egrets, painted storks, geese, pelicans,
and darters. Animals like Mongoose, Jungle Cat, Fishing Cat, Wild
Boar, Chital, Otter, Hyena, Porcupine, Jackal, Rock Python, Nilgai,
Leopard, Sambhar, Fox etc are also found in the park. Local birds are
also found in the sanctuary like Herons, Blue Jays, Cormorants,
Kingfishers, Orioles, Eagles, Harriers, Egrets, Storks, Spoonbills,
Warblers, Stints, Wheatears, Parakeets, Larks, Flamingoes, Paradise
Flycatchers, Shrikes, Cranes, Buntings, Pipits, Wagtails, Hawks etc.
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