Chitwan Jungle Birding and Wildlife Safari

Birds to look for

None of them is promised: wild birds keep their own plans.

★ seen with guests on this trip

• ★ Bengal Florican (seen with guests on this trip)

  Houbaropsis bengalensis

  Kasara and the Core Grasslands · 150 m · March to May · sometimes seen

  “Male display flights over the grassland”

• Indian Pitta

  Pitta brachyura

  Baghmara Community Forest · 150 m · April to May · sometimes seen

  “Arrives for the breeding season”

• ★ Great Hornbill (seen with guests on this trip)

  Buceros bicornis

  Baghmara Community Forest · 150 m · sometimes seen

  “Its wingbeats whoosh like a steam train. Unforgettable.”

• ★ Oriental Pied Hornbill (seen with guests on this trip)

  Anthracoceros albirostris

  Baghmara Community Forest · 150 m · usually seen

  “Black and white with a big casque, calling noisily over the canopy.”

• Spotted Owlet

  Athene brama

  Sauraha · 150 m · usually seen

  “Peering at you with a scowl from a tree hole.”

• Black-necked Stork

  Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus

  Rapti River · 150 m · sometimes seen

  “Tall, dramatic and iridescent, a showpiece of the wetland.”

• Pallas's Fish-Eagle

  Haliaeetus leucoryphus

  Rapti River · 150 m · sometimes seen

  “A big, pale-headed eagle with a white band across its dark tail, calling loudly over the river.”

• Red-headed Vulture

  Sarcogyps calvus

  Kasara and the Core Grasslands · 150 m · sometimes seen

  “A black vulture with a scarlet head and white thigh patches, a real thrill above the sal forest.”

• White-rumped Vulture

  Gyps bengalensis

  Kasara and the Core Grasslands · 150 m · with a little luck

  “A beautiful sight when vultures wheel over the river forest, and always a good day.”

• Slender-billed Vulture

  Gyps tenuirostris

  Kasara and the Core Grasslands · 150 m · with a little luck

  “A long, bare-necked vulture that rides the warm air over the grassland with the white-rumps.”

• Indian Paradise-Flycatcher

  Terpsiphone paradisi

  Baghmara Community Forest · 150 m · March to May · sometimes seen

  “White males with long tails”

• Blue-eared Kingfisher

  Alcedo meninting

  Baghmara Community Forest · 150 m · sometimes seen

  “On the shaded forest streams”

• Stork-billed Kingfisher

  Pelargopsis capensis

  Rapti River · 150 m · sometimes seen

  “A huge red bill and a laughing call on forest rivers.”

• ★ Pied Kingfisher (seen with guests on this trip)

  Ceryle rudis

  Rapti River · 150 m · almost always seen

  “Hovers over the water, then plunges.”

• Ibisbill

  Ibidorhyncha struthersii

  Rapti River · 150 m · December to February · with a little luck

  “Winter visitor to the shingle bars”

With guests

• March 2026, Kasara and the Core GrasslandsWaiting for the florican

  

  with Placeholder Guest D and friends, Australia

  In March the grass at Kasara is shorter after the annual cutting, and if you are lucky, you can find the Bengal Florican in its display. We left the lodge in the dark and sat in the jeep at the edge of the grassland with the engine off, a thermos of tea passing between us.

  For almost an hour there was just the grass, the dawn chorus, and the cold. Then a black-and-white shape shot up out of the field, wings quivering, hung in the air for a moment and dropped back out of sight. My guests laughed out loud. It was the sort of thing you can only appreciate by seeing it.

  Seen that day: Bengal Florican, Spotted Deer, Hog Deer, Black Francolin, Greater One-horned Rhinoceros

  “We went in March, and Krishna took us out to Kasara before sunrise to wait in the grass for a Bengal Florican display. When the male leapt into the air I could hardly believe it. Bis Hazari Tal on the last morning, with jacanas on the lily pads, was a lovely way to finish. Placeholder review.”

• February 2026, Rapti RiverDrifting past a rhinoceros

  

  with Placeholder Guest C and son, United Kingdom

  The Rapti is at its best in the cold hour after sunrise, when mist still lies on the water and the canoeman hardly needs to paddle. We had seen a Gharial on a sandbar, a Pied Kingfisher hovering over its pool, and a pair of Ruddy Shelducks on a spit, when I saw a grey shape at the edge of the tall grass.

  A Greater One-horned Rhinoceros stood knee-deep and was feeding, quite undisturbed by our silence. My guest's son, who was eleven, held his breath for what felt like a whole minute. I think he decided that morning that he wanted to become a naturalist.

  Seen that day: Greater One-horned Rhinoceros, Gharial, Pied Kingfisher, Ruddy Shelduck, Mugger Crocodile

  “The canoe ride at dawn was the highlight for me, with Gharials on the sandbars, kingfishers everywhere and a rhinoceros feeding on the far bank. Krishna's eye for birds is incredible, and he made the Great Hornbill in the forest feel like a gift. Our lodge was comfortable and the walks were relaxed. Placeholder review.”

• February 2026, Baghmara Community ForestThe sound of a hornbill

  

  with Placeholder Guests M and N, Switzerland

  We were walking the sal forest in single file when I heard it before anyone else: a rhythmic whoosh, like a steam train a long way off. A Great Hornbill was crossing the forest overhead and its wings were beating the air with each stroke.

  It landed on a bare branch and began to feed on a fig, a huge yellow casque and a bill like a banana. My guests hardly dared to breathe. A pair of Oriental Pied Hornbills joined it, and we stood there for twenty minutes with the forest all to ourselves.

  Seen that day: Great Hornbill, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Red Junglefowl, Indian Peafowl, Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush

A day on this trip

We go out at six, on the river or in the forest while it's cool, and come back for lunch and a rest through the heat of the day. At about three we head out again until dusk; the walks are flat and slow, with plenty of waiting for the light.

The way, day by day

1. Day 1
   Sauraha150 m · Spotted Owlet, Oriental Magpie-Robin

   1. Sauraha150 m · 3 nights

      Our base for three nights on the north edge of the park. The lodge gardens are good for bee-eaters, barbets and sunbirds, and the Rapti River is a short walk away.

   2. Elephant Breeding Centre, Khorsor150 m

      A gentle afternoon walk to meet the elephants and their calves, run by the park. The quiet sal edges around the compound are a good first look at the forest birds.

   Birds 26: Oriental Magpie-Robin, Red-vented Bulbul, Black Drongo, Common Myna, Asian Pied Starling, Green Bee-eater, Rufous Treepie, Common Tailorbird, Coppersmith Barbet, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Indian Roller, Lineated Barbet, Spotted Owlet, Greater Coucal, Long-tailed Shrike, Common Iora, Black-hooded Oriole, Common Hoopoe, Red-breasted Parakeet, Black-crested Bulbul, Asian Koel, Crimson Sunbird, Cattle Egret, Indian Peafowl, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Red Junglefowl

   Mammals 2: Rhesus Macaque, Asian Elephant

   Butterflies 1: Common Mormon

   Plants 2: Silk-cotton Tree, Sal

2. Day 2
   Rapti River · Baghmara Community Forest150 m · Indian Pitta, Great Hornbill

   1. Rapti River150 m

      We slip into a long dugout canoe in the cool of dawn and drift downriver in near silence. Gharials sun themselves on the sandbars, kingfishers hunt from the snags, and sometimes a rhinoceros wades in the shallows at the other bank.

   2. Baghmara Community Forest150 m

      A community-run buffer-zone forest where we walk slowly with a local naturalist, listening for woodpeckers, hornbills and pittas. Rhinoceros and Spotted Deer are regular, and we keep a respectful distance from the big animals.

   Birds 63: ★ Pied Kingfisher (seen with guests on this trip), White-throated Kingfisher, Great Egret, Little Egret, Intermediate Egret, Indian Pond-Heron, Little Cormorant, Red-wattled Lapwing, White Wagtail, Common Kingfisher, Grey Heron, Oriental Darter, River Lapwing, River Tern, Great Thick-knee, Asian Openbill, Woolly-necked Stork, Stork-billed Kingfisher, Black-necked Stork, Purple Heron, Grey-headed Fish-Eagle, Pallas's Fish-Eagle, Lesser Adjutant, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Grey Wagtail, Citrine Wagtail, ★ Ruddy Shelduck (seen with guests on this trip), Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Small Pratincole, Ibisbill, Brown Fish-Owl, ★ Red Junglefowl (seen with guests on this trip), Jungle Babbler, Common Iora, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Black-hooded Oriole, ★ Indian Peafowl (seen with guests on this trip), ★ Oriental Pied Hornbill (seen with guests on this trip), Greater Flameback, Lesser Flameback, Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker, ★ Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush (seen with guests on this trip), Small Minivet, Golden-fronted Leafbird, Pin-striped Tit-Babbler, Yellow-footed Green-Pigeon, Tickell's Blue Flycatcher, Bronzed Drongo, ★ Great Hornbill (seen with guests on this trip), Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Orange-bellied Leafbird, White-rumped Shama, Maroon Oriole, Lesser Yellownape, Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker, Jungle Owlet, Hill Myna, Blue-eared Kingfisher, Orange-headed Thrush, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Indian Paradise-Flycatcher, Indian Pitta

   Mammals 12: ★ Greater One-horned Rhinoceros (seen with guests on this trip), Spotted Deer, Wild Boar, Smooth-coated Otter, Bengal Tiger, Northern Plains Gray Langur, Rhesus Macaque, Hog Deer, Sambar, Barking Deer, Sloth Bear, Leopard

   Reptiles 4: ★ Gharial (seen with guests on this trip), ★ Mugger Crocodile (seen with guests on this trip), Bengal Monitor, Indian Rock Python

   Plants 1: Sal

3. Day 3
   Kasara and the Core Grasslands · Tharu Village, Sauraha150 m · Bengal Florican, Red-headed Vulture

   1. Kasara and the Core Grasslands150 m

      A full-day jeep drive into the heart of the national park, via the Kasara headquarters. The great grasslands here are the home of the Bengal Florican, and the sal forest and wetlands bring hornbills, vultures and, with luck, a glimpse of the elusive big animals.

   2. Tharu Village, Sauraha150 m

      An easy late-afternoon walk through a Tharu village with mud-and-thatch houses and golden fields. Weaver nests hang in the trees and the evening ends with a local meal and a stick dance.

   Birds 40: Red Junglefowl, Indian Peafowl, Plain Prinia, Common Iora, ★ Black Francolin (seen with guests on this trip), Striated Grassbird, Chestnut-capped Babbler, Crested Serpent-Eagle, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Great Hornbill, Swamp Francolin, Egyptian Vulture, Oriental Honey-buzzard, Lesser Adjutant, Black-necked Stork, Woolly-necked Stork, ★ Bengal Florican (seen with guests on this trip), Pied Harrier, Greater Spotted Eagle, Red-headed Vulture, White-rumped Vulture, Slender-billed Vulture, Jerdon's Babbler, Baya Weaver, Black Drongo, Common Myna, Asian Pied Starling, Cattle Egret, Indian Pond-Heron, Red-wattled Lapwing, Scaly-breasted Munia, Indian Roller, Long-tailed Shrike, Common Hoopoe, Spotted Owlet, Rose-ringed Parakeet, White-throated Kingfisher, Green Bee-eater, Shikra, Citrine Wagtail

   Mammals 11: ★ Spotted Deer (seen with guests on this trip), Wild Boar, Rhesus Macaque, ★ Greater One-horned Rhinoceros (seen with guests on this trip), ★ Hog Deer (seen with guests on this trip), Northern Plains Gray Langur, Sambar, Gaur, Sloth Bear, Bengal Tiger, Leopard

   Reptiles 4: Gharial, Bengal Monitor, Mugger Crocodile, Indian Rock Python

   Butterflies 3: Plain Tiger, Common Rose, Lemon Pansy

   Plants 1: Kans Grass

4. Day 4
   Bis Hazari Tal190 m · Lesser Whistling-Duck, Little Grebe

   1. Bis Hazari Tal190 m

      The "twenty thousand lakes" of Bis Hazari, a Ramsar-listed wetland in the community forest north of the park. A last dawn walk around the shore gives jacanas, storks, kingfishers and, if we are lucky, rhinoceros bathing in the shallows.

   Birds 30: Lesser Whistling-Duck, Little Grebe, Grey-headed Swamphen, White-breasted Waterhen, Common Moorhen, Bronze-winged Jacana, Great Egret, Little Cormorant, Indian Pond-Heron, White-throated Kingfisher, Cotton Pygmy-Goose, Indian Spot-billed Duck, Purple Heron, Oriental Darter, Asian Openbill, Woolly-necked Stork, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Black-necked Stork, Painted Stork, Lesser Adjutant, Grey-headed Fish-Eagle, Pallas's Fish-Eagle, Great Hornbill, Stork-billed Kingfisher, Blue-eared Kingfisher, Gadwall, Northern Pintail, Ferruginous Duck, Brown Fish-Owl

   Mammals 5: Greater One-horned Rhinoceros, Spotted Deer, Sambar, Wild Boar, Bengal Tiger

   Reptiles 2: Mugger Crocodile, Bengal Monitor