Debarati Pal
A common Tadoba resident, the Black-rumped Flameback announces itself with an accelerating, rattling whinny, then drills living tree trunks for beetle grubs and termites beneath bark.
On Tadoba’s shallow wetlands, this long-toed wader appears to walk on floating vegetation; females mate with several males, which incubate eggs and rear their young.
The 2025 waterbird census counted 1,605 Red-crested Pochards at Tadoba—the largest single-species tally; wintering males sport rounded orange heads and crimson bills on its lakes.
Often perched far from water, this blue-and-chestnut kingfisher catches more than fish: its varied prey includes lizards, frogs and even small rodents in Tadoba’s woodlands.
An abundant Tadoba resident, the female Purple-rumped Sunbird builds a pouch-shaped nest of cobwebs and plant fibres, suspending it from a branch beneath a little porch.
Named for its conspicuous white eye-ring, this tiny olive-green resident moves through Tadoba’s canopy in restless flocks, gleaning insects and sipping nectar from flowers and buds.
A loud, ringing whistle often betrays this resident raptor before it circles overhead; look for its short crest, yellow face and habit of hunting snakes.
The nightjar’s mottled plumage makes it disappear by day, whether roosting on leaf litter or a low branch; after dusk, it hawks moths and other insects.
A rare Tadoba resident, the Mottled Wood Owl is more often heard than seen: paired birds give an eerie, tremulous duet at dawn and dusk.
Recorded as abundant in every season, this tiny finch strips grass seeds in busy flocks; its chocolate-and-white breast is patterned like overlapping scales, giving it its name.