A black-necked stork spotted at Kaziranga National Park in Assam.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve in Assam has 30 species of raptors and six species of storks, a rapid survey focused on these two categories of birds has revealed.
The survey, conducted by a 10-member team between the last week of February and March 2, was released on Friday (June 5) to mark World Environment Day. The Kaziranga Tiger Reserve authority surveyed in collaboration with researchers of Gauhati University.
The enumerators recorded 217 individual raptors — buzzards, eagles, falcons, owls, and vultures — across 30 species and 266 individual storks across six species.
Critical habitats
India is home to 112 species of raptors, both diurnal and nocturnal. Kaziranga and the adjoining landscape harbour about 50 species of these raptors. Assam’s rich, diverse wetlands and the Himalayan foothills provide critical habitats for these birds of prey.
India houses eight of the 20 stork species found in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. All eight of these are found in Assam, although Kaziranga has recorded six.
The raptor-stork study was conducted across Kaziranga’s three administrative zones — the East Assam Wildlife Division, the Biswanath Wildlife Division, and the Nagaon Wildlife Division.
The Eastern Assam Wildlife Division recorded 21 species of raptors and five species of storks. While Biswanath recorded 20 species of raptors and six species of storks, Nagaon recorded 14 and five, respectively.
Among the stork species, the Asian openbill (Anastomus oscitans) was the most abundant, with 92 individuals spotted. The greater adjutant stork (Leptoptilos dubius) was the rarest, with three individuals recorded. Among the raptors, the Himalayan griffon vulture (Gyps himalayensis) was the most common with 69 individual sightings, while the booted eagle and white-tailed eagle were the rarest species with one individual sighting each.
Enigmatic bird
“Kaziranga’s landscape also serves as a last stronghold for the enigmatic Pallas’s fish eagle (Haliaeetus leucoryphus). A survey conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India in January 2020 reported 10 active nests of Pallas’s fish eagle in Kaziranga, making it the protected area with the highest number of [this bird’s] breeding sites in the world,” an official statement read.
Pallas’s fish eagle perched on a tree at Kaziranga National Park in Assam.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
In another study, the Wildlife Science and Conservation Centre of Mongolia confirmed that a male Pallas’s eagle named Ider, tagged in central-western Mongolia’s Buun Tsagaan Lake on August 21, 2020, visited Kaziranga National Park every year to breed, changing nesting locations only once.
It has been visiting the Buun Tsagaan Lake consistently during the non-breeding season, from June to September.
The other species recorded in the one-horned rhino domain include the slender-billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris), red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus), steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis), greater spotted eagle (Clanga clanga), grey-headed fish eagle (Haliaeetus ichthyaetus), brown fish owl (Ketupa zeylonensis), dusky eagle-owl (Bubo coromandus), lesser adjutant stork (Leptoptilos javanicus), black-necked stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus), and the black stork (Ciconia nigra).
Published – June 06, 2026 04:04 pm IST
