Adventure & Wildlife Magazine - Vol 1|Issue 5-6| Nov 16 - Jan 17 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | Mar - May 2017 | Page 58

ADVENTURE & WILDLIFE
It is home to a variety of migratory birds, water birds,
predators, scavengers, and game birds. Birds such
as the lesser white-fronted goose, ferruginous duck,
Baer’s pochard duck and lesser adjutant, greater
adjutant, black-necked stork, and Asian openbill stork
migrate from Central Asia to the park during winter.
Riverine birds include the Blyth’s kingfisher,
white-bellied heron, Dalmatian pelican, spot-billed
pelican, Nordmann’s greenshank, and black-bellied tern.
Raptor Species include the rare eastern imperial, greater
spotted, white-tailed, Pallas’s fish eagle, grey-headed fish
eagle, and the lesser kestrel.
parrotbill and the rufous-vented prinia.
Kaziranga is home to two of the largest snake species
in the world, the reticulated python and rock python,
as well as the longest venomous snake in the world, the
king cobra, inhabit the park. Other snakes found here
include the Indian cobra, monocled cobra, Russell’s
viper, and the common krait. Monitor lizard species
found in the park include the Bengal monitor and the
Asian water monitor. Other reptiles include fifteen
species of turtle, such as the endemic Assam roofed
turtle and one species of tortoise, the brown tortoise.
Coming to the marine fauna, Kaziranga’s rivers are also
home to the endangered Ganges dolphin, and 42 species
of fish are found in waters of Kaziranga national park,
including the Tetraodon.
Kaziranga was once home to seven species of vultures,
but the vulture population reached near extinction,
supposedly by feeding on animal carcasses
containing the drug Diclofenac. Only the Indian vulture,
slender-billed vulture, and Indian white-rumped vulture Flora
have survived. Game birds include the swamp francolin, There are Four main types of vegetation that exist in
Kaziranga National park. Namely, alluvial inundated
Bengal florican, and pale-capped pigeon.
grasslands, alluvial savanna woodlands, tropical moist
Other families of birds inhabiting Kaziranga include the mixed deciduous forests, and tropical semi-evergreen
great Indian hornbill and wreathed hornbill, Old World forests.
babblers such as Jerdon’s and marsh babblers, weaver birds
such as the common baya weaver, the threatened species There is a difference in altitude between the eastern and
of Finn’s weavers, thrushes such as Hodgson’s bushchat western areas of the park, with the western side being at
and Old World warblers such as the bristled grassbird. a lower altitude.
Other threatened species include the black-breasted
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photo credit: adventurenation
Vol 2|Issue 1|Mar - May 2017