Keoladeo Ghana National Park or Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary as it is more commonly known, contains over 350 species of birds over its 29 sq km landscape. As the park lies on the Central Asian Flyway of the Asia Pacific Global Migratory Flyway, it is a staging/wintering ground for a huge number of migratory waterfowl that breed in the Palearctic region. The Park has one of the world's most spectacular heronries, which harbour a large number of resident and migratory birds.
Keoladeo Ghana National Park (Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary) is a Ramsar site under the Ramsar Convention, and also a World Heritage site. It has been the only wintering ground for the central population of the endangered Siberian Crane (Grus leucogeranus). The park is unique in being bound by a stone-masonry wall and agricultural fields and villages in immediate surroundings, thus lacking a buffer zone. Located in Rajasthan in Northern India, Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is a unique reserve for avifauna and Indian Wildlife.
The name ‘Keoladeo’ is derived from the name of an ancient Hindu temple devoted to Lord Shiva located in the sanctuary's central zone. Old records show that the area supported thick forest, which in local parlance is called ‘Ghana’.
Photo courtesy of Maxine Jeffrey
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