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India India Ramsar wetland

Bhojtal

278 bird species recorded; the most from December to February.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec234at the peak
Species recorded in each month · tap a month

Sanyam Bahga · CC BY-SA 3.0

This month here

234 species in January.

The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.

Indian Pond-Heron
Indian Pond-HeronArdeola grayiiResidentVivek Puliyeri · CC BY-SA 4.0
Red-wattled Lapwing
Red-wattled LapwingVanellus indicusResidentRed-wattled_Lapwing_cropped.jpg : * Red-wattled_Lapwing.jpg : Karunakar Rayker from India · CC BY 2.0
Red-breasted flycatcher
Red-breasted flycatcherFicedula parvaWinter visitorÅsa Berndtsson · CC BY 2.0
Black Redstart
Black RedstartPhoenicurus ochrurosWinter visitorTisha Mukherjee · CC BY-SA 4.0
White-breasted Kingfisher
White-breasted KingfisherHalcyon smyrnensisResidentZeynel Cebeci · CC BY-SA 4.0
Red-vented Bulbul
Red-vented BulbulPycnonotus caferResidentK. Hari Krishnan · CC BY-SA 3.0
Grey Heron
Grey HeronArdea cinereaResidentVassilios Vescoukis · CC BY-SA 4.0
Black Drongo
Black DrongoDicrurus macrocercusResidentFabian Roudra Baroi · CC BY-SA 4.0
Indian Peafowl
Indian PeafowlPavo cristatusResidentPraveenp · CC BY-SA 4.0
Oriental Magpie-robin
Oriental Magpie-robinCopsychus saularisResidentJ.M.Garg · CC BY-SA 3.0
Black-winged Stilt
Black-winged StiltHimantopus himantopusResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Little Cormorant
Little CormorantMicrocarbo nigerResidentshankar s. from Dubai, united arab emirates · CC BY 2.0
White-breasted Waterhen
White-breasted WaterhenAmaurornis phoenicurusResidentJ.M.Garg · CC BY-SA 3.0
Laughing Dove
Laughing DoveSpilopelia senegalensisResidentGiles Laurent · CC BY-SA 4.0
Bronze-winged Jacana
Bronze-winged JacanaMetopidius indicusResidentTisha Mukherjee · CC BY-SA 4.0
Anas poecilorhynchaAnas poecilorhynchaResident
Lesser whitethroat
Lesser whitethroatSylvia currucaWinter visitorEkytza · CC BY-SA 4.0
Indian Robin
Indian RobinSaxicoloides fulicatusResidentYogendra Joshi · CC BY 2.0
Great Cormorant
Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carboResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Little Egret
Little EgretEgretta garzettaResidentBirdman1 · CC BY 2.5
Great White Egret
Great White EgretArdea albaResidentCalibas · CC BY-SA 3.0
Lanius schachLanius schachWinter visitor
Asian Green Bee-eater
Asian Green Bee-eaterMerops orientalisResidentVivek Puliyeri · CC BY-SA 4.0
Purple Sunbird
Purple SunbirdCinnyris asiaticusResidentCharles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Resident all year
  • Summer visitor comes to breed
  • Winter visitor comes for the winter
  • Passage migrant in spring and autumn

In numbers

278 species, counted.

78out of 100

Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).

  • 278Speciesrecorded more than once
  • 115Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
  • 5ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
  • 59,065Recordsopen records within 6 km
  • 507 mAltitudeabove the sea
  • 26Raptors
  • 5Owls
  • 28Waders
  • 8Gulls & seabirds
  • 18Ducks & geese
  • 17Herons, ibises & grebes
  • 6Storks & cranes
  • 1Flamingos
  • 116Songbirds
  • 53Other birds

From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.

The checklist

All 278 species.

By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.

Raptors26 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Black KiteMilvus migrans
  • Black-winged KiteElanus caeruleus
  • Western Marsh HarrierCircus aeruginosus
  • Crested Honey BuzzardPernis ptilorhynchus
  • OspreyPandion haliaetus
  • Booted eagleHieraaetus pennatus
  • Common KestrelFalco tinnunculus
  • Egyptian vultureNeophron percnopterus
  • Crested Serpent EagleSpilornis cheela
  • White-eyed BuzzardButastur teesa
  • Short-toed eagleCircaetus gallicus
  • Greater spotted eagleAquila clanga
  • Bonelli's EagleAquila fasciata
  • Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
  • Eurasian SparrowhawkAccipiter nisus
  • Indian VultureGyps indicusCR
  • Montagu's HarrierCircus pygargus
  • Steppe eagleAquila nipalensis
  • Pallid HarrierCircus macrourusNT
  • Lesser Fish EagleIcthyophaga humilisNT
  • Long-legged BuzzardButeo rufinus
  • White-rumped VultureGyps bengalensisCR
  • Amur FalconFalco amurensis
  • Red-headed FalconFalco chicqueraNT
  • European HobbyFalco subbuteo
  • Indian spotted eagleAquila hastata
Owls5 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Spotted OwletAthene brama
  • Jungle OwletGlaucidium radiatum
  • Indian Scops OwlOtus bakkamoena
  • Eastern Barn OwlTyto javanica
  • Brown Fish OwlKetupa zeylonensis
Waders28 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Red-wattled LapwingVanellus indicus
  • Black-winged StiltHimantopus himantopus
  • Bronze-winged JacanaMetopidius indicus
  • Pheasant-tailed JacanaHydrophasianus chirurgus
  • Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
  • Green SandpiperTringa ochropus
  • Wood SandpiperTringa glareola
  • Black-tailed GodwitLimosa limosaNT
  • Marsh SandpiperTringa stagnatilis
  • Yellow-wattled LapwingVanellus malabaricus
  • Common SnipeGallinago gallinago
  • Common GreenshankTringa nebularia
  • Temminck's StintCalidris temminckii
  • RuffCalidris pugnax
  • RedshankTringa totanus
  • Spotted RedshankTringa erythropus
  • Little StintCalidris minuta
  • Kentish PloverCharadrius alexandrinus
  • Little PratincoleGlareola lactea
  • Greater Painted-snipeRostratula benghalensis
  • River LapwingVanellus duvauceliiNT
  • Oriental PratincoleGlareola maldivarum
  • Indian Thick-kneeBurhinus indicus
  • Indian CourserCursorius coromandelicusNT
  • Grey-headed LapwingVanellus cinereus
  • Eurasian CurlewNumenius arquataNT
  • Pin-tailed SnipeGallinago stenura
  • Great Thick-kneeEsacus recurvirostrisNT
Gulls & seabirds8 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • River TernSterna aurantiaVU
  • Whiskered TernChlidonias hybrida
  • Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus
  • Brown-headed GullChroicocephalus brunnicephalus
  • Little TernSternula albifrons
  • Pallas's GullIchthyaetus ichthyaetus
  • Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
  • Gull-billed TernGelochelidon nilotica
Ducks & geese18 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Anas poecilorhynchaAnas poecilorhyncha
  • Lesser Whistling DuckDendrocygna javanica
  • Cotton Pygmy GooseNettapus coromandelianus
  • Knob-billed DuckSarkidiornis melanotos
  • Ruddy ShelduckTadorna ferruginea
  • Red-crested pochardNetta rufina
  • GarganeySpatula querquedula
  • Eurasian TealAnas crecca
  • GadwallMareca strepera
  • Northern PintailAnas acuta
  • Eurasian WigeonMareca penelope
  • Northern ShovelerSpatula clypeata
  • Common PochardAythya ferinaVU
  • Bar-headed GooseAnser indicus
  • Greylag GooseAnser anser
  • MallardAnas platyrhynchos
  • Swan GooseAnser cygnoides
  • Ferruginous DuckAythya nyrocaNT
Herons, ibises & grebes17 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Indian Pond-HeronArdeola grayii
  • Little CormorantMicrocarbo niger
  • Grey HeronArdea cinerea
  • Little EgretEgretta garzetta
  • Great White EgretArdea alba
  • Egretta intermediaEgretta intermedia
  • Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
  • Black-crowned Night-HeronNycticorax nycticorax
  • Purple heronArdea purpurea
  • Indian CormorantPhalacrocorax fuscicollis
  • Black-necked IbisThreskiornis melanocephalus
  • Little GrebeTachybaptus ruficollis
  • Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
  • Striated HeronButorides striata
  • Oriental DarterAnhinga melanogaster
  • Eurasian SpoonbillPlatalea leucorodia
  • Red-naped IbisPseudibis papillosa
Storks & cranes6 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Asian Open-bill StorkAnastomus oscitans
  • Asian WoollyneckCiconia episcopusNT
  • Painted StorkMycteria leucocephala
  • Sarus CraneGrus antigoneVU
  • Black storkCiconia nigra
  • Black-necked StorkEphippiorhynchus asiaticus
Flamingos1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Greater FlamingoPhoenicopterus roseus
Songbirds116 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Red-vented BulbulPycnonotus cafer
  • Black DrongoDicrurus macrocercus
  • Purple SunbirdCinnyris asiaticus
  • Oriental Magpie-robinCopsychus saularis
  • Indian RobinSaxicoloides fulicatus
  • Ashy PriniaPrinia socialis
  • Jungle babblerTurdoides striata
  • Common IoraAegithina tiphia
  • Indian Pied MynaGracupica contra
  • White-browed FantailRhipidura aureola
  • Common MynaAcridotheres tristis
  • House SparrowPasser domesticus
  • House CrowCorvus splendens
  • Indian SilverbillEuodice malabarica
  • Brahminy StarlingSturnia pagodarum
  • Lanius schachLanius schach
  • Indian White-eyeZosterops palpebrosus
  • Common TailorbirdOrthotomus sutorius
  • Black RedstartPhoenicurus ochruros
  • Pied Bush ChatSaxicola caprata
  • Common WoodshrikeTephrodornis pondicerianus
  • Large Grey BabblerTurdoides malcolmi
  • White-browed WagtailMotacilla maderaspatensis
  • Oriolus kundooOriolus kundoo
  • Large-billed CrowCorvus macrorhynchos
  • Red-breasted flycatcherFicedula parva
  • Plain PriniaPrinia inornata
  • Dusky Crag MartinPtyonoprogne concolor
  • Rufous TreepieDendrocitta vagabunda
  • Baya WeaverPloceus philippinus
  • Lesser whitethroatSylvia curruca
  • Siberian stonechatSaxicola maurus
  • Brown Rock ChatOenanthe fusca
  • Indian Paradise FlycatcherTerpsiphone paradisi
  • Cinereous TitParus cinereus
  • Tickell's Blue FlycatcherCyornis tickelliae
  • Small MinivetPericrocotus cinnamomeus
  • Paddyfield PipitAnthus rufulus
  • Greenish WarblerPhylloscopus trochiloides
  • Red AvadavatAmandava amandava
  • Purple-rumped SunbirdLeptocoma zeylonica
  • Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita
  • Wire-tailed SwallowHirundo smithii
  • Hume’s leaf-warblerPhylloscopus humei
  • White-bellied DrongoDicrurus caerulescens
  • Barn swallowHirundo rustica
  • Western Yellow WagtailMotacilla flava
  • Rufous-tailed LarkAmmomanes phoenicuraNT
  • Yellow-throated SparrowGymnoris xanthocollis
  • Grey WagtailMotacilla cinerea
  • Spice FinchLonchura punctulata
  • Grey-breasted PriniaPrinia hodgsonii
  • Eastern Red-rumped SwallowCecropis daurica
  • Grey-headed Canary-FlycatcherCulicicapa ceylonensis
  • Tawny-bellied babblerDumetia hyperythra
  • Zitting CisticolaCisticola juncidis
  • Jerdon's LeafbirdChloropsis jerdoni
  • Bay-backed ShrikeLanius vittatus
  • White WagtailMotacilla alba
  • Tree PipitAnthus trivialis
  • Ashy-crowned Sparrow-LarkEremopterix griseus
  • Common BabblerTurdoides caudata
  • Yellow-eyed BabblerChrysomma sinense
  • Citrine WagtailMotacilla citreola
  • BluethroatLuscinia svecica
  • Jungle PriniaPrinia sylvatica
  • Blyth’s Reed WarblerAcrocephalus dumetorum
  • Verditer FlycatcherEumyias thalassinus
  • Streak-throated SwallowPetrochelidon fluvicola
  • Dicrurus leucophaeusDicrurus leucophaeus
  • Chestnut-tailed StarlingSturnia malabarica
  • Sulphur-bellied WarblerPhylloscopus griseolus
  • Taiga FlycatcherFicedula albicilla
  • Grey-throated MartinRiparia chinensis
  • Black-headed MuniaLonchura malacca
  • Sykes's WarblerIduna rama
  • Pale-billed FlowerpeckerDicaeum erythrorhynchos
  • White-spotted FantailRhipidura albogularis
  • Rosy StarlingPastor roseus
  • Clamorous Reed WarblerAcrocephalus stentoreus
  • Large CuckooshrikeCoracina macei
  • Brown ShrikeLanius cristatus
  • Booted WarblerIduna caligata
  • Oriental SkylarkAlauda gulgula
  • Crested BuntingEmberiza lathami
  • Tawny PipitAnthus campestris
  • White-bellied MinivetPericrocotus erythropygius
  • Tawny LarkGalerida deva
  • Red-headed BuntingEmberiza bruniceps
  • Black-headed buntingEmberiza melanocephala
  • Black-hooded OrioleOriolus xanthornus
  • Indian PittaPitta brachyura
  • Common RosefinchCarpodacus erythrinus
  • Indian Black-lored TitParus aplonotus
  • Black-headed Cuckoo-shrikeCoracina melanoptera
  • Ultramarine FlycatcherFicedula superciliaris
  • Muscicapa latirostrisMuscicapa latirostris
  • Blue Rock ThrushMonticola solitarius
  • Olive-backed PipitAnthus hodgsoni
  • Isabelline ShrikeLanius isabellinus
  • Western Crowned WarblerPhylloscopus occipitalis
  • Paddyfield WarblerAcrocephalus agricola
  • Greater Short-toed LarkCalandrella brachydactyla
  • Lanius excubitorLanius excubitor
  • Emberiza buchananiEmberiza buchanani
  • Black-naped MonarchHypothymis azurea
  • Indian BlackbirdTurdus simillimus
  • Eastern Orphean WarblerSylvia crassirostris
  • Tickell's Leaf WarblerPhylloscopus affinis
  • Bank MynaAcridotheres ginginianus
  • Sand MartinRiparia riparia
  • Blyth’s PipitAnthus godlewskii
  • Long-billed PipitAnthus similis
  • Black-breasted WeaverPloceus benghalensis
  • Blue-capped Rock ThrushMonticola cinclorhynchus
  • Desert wheatearOenanthe deserti
Other birds53 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • White-breasted KingfisherHalcyon smyrnensis
  • Laughing DoveSpilopelia senegalensis
  • Indian PeafowlPavo cristatus
  • Asian Green Bee-eaterMerops orientalis
  • Eastern Spotted DoveSpilopelia chinensis
  • Greater CoucalCentropus sinensis
  • Rock DoveColumba livia
  • White-breasted WaterhenAmaurornis phoenicurus
  • Coppersmith BarbetPsilopogon haemacephalus
  • Ortygornis pondicerianusOrtygornis pondicerianus
  • Rose-ringed ParakeetPsittacula krameri
  • Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus
  • Common KingfisherAlcedo atthis
  • Western SwamphenPorphyrio porphyrio
  • Indian grey hornbillOcyceros birostris
  • Common KoelEudynamys scolopaceus
  • Indian RollerCoracias benghalensisNT
  • Little SwiftApus affinis
  • Pied KingfisherCeryle rudis
  • CootFulica atra
  • Cuculus variusCuculus varius
  • Eurasian Collared DoveStreptopelia decaocto
  • Plum-headed ParakeetPsittacula cyanocephala
  • Eurasian HoopoeUpupa epops
  • Black-rumped FlamebackDinopium benghalense
  • Yellow-crowned WoodpeckerLeiopicus mahrattensis
  • Jacobin CuckooClamator jacobinus
  • Red Collared DoveStreptopelia tranquebarica
  • Yellow-footed Green-pigeonTreron phoenicopterus
  • Brown-capped Pygmy WoodpeckerYungipicus nanus
  • WryneckJynx torquilla
  • Grey-bellied CuckooCacomantis passerinus
  • Alexandrine ParakeetPsittacula eupatria
  • Savanna NightjarCaprimulgus affinis
  • Barred ButtonquailTurnix suscitator
  • Painted FrancolinFrancolinus pictus
  • Indian NightjarCaprimulgus asiaticus
  • Rain QuailCoturnix coromandelica
  • Brown CrakeAmaurornis akool
  • Common CuckooCuculus canorus
  • Stork-billed KingfisherPelargopsis capensis
  • Oriental Turtle DoveStreptopelia orientalis
  • Caprimulgus indicusCaprimulgus indicus
  • White-naped WoodpeckerChrysocolaptes festivus
  • Indian CuckooCuculus micropterus
  • Sirkeer MalkohaTaccocua leschenaultii
  • Blue-tailed Bee-eaterMerops philippinus
  • Painted SpurfowlGalloperdix lunulata
  • Asian Palm-swiftCypsiurus balasiensis
  • Crested TreeswiftHemiprocne coronata
  • Orange-breasted Green-pigeonTreron bicinctus
  • Brown-headed BarbetPsilopogon zeylanicus
  • Painted SandgrousePterocles indicus

Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.

When to go

The most species from December to February.

Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.

  1. Jan23426°/9°11 mm
  2. Feb22330°/12°11 mm
  3. Mar21035°/17°12 mm
  4. Apr18440°/23°6 mm
  5. May16942°/28°13 mm
  6. Jun16137°/27°167 mm
  7. Jul13831°/24°418 mm
  8. Aug15529°/23°381 mm
  9. Sep17229°/22°155 mm
  10. Oct18730°/18°25 mm
  11. Nov21028°/14°11 mm
  12. Dec22626°/10°6 mm
  • Bar: species recorded that month.
  • Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
  • Rain: monthly total.

The place

Bhojtal.

Lake near Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India

Bhojtal is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in India, 507 m above the sea.

278 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 59,065 open records.

The most recorded are the Red-vented Bulbul, the Red-wattled Lapwing and the Black Drongo.

32 species come for the summer, 83 for the winter and 0 only pass through.

5 are threatened worldwide, including River Tern, Sarus Crane and Common Pochard.

The most species are recorded from December to February.

BadaTalaabBhopal3
Sanyam Bahga · CC BY-SA 3.0

Get there and watch

Plan the visit

A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

From above

The place and its surroundings.

The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.

Bhojtal seen from above (Sentinel-2)
Seen from above: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6 × 6 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around, in OpenStreetMap

  • 12restaurants and cafés within 3 km
  • 1campsites within 10 kmJJ
  • 66places to stay within 10 kmImeprial Sabre, Noor-us-Sabah Palace, Hotel Palash Residency and 63 more
  • bird hides within 6 km
  • observation towers within 6 km
  • marked trails within 4 km
  • visitor centres within 6 km
  • viewpoints within 5 km
  • car parks within 3 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.

In our other atlases

Around Bhojtal.

The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.

Lakeyas2 lakes within 15 km
Bhojtal21 km² · 1.5 kmLower Lake, Bhopal0.5 km² · 6.8 km
Riveryasthe river nearby
Jamni RiverDhasan River

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Photographs

The place, as people saw it.

Bhopal Architecture
Abhishek727 Abhishek Mishra · CC BY-SA 3.0
Noha installation friend view from Bhopal lake
Mujeebcpy · CC BY-SA 3.0
Noha installation in Bhopal lake
Mujeebcpy · CC BY-SA 3.0

Other places nearby.

Bhojtal

India

  • 78Birdyas Score
  • 278Species
  • 115Migrants
  • 5Threatened

Tawa Reservoir

India · 101 km

  • 68Birdyas Score
  • 219Species
  • 90Migrants
  • 2Threatened

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name and typeWikidata (Q4901916) · CC0
Birds59,065 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
See these recordsgbif.org
SpeciesGBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons
AltitudeCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Temperature and rainNASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2)
What is around© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Sister atlasesLakeyas, Riveryas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.