Gray-Headed Fish-Eagle

In 2019 we saw one gray-headed fish-eagle in Bundala NP in Sri Lanka, but it was shielded by branches and we did not get a great look. In our recent trip to Kaziranga NP in Assam, India we saw several gray-headed fish-eagles and got excellent views.   

This range map from Birds of the World shows that the gray-headed fish-eagle is found in Asia, from parts of India through much of Indonesia. 

This is my favorite photo. We were in the Eastern Range and the eagle was very near to us and hardly moving. It lurched forward with hunched shoulders like a vulture. 

Two, also in the Eastern Range.

On the ground in the Western Range.

Lesser Adjutant

The third new stork for me was the lesser adjutant, a very ugly and primitive looking stork that looks like a chain saw massacre perpetrator. You wouldn't want to be left alone with it. It makes a turkey vulture look good, which is saying something. 

This was seen on the Western Range. It looks like it has been bloodied and scarred in a fight (going back to the chain saw massacre description). 

Wikipedia describes it as: "A large stork with an upright stance, a bare head and neck without a pendant pouch...The only confusable species is the greater adjutant [which we did not see], but this species is generally smaller and has a straight upper bill edge (culmen),...with a paler base and appears slightly trimmer and less hunch-backed. The skullcap is paler and the upper plumage is uniformly dark, appearing almost all black. The nearly naked head and neck have a few scattered hair-like feathers. The upper shank or tibia is grey rather than pink...The belly and undertail are white. Juveniles are a duller version of the adult but have more feathers on the nape. During the breeding season, the face is reddish and the neck is orange. The larger median wing coverts are tipped with copper spots and the inner secondary coverts and tertials have narrow white edging...Like others in the genus, they retract their necks in flight. In flight, the folded neck can appear like the pouch of the greater adjutant. Males and females appear similar in plumage but males tend to be larger and heavier billed."

Range from Birds of the World. Purple is year round (which includes Kaziranga NP) and light blue is breeding. 

Found on the Eastern Range.

All I can really say is, boy it is ugly. 

Asian Woolly-Necked Stork

A second new stork for me in Kaziranga NP in Assam, India was the Asian woolly-necked stork. There are two subspecies, one found in India, Indochina, the Malay peninsula, portions of Sri Lanka and the Philippines, and the other in portions of Indonesia, including South Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi  and the Lesser Sunda Islands.

Range of the Asian woolly-necked stork from Birds of the World. 

This was seen on the Western Range.

Wikipedia describes it as: "glistening black overall with a black 'skull cap', a downy white neck which gives it its name. The lower belly and under-tail coverts are white, standing out from the rest of the dark colored plumage. Feathers on the fore-neck are iridescent with a coppery-purple tinge. These feathers are elongated and can be erected during displays. The tail is deeply forked and is white, usually covered by the black long under tail coverts. It has long red legs and a heavy, blackish bill, though some specimens have largely dark-red bills with only the basal one-third being black. The iris is deep crimson or wine-red. Sexes are alike. Juvenile birds are duller versions of the adult with a feathered forehead that is sometimes streaked black-and-white."

These were seen on the Burhapahar Range.

Black-Necked Stork

The black-necked stork is a beautiful stork we saw in Kaziranga NP in Assam, India. I saw one in good light with flourescent reddish/orange legs and a black head, neck and feathers with a glossy bluish-black iridescence. It is intriguing that its closest relative is the saddle-billed stork which is my very favorite. The black-necked stork may come in second. I find it fun that one photo of it on Wikipedia was taken in Kaziranga.

The black eyes indicate this is a male.

Wikipedia describes it as follows: "Adults have a glossy bluish-black iridescent head, neck, secondary flight feathers and tail; a coppery-brown crown; a bright white back and belly; bill black with a slightly concave upper edge; and bright red legs. The sexes are identical but the adult female has a yellow iris while the adult male has it brown. Juveniles younger than six months have a brownish iris; a distinctly smaller and straighter beak; a fluffy appearance; brown head, neck, upper back, wings and tail; a white belly; and dark legs. Juveniles older than six months have a mottled appearance especially on the head and neck where the iridescence is partly developed; dark-brown outer primaries; white inner primaries that forms a shoulder patch when the wings are closed; a heavy beak identical in size to adults but still straighter; and dark to pale-pink legs. Like most storks, the black-necked stork flies with the neck outstretched, not retracted like a heron. In flight it appears spindly and a black bar running through the white wings (the somewhat similar looking migratory black stork has an all black wing) with black neck and tail make it distinctive."

Black-necked stork range - Wikipedia

There are two sub-species, one in Australia and portions of New Guinea and one in portions of  South Asia and Southeast Asia. 

A parent feeding a baby in a nest.

Two babies in the nest.

The yellow eyes indicate this is a female.

Kaziranga NP - Assam, India

In December  2024 we spent five days at Diphlu River Lodge ("Diphlu") in Kaziranga NP ("Kaziranga") in Assam, India. It is located in a finger of India in the northeast that stretches eastward between Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and China. 

Kaziranga is about 25 miles long from west to east and 8 miles wide from north to south and covers about 146 square miles. The Brahmaputra River, which means "son of Brahma" in Sanskrit, is the 9th largest river in the world by discharge, and the 15th longest, and is the northern and eastern boundary of Kaziranga. The Brahmaputra originates in the northern Himalayas in Tibet and merges with the Ganges in Bangladesh before emptying into the Bay of Bengal. We visited in winter, which is November to February, when it is mild and dry, with an average high of 77 degrees and a low of 41 degrees. Summer is March to May with temperatures up to 99 degrees. Monsoon is June to September, with a peak of July and August, when most of the 87 inches of annual rainfall occurs. During floods, which can last weeks at a time, 70% of the western portion of Kaziranga is under water. Kaziranga is closed from May 1 to October 31 because of the flooding.

 

Kaziranga is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (named in 1985), is recognized as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International and was declared a Tiger Preserve (in 2006) with the highest tiger density in the world (Nature Safari India calls it the best tiger reserve in India), although the lush foliage makes the tigers more difficult to see. Assam was recently named by the New York Times as one of 52 places to visit in 2025 (in fourth place, listing Kaziranga as one of the things to do there). 

 

Kaziranga has the world's largest population of Indian (one-horned) rhinos: about 2,700 of 3,588 global Indian rhinos (75%). The Indian rhino is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN.  Kaziranga has the world's largest population of wild water buffalo: about 1,431 of 3,400 (42%). 95% of them are in India and most of them are in Assam. The wild water buffalo is listed as endangered by the IUCN. Kaziranga has the world's largest population of eastern swamp deer, or barasingha. The swamp deer is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. There are three subspecies, the western, southern and eastern swamp deer. The eastern swamp deer is only found in Assam and the vast majority, about 756, are found in Kaziranga. As indicated above, Kaziranga has the world's highest density of Bengal tigers per square kilometer. There are an estimated 4,011 Bengal tigers in the world and 85%, or 3,425, are found in India. 118 of those are in Kaziranga. The Bengal tiger is listed as endangered by the IUCN. Unfortunately, we did not see a tiger. Kaziranga has the world's highest density of Indian elephants in the world. There are an estimated 27,312 wild Indian elephants in the world and three-fourths of them are in India. Kaziranga has about 1,940, or about 7.1% of the world's total. The Indian elephant is listed as endangered by the IUCN.

 

Kazeringa has some magnificent snakes (which we did not see), including the reticulated python, Indian rock python, Indian cobra, monocled cobra, Russell's viper and common krait. 

Kaziranga has four separate ranges. The Central Range is accessed at Kohora and has the longest safari route. It also has the most tigers and is the best place to see them. We did the Central Range twice, on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. The Central Range is 16.9 kilometers east of Diphlu (about a 27 minute drive). The Western Range is accessed at Bagori and has the largest population of rhinos in Kaziranga and is also good for seeing tigers. We did the Western Range twice as well, once on Monday afternoon after we first arrived and again on Thursday afternoon. The Western Range is 3.8 kilometers east of Diphlue (about a 7 minute drive). The Eastern Range is accessed at Agratoli and is best known for birds and wetlands. I did it alone on Friday morning with our naturalist and driver while the three others I was traveling with went to the Brahmaputra river to look for river dolphins. The Eastern Range is 36.1 kilometers east of Diphlu (about a 53 minute drive). This was my favorite day as I loved all of the birds which the others in our group did not care as much about. The Burhapahar Range (the farthest west range) is accessed at Gorakati. It has hilly terrain and is the least visited because it does not have many rhinos or elephants. It is best for birds and monkeys (Kaziranga contains 9 of the world's 14 primate species). The Burhapahar Range is 17.9 kilometers west of Diphlue (about a 32 minute drive). We did the Burhapahar Range once, on Wednesday morning. It does not have as much bird life as the Eastern Range, or even the other ranges. It was my least favorite range, but we did see quite a bit of bird life along the main paved road getting there.

Here are some photos of the animals I saw in Kaziranga:

Indian (one-horned) rhino with large baby.

Indian elephants

Eastern swamp deer

Wild water buffalo

Asian openbill (stork)

Asian woolly-necked stork

Black-necked stork

Lesser adjutant (stork)

Crested serpent-eagle

Gray-headed fish-eagle

Pallas's fish-eagle

Eurasian kestrel

Oriental honey-buzzard

Changeable hawk-eagle

Spotted owlet

Asian barred owlet

Capped langur

Rhesus macaque

Black giant squirrel

Eurasian wild pig

Indian flying fox (bat)

Indian hog deer

Smooth-coated otter

Eurasian wigeon

Falcated duck

Indian spot-billed duck

Northern pintail

Ruddy shelduck

Eurasian green-winged teal

Ferruginous duck

Common pochard

Lesser whistling duck

Mallard

Tufted duck

Gadwall

Northern lapwing

Red-wattled lapwing

River lapwing

Grey-headed lapwing

Indian roofed turtle

Oriental garden lizard

Tokay gecko

Bengal monitor

Black-headed ibis

Glossy ibis

Indian pond heron

Intermediate egret

Little egret

Grey heron

Bar-headed goose

Graylag goose

Great cormorant

Little cormorant

Oriental darter

Common kingfisher

Pied kingfisher

White-throated kingfisher

Stork-billed kingfisher

Wood sandpiper

Green sandpiper

Common greenshank

Common redshank

Oriental turtle dove

Spotted dove

White wagtail

Indian pied starling

Citrine wagtail

Eastern yellow wagtail

Green imperial pigeon

Yellow-footed green pigeon

Crimson sunbird

Purple sunbird

Scarlet minivet - male

Scarlet minivet - female

Greater flameback (woodpecker)

Grey-headed woodpecker

Lineated barbet

Blue-throated barbet

Common iora

Rufous treepie

Ashy Woodswallow

Blue whistling thrush

Hair-crested drongo

Oriental magpie robin

Red junglefowl

Red-vented bulbul

Black drongo

Bronze-winged jacana

Common myna

Great hornbill

Indochinese roller

Oriental pied hornbill

Rose-ringed parakeet

Alexandrine parakeet

Asian green bee-eater

Slender-billed vulture

Spot-billed pelican

Swamp francolin

Zitting cisticola

Common hoopoe

Grey-backed shrike

I saw 95 species of birds in India, the vast majority of them in Kaziranga. That is incredible compared to 93 species of birds found in Colombia and 93 species of birds found in Ecuador, including the Galapagos Islands. Plus, Kaziranga has the fascinating one-horned rhino and Indian elephant and the elusive Bengal tiger that I did not get to see.