India: Keoladeo National Park
Tombs, temples, palaces, and forts get boring after a while and it becomes time to switch the scenery. The UNESCO-listed Keoladeo National Park is world-famous for having one of the highest concentration of bird species is a relatively tiny spot of only 29 square km – over 370 resident and migratory species from Europe, Russia, East Asia, and beyond. Dozens of species of storks (including the rare painted stork), herons, pelicans, ducks, cranes and cormorants breed here. Three species of beautiful kingfishers, and a couple of equally colorful beeeters, several sunbirds, bulbuls, and loads and loads of loud green parakeets make it a birder’s paradise. Spotting a small spotted owl was a bonus! There are also 27 mammal species – including sambar deer and wild boar, a couple primates, and small carnivores.
