page_title: Wildlife of Karnataka
section_title: Bird sanctuaries
hierarchical_section_title: Wildlife of Karnataka / Bird sanctuaries
context_page_description: The state of Karnataka in South India has a rich diversity of flora and fauna. It has a recorded forest area of 38720 km² which constitutes 1234.67719% of the total geographical area of the state. These forests support 25% of the elephant population and 20% of the tiger population of India. Many regions of Karnataka are still unexplored and new species of flora and fauna are still found. The Western Ghats mountains in the western region of Karnataka are a biodiversity hotspot. Two sub-clusters of the Western Ghats, Talacauvery and Kudremukh in Karnataka, are in a tentative list of sites that could be designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. The Bandipur and Nagarahole national parks which fall outside these subclusters were included in the Nilgiri biosphere reserve in 1986, a UNESCO designation. Biligiriranga Hills in Karnataka is a place where Eastern Ghats meets Western Ghats. The state bird and state animal of Karnataka are Indian roller and the Indian elephant respectively. The state tree and state flower are sandalwood and lotus respectively. Karnataka is home to 406+ tigers.
context_section_description: Attiveri Bird Sanctuary: This is located in Uttara Kannada district and is spread over 2.23 km². white ibis, little cormorant, pied kingfisher, common grey hornbill are some of the bird species found here.
  Gudavi Bird Sanctuary: This is located in Shimoga district and is spread over 0.73 km². The tree species that dominate this sanctuary are Vitex leucoxylon and Phyllanthus polyphyllus. 191 species of birds are recorded here including white ibis, pheasant-tailed jacana, purple moorhen and little grebe.
  Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary: This is located in Mandya district and is spread over 0.67 km². Among the tree species found here, is the unique Iphigenia mysorensis. Other tree species include Derris indica and Barringtonia racemosa. This sanctuary houses nearly 170 birds. Birds like cormorants, darter, white ibis, great stone plover, cliff swallow, spoonbills, lesser whistling teal roost here all through the year.
  Mandagadde Bird Sanctuary: It is located near the little village Mandagadde which is 30 km from the Shimoga town and is based on a small island on the Tunga River. It is mainly visited by migratory birds like median egret (Egretta intermedia), the little cormorant (Microcarbo niger), and the darter or snake bird (Aninga nufa).
  Kaggaladu Heronry: This is located in Tumkur district and is one of the largest painted stork sanctuaries in South India. Some of the birds that nest here are painted storks, grey herons, pelicans, black stilts and ducks.
  Kokrebellur Pelicanry: This is located in the town of Kokkare Bellur in Mandya district and is a haven for avian species like grey or spot-billed pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) and painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala). In fact the word Kokkare means stork in the Kannada language. Apart from pelicans and storks, 250 species of birds have been sighted here.
  Magadi Bird Sanctuary: Magadi Bird Sanctuary created at the Magadi tank, in Magadi village of Shirahatti Taluk, Gadag district. It is one of the Biodiversity hotspots of Karnataka, in North Karnataka. From Gadag it is 26 km, it is located on Gadag-Bangalore Road, from Shirahatti it is 8 km, and from Lakshmeshwara 11 km. Bar-headed goose is one of the bird migrates to Magadi wetlands of Gadag district. Normally birds eat fish, amphibians, molluscs, snakes etc., but migratory birds eating agricultural produce is both interesting and curious too. Winter habitat is on cultivation, it feeds on barley, rice and wheat and damage crops.
  Bankapura Peacock Sanctuary: This is located in Haveri district and spread over an area of 139.10 acres (0.5629 km²). This sanctuary was created mainly for the conservation of peacocks.
  Bonal Bird Sanctuary : This is located about 10 km from Shorapur city in Yadgir district.
  Ramadevarabetta Vulture Sanctuary: This is located in Ramanagara and is home of the critically endangered Long-billed vulture (Gyps indicus).
  Ghataprabha Bird Sanctuary: This is located in Belgaum district and is spread over 20.78 square kilometres (8.02 sq mi). This sanctuary is known for migratory birds like Demoiselle crane and European white stork.
caption: A pair of painted storks (Mycteria leucocephala) in Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary
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