India: West

Rajasthan and Gujarat

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A 16-day, small group birding tour through India's arid western region, exploring the rich bird and mammal diversity of desert, savannah grassland and vast seasonal wetlands.

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Our comprehensive tour takes us through an extensive tract of the fascinating dryland habitats of western India, a distinctly arid region that nevertheless supports an incredible diversity of species. We begin by exploring shallow wetlands and acacia scrub in the outskirts of Delhi, before travelling south into the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat, first into tropical savannah and thorn scrub and then through historic citadels and rugged hills to the edges of the Thar Desert. Although seemingly inhospitable in places, this region hosts an incredible richness of desert and grassland birds, complemented by often incongruous gatherings of waterbirds in seasonal wetlands.  Birding on foot and from open jeeps we'll look for scarce subcontinent endemics and regional specialities such as Spotted Creeper, Yellow-eyed Pigeon, Green Avadavat, White-naped Tit, White-browed (Stoliczka's) Bushchat, Grey Hypocolius, Indian and Cream-coloured Coursers, Sociable Plover, MacQueen's Bustard and the unequivocal highlight Great Indian Bustard, accompanied throughout by vast numbers of cranes, flamingos, pelicans and storks and a fine selection of mammals. The post-tour extension to southern Gujarat's deciduous woodland and tropical grassland adds the chance to see Asiatic Lion, Striped Hyaena, Indian Wolf and one of the world's largest harrier roosts.

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