White-bellied sea eagle
Haliaeetus leucogaster
A large white and grey eagle of the coast. It nests on Netrani Island off Murudeshwar.
Photo: Shino jacob koottanad, CC BY-SA 4.0Biodiversity · Birds
Birds of Honavar
Sea, estuary, mangrove and rainforest within a few kilometres means a remarkable mix of birds, from migrant sandpipers on the mudflats to hornbills and trogons in the Ghats.
531bird species recorded in Karnataka
341species in Davidson's 1888–1896 survey of Uttara Kannada
215species in the Sharavathy landscape
58,415waterbirds counted at the Aghanashini estuary
A long birding history
Between 1888 and 1896 the naturalist James Davidson surveyed the birds of North Kanara and recorded 341 species. Several of his specimens came from Honavar: a Terek sandpiper shot from a flock on 18 December 1895, a marsh sandpiper in November 1889, a ferruginous duck in December 1895 and plain martins near the town in January 1889. A brown-headed gull and a great hornbill from Honavar are held in the Bombay Natural History Society collection.
No modern bird survey of the Sharavathi River estuary has been published. Birdwatchers can help by logging their sightings on eBird.
Coast, estuary and mangroves
Brahminy kite
Haliastur indus
The chestnut and white kite seen over every river and harbour on the coast.
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0
Terek sandpiper
Xenus cinereus
A winter visitor with an upturned bill. Davidson collected one at Honavar in 1895.
Photo: Vedant Raju Kasambe, CC BY-SA 4.0
Whimbrel
Numenius phaeopus
A curlew-like wader of beaches and mudflats in winter.
Photo: PJeganathan, CC BY-SA 4.0
Caspian tern
Hydroprogne caspia
The largest tern, with a red bill. 1,670 were counted on the Aghanashini estuary.
Photo: Dr. Raju Kasambe, CC BY-SA 4.0
Western reef heron
Egretta gularis
Dark or white heron of rocky shores and estuaries.
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0
Stork-billed kingfisher
Pelargopsis capensis
A big kingfisher with a huge red bill, found along rivers in the Sharavathi River landscape.
Photo: Anagha devi, CC BY-SA 4.0Waterbirds next door
The Aghanashini estuary, a short drive north of Honavar, is a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. Counts between 2014 and 2018 found 58,415 waterbirds, including 3,490 little egrets, 2,454 black-headed ibises, 1,820 river terns, 1,670 Caspian terns and 452 western reef herons. About 130 bird species use the estuary, around 40% of them migrants, with numbers peaking in January.
Offshore, a 2008 survey of Netrani Island found at least 40 species, including nesting white-bellied sea eagles and brahminy kites, Indian swiftlets in a sea cave and several terns, gulls and skuas.
Forest birds of the Ghats
A survey of the Sharavathy landscape recorded 215 species, 15 of them found only in the Western Ghats.
Malabar pied hornbill
Anthracoceros coronatus
Uncommon but regular in the Sharavathy landscape, in flocks of up to 17. The Dandeli forests to the north are its last major stronghold in the Western Ghats.
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0
Great hornbill
Buceros bicornis
The giant of the forest. Recorded in the Sharavathi River basin and protected in the Dandeli hornbill reserve.
Photo: Malyasri Bhattacharya, CC BY-SA 4.0
Malabar grey hornbill
Ocyceros griseus
A Western Ghats endemic and the most common hornbill of these forests.
Photo: Shino jacob koottanad, CC BY-SA 4.0
Malabar trogon
Harpactes fasciatus
A shy, colourful bird of evergreen forest, common in the Sharavathy landscape.
Photo: Tisha Mukherjee, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sri Lanka frogmouth
Batrachostomus moniliger
A night bird that sits still by day, looking like a broken branch.
Photo: Shanthanu Bhardwaj, CC BY-SA 3.0
Indian pitta
Pitta brachyura
A jewel-coloured ground bird, fairly common in the landscape.
Photo: Md shahanshah bappy, CC BY-SA 4.0Tips for birders
Go in the first two hours after sunrise, from November to February. Carry binoculars and wear muted colours. Good spots are the estuary and Tonka spit, the mangrove boardwalk, a backwater boat and the forest around Karikanamma. More on birdwatching →
Research behind this page (9)
- Praveen J., Subramanya S. & Raj V.M. (2016). A checklist of the birds of Karnataka. Indian BIRDS 12(4&5): 89–118.
- Barve S. & Warrier R. (2013). Bird diversity of the Sharavathy landscape, Karnataka. Indian BIRDS 8(3): 57–61.
- Pande S. et al. (2011). Avifaunal survey of Netrani Island, Karnataka, and importance of offshore islands for bird life. Indian BIRDS 7(4): 106–108.
- Ramsar Information Sheet: Aghanashini Estuary, India (site no. 2534).
- Ramachandra T.V. et al. (2024). Aghanashini estuary: Ramsar wetland of international significance. Sahyadri Conservation Series 87, ENVIS Technical Report 147, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.
- Sneha V. & Davidar P. (2011). Status survey of the Malabar pied hornbill in the Dandeli region. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement: 45–51.
- Mudappa D. & Raman T.R.S. (2009). A conservation status survey of hornbills (Bucerotidae) in the Western Ghats, India. Indian BIRDS 5(4): 90–102.
- Patra R., Rana N., Frank S.J.D. & Gopi G.V. (2026). Avifaunal diversity of the central Western Ghats in Uttara Kannada. Journal of Threatened Taxa 18(8): 29401–29417.
- Energy & Wetlands Research Group (2012). Exploring biodiversity and ecology of Central Western Ghats. ENVIS Technical Report 39, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.
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