Feathers and stones. Birding at Hampi

2025-12-26
photography , wildlife

Two Spotted Owlets at the Queen's bath
Two Spotted Owlets at the Queen's bath

Hampi in Karnataka is best known as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, home to the ruins of the once magnificent Vijayanagara Empire. What is not that well known is its surprising richness as a wildlife destination. Shaped by the Tungabhadra River, the rocky landscape of the Deccan plateau, and extensive scrub forest, Hampi offers a mosaic of habitats that support a remarkable diversity of birds. We spent four days in Hampi in December 2025. While most visitors only focus on the temples and monuments, we spent a couple of early mornings to watching and photographing birds. Apart from devotees visiting the Virupaksha Temple, there is little activity in the early winter mornings. This is undoubtedly the best time for birding, but it is also a magical time to experience the ruins — bathed in golden light and largely free of crowds. The loud, repetitive calls of the Grey Francolin dominate the soundscape at sunrise, much like the crowing of roosters in villages elsewhere in India. These birds are frequently seen on the ground among scrub and rocks. In contrast, the Painted Spurfowl — a signature species of this landscape — is far more elusive.

This is a consolidated list of most of the bird species we saw or photographed during the trip in no particular order.

  1. Rosy Starling
  2. Lesser Whistling Duck
  3. Common Coot
  4. Northern Shoveler
  5. Oriental Darter
  6. Oriental Magpie-Robin
  7. Common Hawk-Cuckoo
  8. Laughing Dove
  9. Rock Eagle-Owl
  10. Purple Sunbird
  11. River Tern
  12. White-browed Bulbul
  13. Brahminy Starling
  14. Long-tailed Shrike
  15. Rufous-tailed Lark
  16. Shikra
  17. Indian Thick-knee
  18. Grey-necked Bunting
  19. Greater Coucal
  20. Spotted Owlet
  21. Indian Silverbill
  22. Common Iora
  23. Grey Francolin
  24. Jungle Babbler
  25. Green Bee-eater
  26. Plum-headed Parakeet
  27. Blue-faced Malkoha
  28. White-bellied Drongo
  29. Sirkeer Malkoha
  30. Purple-rumped Sunbird
  31. Painted Spurfowl
  32. Asian Koel
  33. Reed Warbler
  34. Red Avadavat
  35. Red-rumped Swallow
  36. Coppersmith Barbet
  37. Yellow-throated Bulbul
  38. Eurasian Hoopoe
  39. White-throated Kingfisher
  40. Rose-ringed Parakeet
  41. Grey-breasted Prinia
  42. Bush Chat
  43. Common Rosefinch
  44. Black-shouldered Kite
  45. Indian Peafowl
  46. Common Myna
  47. Black Kite
  48. Brahminy Kite
  49. Red-wattled Lapwing
  50. Red-vented Bulbul
  51. Egret
  52. Pond Heron
  53. Black-winged Stilt
  54. Plain Prinia
  55. Ashy Prinia
  56. Common Kingfisher
  57. Indian Paradise Flycatcher
  58. Indian Grey Hornbill
Almost as numerous as Common Mynas are Brahminy Starlings and Rosy Starlings, both winter migrants. Berry-bearing shrubs host flocks of Red-vented Bulbuls. In specific locations close to rocks and water, seen alongside these are the White-browed and Yellow-throated Bulbuls. Sunbirds are abundant in the mornings, with Purple Sunbirds vastly outnumbering the more subtly coloured Purple-rumped Sunbirds. The Long-tailed Shrike, often perched prominently, is another regular presence. There are a few key locations for birding in Hampi. The most productive is along the Tungabhadra canal. Abundant water, rocky canal walls, and dense vegetation together create ideal conditions for a wide range of species. River Terns and all three species of kingfishers — White-throated, Common, and Pied — are frequently seen here. Wagtails forage along the water’s edge, and Indian Thick-knees can sometimes be spotted nearby. The highlight, however, is the Rock Eagle-Owl. With the help of a guide from Hampi JLR, we observed at least four individuals across two visits. Another excellent birding area lies around the foothills of Matanga Hill. The path leading from the base of the hill towards the Achyutaraya Temple is especially rewarding at sunrise. The star attraction here was the Sirkeer Malkoha, which we observed alongside the Blue-faced Malkoha.