Nature paints boldly: scarlet against shadow, turquoise against sky, bronze across water. In India’s vast wildlife landscape, each bird is a fleeting masterpiece, a living brushstroke that transforms the wild into art. With their fascinating hues these wonderful creatures make this country a birder’s paradise. Join us as we discover India’s most Insta-worthy birds, uncommon beauties that turn every sighting into a story.
Dwarf Kingfisher 
A pocket-sized splash of fire, the Dwarf Kingfisher flashes across the forest in a blur of orange and electric blue. With its glowing crown, coral-red bill, and jewel-toned wings, it looks like a shard of rainbow darting between streams and thickets. Despite its tiny size, it’s a fierce hunter—diving swiftly to snatch insects, small fish, and frogs. Its soft, piping call is often the only clue before you glimpse this elusive gem of the undergrowth.
Where: Dense forests of the Western Ghats, Northeast India, Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Best Season: June–September (monsoon and post-monsoon, when forests come alive)
Crimson Sunbird 
India’s very own “mini-hummingbird,” the Crimson Sunbird dazzles with its ruby-red breast and metallic green crown. The golden gleam on its wings catches the light as it hovers at flowers, sipping nectar with its slender curved bill. Tiny yet tireless, it darts from bloom to bloom, its wings a blur of restless energy. In gardens, forest edges, and plantations, this jewel-like bird turns ordinary mornings into scenes of brilliance.
Where: Northeastern India, Himalayan foothills, Western Ghats
Best Season: October–April (most active around flowering season)
Plum-headed Parakeet 
Unlike the common green parakeet, this one is pastel poetry in motion. The male wears a striking plum-colored hood with a maroon throat band, while the female glows in bluish-grey elegance. They fly in tight flocks, swift and synchronized, calling cheerfully as they cross open skies. Against winter light, their soft colors look like brushstrokes of watercolor sweeping across fields and groves.
Where: Northern & peninsular India – Delhi Ridge, Western Ghats, dry forests and farmlands
Best Season: October–March
Great Hornbill 
The “king of the Western Ghats,” the Great Hornbill is a bird of legend. With its massive yellow casque, bold black-and-white plumage, and enormous size, it is impossible to overlook. The heavy wingbeats echo like distant drums long before the bird appears, sweeping across rainforest canopies in powerful flight. Tribal folklore hails it as a symbol of strength and longevity, and when one glides overhead, the forest seems to bow in reverence.
Where: Western Ghats, Northeast (Kaziranga, Namdapha)
Best Season: November–April
Malabar Trogon 
A forest phantom of the Western Ghats, the Malabar Trogon glows like stained glass in green light. Its scarlet belly and velvet-black hood gleam when sunlight filters through the canopy. Usually, it sits quietly in the shaded understory, waiting for insects, almost invisible against the gloom. But when it shifts, its colors blaze suddenly, as if a secret painting has been unveiled deep within the forest.
Where: Periyar, Silent Valley, Coorg, Thattekad
Best Season: November–March
Asian Paradise Flycatcher 
Grace in motion, the Asian Paradise Flycatcher drifts like a dream through shady groves. Males in white plumage trail tail streamers longer than their own body, unraveling behind them like silk in the wind. Rufous morphs are equally striking, but it is the ghostly white morph that steals the heart. Catching one in flight feels like watching a dancer glide across air, fleeting yet unforgettable.
Where: Himalayan foothills, Central India, Western Ghats
Best Season: October–April
Indian Roller 
Known as Neelkanth, the Indian Roller lights up rural skies with turquoise and violet brilliance. Perched on wires and trees, it scans fields for prey, but its real magic is in flight. During courtship, it tumbles and rolls through the air, flashing neon-blue wings that gleam like electricity. No wonder it is considered auspicious — a bird that brings sky-colored blessings wherever it appears.
Where: Throughout India – fields, open woodlands, often seen perched on wires
Best Season: October–March
Bronze-winged Jacana 
The “lily-walker” of India’s wetlands, the Bronze-winged Jacana is a marvel of balance. Its long toes let it stride across lotus leaves as though walking on water. When sunlight touches its wings, a sheen of bronze and purple glimmers on its otherwise dark body. During breeding season, they shepherd tiny chicks under their wings, carrying them gently across floating ponds — a scene of tenderness on shimmering waters.
Where: Bharatpur (Rajasthan), Chilika (Odisha), Kaziranga (Assam)
Best Season: July–October (breeding season)
These are the most enchanting performers of the Indian skies — the ones that leave behind a memory of color, movement, and music long after the binoculars are packed away.
If you are keen on witnessing them in their natural theatres, plan your journeys with Sacred Dot. Our team of birding enthusiasts, curates experiences that bring you closer to these winged wonders — whether in misty forests, lotus-filled wetlands, or along the glowing winter skies of India. So Contact us now!
