Rajasthan is a state in northern India. It covers 342,239 square kilometres (132,139 sq mi) or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern side, where it comprises most of the wide and inhospitable Thar Desert and shares a border with the Pakistani provinces of Punjab to the northwest and Sindh to the west, along the Sutlej-Indus River valley. It is bordered by five other Indian states: Punjab to the north; Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to the northeast; Madhya Pradesh to the southeast; and Gujarat to the southwest. Its geographical location is 23°.3' to 30°.12' North latitude and 69°.30' to 78°.17' East longitude, with the Tropic of Cancer passing through its southernmost tip.
The bar-headed goose is a goose that breeds in Central Asia in colonies of thousands near mountain lakes and winters in South Asia, as far south as peninsular India. It lays three to eight eggs at a time in a ground nest. It is known for the extreme altitudes it reaches when migrating across the Himalayas.
The fishing cat is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia. Since 2016, it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Fishing cat populations are threatened by destruction of wetlands and have declined severely over the last decade. The fishing cat lives foremost in the vicinity of wetlands, along rivers, streams, oxbow lakes, in swamps, and mangroves.
The black-necked stork is a tall long-necked wading bird in the stork family. It is a resident species across the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia with a disjunct population in Australia. It lives in wetland habitats and near fields of certain crops such as rice and wheat where it forages for a wide range of animal prey. Adult birds of both sexes have a heavy bill and are patterned in white and irridescent blacks, but the sexes differ in the colour of the iris with females sporting yellow irises and males having dark-coloured irises. In Australia, it is known as a jabiru although that name refers to a stork species found in the Americas. It is one of the few storks that are strongly territorial when feeding and breeding.
The Siberian crane, also known as the Siberian white crane or the snow crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes. They are distinctive among the cranes: adults are nearly all snowy white, except for their black primary feathers that are visible in flight, and with two breeding populations in the Arctic tundra of western and eastern Russia. The eastern populations migrate during winter to China, while the western population winters in Iran and (formerly) in Bharatpur, India.
Keoladeo National Park, or Keoladeo Ghana National Park, is a world-famous avifauna and wildlife sanctuary in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India. The park hosts thousands of native, resident and migratory birds, especially during the winter season, when many different species fly to the Indian Subcontinent to escape winter's wrath further north in Eurasia. With at least 400 avian species having been noted or observed within, Keoladeo is a major tourism hub and Indian nature travel destination, both domestically and internationally. The wealth of species lures many amateur and professional birdwatchers and wildlife photographers, as well as scores of ornithologists during the hibernal season, who come to observe the migratory flocks' health, numbers and interactions with the local ecosystems.
Bharatpur is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, 180 km (110 mi) south of India's capital, New Delhi, 178 km (111 mi) from Rajasthan's capital Jaipur, 55 km (34 mi) west of Agra of Uttar Pradesh and 38 km (24 mi) from Mathura of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Bharatpur District and the headquarters of Bharatpur Division of Rajasthan State. Bharatpur is part of National Capital Region of India. The city was the capital of the Bharatpur State. It became a municipal corporation with 65 wards in 2014.
The Gambhir River, which is also known as the Utangan River, is an ephemeral (seasonal) river in India which originates in Rajasthan state and confluences with Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh state. Important tributaries of the Gambhir are Banganga, Sesa, Kher, Churaho and Parbati.
Bharatpur District is a district in Rajasthan state in western India. The city of Bharatpur is the District Headquarters, Division Headquarters and Headquarters of Bharatpur Police Range of Rajasthan Police. Bharatpur District is a part of National Capital Region of India Delhi.
The Indian skimmer or Indian scissors-bill is one of the three species that belong to the skimmer genus Rynchops in the family Laridae. They are somewhat tern-like but like other skimmers, have a short upper mandible and the longer lower mandible that is ploughed along the surface of water as the bird flies over the water to pick aquatic prey. It is found in southern Asia, where it is patchily distributed and declining in numbers. They are mainly found in rivers or estuaries. They are very brightly marked in black, white and orange, making them difficult to miss.
The Taj Mahal Marathon is a long-distance running event in Agra, India, held annually since 14 June 2013. The race was founded by India's youngest ultramarathon runner, engineer Gaurav Madan. Set over a largely flat course around the Chambal River and River Yamuna, the race begins at three separate points around Taj Mahal, Agra, and finishes in Bhangarh, Rajasthan. The crew-supported marathon is the longest in India in terms of distance.
Harike Wetland also known as "Hari-ke-Pattan", with the Harike Lake in the deeper part of it, is the largest wetland in northern India in the border of Tarn Taran Sahib district and Ferozepur district of the Punjab state in India.
Chhai Pokhar is a village in the district of Agra in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is nearby Achhnera or Achnera, connected by road on three sides of the village and by rail. Khera Sandhan is the nearest railway station at about 1 km from the village on Agra- Achnera-Mathura section of NW Railway. It is also known as Three Towers' Village.
The sarus crane is a large nonmigratory crane found in parts of the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Australia. The tallest of the flying birds, standing at a height of up to 1.8 m, they are a conspicuous species of open wetlands in South Asia, seasonally flooded Dipterocarpus forests in Southeast Asia, and Eucalyptus-dominated woodlands and grasslands in Australia.
Hindaun is a Block in Karauli district of the Indian state of Rajasthan in Northern India. It is a subdivisional headquarter. Its population is approximately 442,000. The block covers an area of 700 Square kilometres, which makes it the biggest block in Karauli. The subdistrict code of Hindaun Block is 00522. There are about 165 villages in Hindaun Block.
Vadayil Sankaran Vijayan is an Indian environmentalist, wildlife biologist, ornithologist, an admirer of naturopathy and the founding Director of the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History. He is currently the chairman of the Salim Ali Foundation.
Basai wetland, located in Basai village in Gurgaon tehsil in Gurgaon district in Haryana, India, is a flora and fauna rich water body. It is recognised as one of India's Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas and is of global conservation significance as it supports populations of several endangered, vulnerable, and threatened bird species. Basai wetlandis recognised globally as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by the BirdLife International housing 20,000 birds of over 280 species including migratory birds and endangered birds, has not yet been declared a protected wetland by the Government of Haryana.
Nandur Madhmeshwar Bird Sanctuary is located at Niphad Tehsil of Nashik District, known as the Bharatpur of Maharashtra.
The Kakund River is a small river in Bharatpur district and Karauli District, Rajasthan, India. It flows from the hills of Karauli district and enters the south-western border of Bayana Tehsil from the Karauli side. Its waters are held up in the Baretha reservoir, which is the largest storage of water in the region.
Panchana Dam is a freshwater man-made wetland located in Gudla village, Krauli district, Rajasthan, approximately 100 km southeast of Bharatpur. Positioned upstream of the Gambhir River at Krauli, water from this river is crucial for reaching Keoladeo National Park by September. Failure to release water could impact migratory bird visits to the park. The dam stores water from five rivers, supplying Krauli, Sawai Madhopur, and Bharatpur.
