Around Satori Valley

Birds of the Valley.

Satori Valley sits at roughly 900 metres in the Eastern Ghats, where forest, farmland and hill streams meet — good ground for birdwatching, especially in the early morning hours. Bring your binoculars.

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This is a starter checklist of species known from Eastern Ghats forest habitats like this one — not yet a confirmed Satori Valley sighting list. If you spot and photograph a bird here, let us know so we can add it with a credit.

Forest & Hill Birds

In the Canopy

Photo coming soon

Indian Paradise Flycatcher

Terpsiphone paradisi

The male's long, ribbon-like white or rufous tail streamers make this one of the most striking forest birds in the region.

Forest
Photo coming soon

Indian Pitta

Pitta brachyura

A jewel-coloured ground bird, more often heard than seen — its whistled call carries through the undergrowth at dawn and dusk.

Forest
Photo coming soon

Greater Racket-tailed Drongo

Dicrurus paradiseus

A glossy black bird with distinctive wire-thin tail rackets, and an excellent mimic of other forest birds' calls.

Forest
Photo coming soon

Indian Grey Hornbill

Ocyceros birostris

A large-billed, undulating flier often seen crossing open ground between patches of forest.

Forest
Photo coming soon

Grey Junglefowl

Gallus sonneratii

A wild ancestor of the domestic chicken, the male's speckled plumage and loud crow give it away in the undergrowth.

Forest
Photo coming soon

Asian Fairy-bluebird

Irena puella

The male's brilliant blue-and-black plumage stands out sharply against the green forest canopy.

Forest
Photo coming soon

Black-hooded Oriole

Oriolus xanthornus

Bright yellow with a black head and bib, and a fluty, musical call that carries well through the trees.

Forest Garden
Photo coming soon

Emerald Dove

Chalcophaps indica

A shy, low-flying dove with deep emerald-green wings, usually seen darting between forest floor and undergrowth.

Forest
Raptors

Birds of Prey

Photo coming soon

Crested Serpent Eagle

Spilornis cheela

A broad-winged forest eagle, often heard giving its loud, ringing call while soaring above the hill slopes.

Hills
Photo coming soon

Changeable Hawk-Eagle

Nisaetus cirrhatus

A powerful, crested eagle of forest edges, seen soaring in wide circles over the valley on thermals.

Hills
Photo coming soon

Black Eagle

Ictinaetus malaiensis

A large, all-dark eagle that glides low and slow over the forest canopy, hunting for eggs and nestlings.

Hills
Photo coming soon

Shikra

Accipiter badius

A small, agile hawk of open farmland and forest edge — a common sight perched on field-edge trees near the retreat.

Farmland
Photo coming soon

Brahminy Kite

Haliastur indus

A chestnut-and-white raptor with a striking white head, most often seen over the dams and reservoirs of the region.

Wetland
Near the Dams & Reservoirs

Wetland Birds

Jolaput, Balimela and Kolab — the region's dams and reservoirs — draw water birds worth a detour if you're out sightseeing.

Photo coming soon

Grey-headed Fish Eagle

Icthyophaga ichthyaetus

A large, powerful eagle that hunts fish from perches overlooking open water — look for it around the larger reservoirs.

Wetland
Photo coming soon

Woolly-necked Stork

Ciconia episcopus

A tall black-and-white stork with a distinctive woolly white neck, wading the shallows of dams and paddy fields.

Wetland
Photo coming soon

Indian Pond Heron

Ardeola grayii

A stocky, well-camouflaged heron that looks unremarkable at rest but flashes bright white wings in flight.

Wetland
Photo coming soon

Stork-billed Kingfisher

Pelargopsis capensis

India's largest kingfisher, with a massive coral-red bill — a striking sight along streams and reservoir edges.

Wetland
Around the Retreat

Garden & Common Birds

These are the birds you're likely to notice first, right around the fields and buildings of Satori Valley.

Photo coming soon

Purple Sunbird

Cinnyris asiaticus

A tiny, iridescent nectar-feeder, the male flashing deep purple-black in good light around flowering shrubs.

Garden
Photo coming soon

White-throated Kingfisher

Halcyon smyrnensis

Bright turquoise-blue above with a chocolate head and a white throat — often seen perched on wires near open fields.

Garden Farmland
Photo coming soon

Coppersmith Barbet

Psilopogon haemacephalus

Named for its metallic, repetitive "tuk...tuk...tuk" call, which sounds exactly like a coppersmith at work.

Garden
Photo coming soon

Indian Roller

Coracias benghalensis

A stocky, brilliant-blue bird often seen perched on roadside wires — its tumbling display flight gives it its name.

Farmland
Photo coming soon

Green Bee-eater

Merops orientalis

Slim and grass-green with a fine black eye-stripe, hawking insects from open perches near the fields.

Farmland
Photo coming soon

Jungle Babbler

Argya striata

Drab brown and endlessly social, these birds move through the undergrowth in noisy, chattering groups of six or seven.

Garden
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