Exploring the Avian Wonders - Part 3: A Birding Adventure at Latpanchar (West Bengal)

Ashit Gandhi
Dec 31, 2024
1 min read

Updated: Jan 21

Latpanchar is situated at the highest point of the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary at an altitude of 4200ft with a mesmerizing view of the Teesta River. Located amidst the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, Latpanchar is a quaint forest village 40km away from Siliguri.

The Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary is home to 36 species of mammals and more than 240 species of birds. The wildlife trickles into the elevated plains of Latpanchar and clear views of interesting animals and birds are easily enjoyed from here. The Rufous Necked Hornbill is the jewel of Latpanchar, threatened and glorious, only a handful of these species thrive in the forests but they can be easily spotted from the openings and optimum bird watching vantage points in Latpanchar. Apart from the Hornbill other rarities like Red-headed Trogon, Collared Scops Owl, Grey-headed Parrot Bell are just some of the other vibrant birds that can be viewed from this quaint village. The proximity to the core area of the sanctuary means that wandering animals like Malayan Giant Squirrel and Barking Deer are also frequently spotted from Latpanchar.

This photo album is a collection of images of Bird and Wildlife during our Birding trip to Latpanchar (3rd Stop in our itinerary) in 3rd week of December 2024

We were a group of 4 Birding enthusiasts travelling to Assam (Manas National Park) & West Bengal (Buxa & Latpanchar) in the search of adding quite a few new species to our Check List (called "Lifers" in birding terms). And we were not disappointed. I added more than 60 lifers to my Checklist.