It doesn’t often happen in the birding world, where a location is primarily famous only because of a particular bird species that is found there. Like the Bugun Liocichla which is only found in the Lama Camp, the Yellow-throated Bulbul which makes Hampi the preferred location for birders, maybe in the same way or more, it is undoubtedly the Green Munia (Green Avadavat) which makes Mt. Abu the only reason why we birders feel like visiting there.
Not to take away the credit of being the only green hill station in Rajasthan, Mt. Abu is beautiful in its own way. But it is indeed the Green Munia that is the highlight for all birders when they visit this hill station. The popularity of this bird is so high that the moment you get down from your car with your camera and lenses, the first question the security at the hotel asks you is whether we are there for the Green Munia. Not juts that, if you are roaming around in the town with your camera gear, the villagers keep asking you, whether have you seen the Green Munia or are you still looking for it. Sometimes they even offer their help for you to sight it easily.
Such is the popularity of this bird, no wonder it had to be beautiful. That glowing red bill, with the zebra marking on the side belly, with lime green colouration, what more could you ask from the bird. For an instance it reminded me of Red-billed Leiothrix from Uttarakhand.
We drove from GRK to Mt. Abu, booked for 2 night stay, then onward to DNP Jaisalmer for another 3 nights and back to Mt. Abu for 1 night, and then back to GRK. This was the first time we were entering Rajasthan in our own car. The plan to drive all across Rajasthan was already there in the back of our mind since last few year, but covid literally killed all that plan. So finally, when I got the chance to do birding in Mt Abu and Jaisalmer, that dream of driving on the beautiful Rajasthan roads, finally got fulfilled.
Total distance from GRK to Mt. Abu: 486 km
Total time taken: 8 hours 2 minutes (including rest, relaxation and fueling)
Bird Guide: Veer Vaibhav Mishra
Place of Stay: ITC Welcom Heritage Connaught House - Be ready for some royal luxury treatment at this hotel. The ambience is a perfect blend of Heritage property with beautiful landscaping. The staff is too good to prepare meals as per your liking, we even tried their specialty the famous Laal Maans. After a long day of birding, if you plan to spend your time in a lot comfort, look no beyond ITC Welcom Heritage. No other property can come close to this in Mt. Abu. It is indeed the best of all.
Duration of stay: 2 nights onward journey and 1 night return journey from Jaisalmer
We had an amazing sighting of the Green Munia and to top it all, a lifer in the form of White-capped Bunting too. We did search for the Crested Bunting for many hours, unfortunately couldn’t trace it this time around. Enjoy the pics and video below,
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