About Keoladeo National Park:
- Keoladeo National Park, popularly known as Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, is located in Bharatpur in Rajasthan.
- It was founded in the late 19th century as a hunting preserve by Suraj Mal, the maharaja of the Bharatpur princely state, and became a bird sanctuary in 1956.
- Declared a national park in 1981, it was renamed Keoladeo for the ancient temple in the park dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.
- It has an area of 29 sq.km.
- Woodlands, swamps, and wet grasslands cover a large part of the park.
- It is a Ramsar site and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- It is strategically located in the middle of the Central Asian migratory flyway.
- It is home to more than 360 species of permanent and migratory birds.
- During the annual period of migratory visitors (about October to March), birds from throughout the world can be found in the park.
- Among those wintering in the park are waterfowl from Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, China, and Siberia, including species such as gadwalls, shovellers, common teals, tufted ducks, pintails, white spoonbills, Asian open-billed storks, Oriental ibises, and the rare Siberian crane.
- Vegetation: The vegetation here is of a dry deciduous type, with medium-sized trees and shrubs found inside its forest.
- Flora: Some of the trees which can be commonly spotted inside the park are kadam, jamun, babul, kandi, ber, kair, and piloo.
- Fauna: The park is also home to a range of mammals and reptiles—including pythons and other snakes, deer, sambars, blackbucks, jackals, monitor lizards, and fishing cat.
