Thattekad Bird Sanctuary

The Thattekad Bird Sanctuary, covering an area of hardly 25 km², and located about 60 km northeast of Kochi (Kerala state, India), is one of the important bird sanctuaries of India. Salim Ali,one of the best known ornithologist has described
this sanctuary as “the richest bird habitat on peninsular India”. The literal meaning of Thattekad is flat forest, the region is an evergreen low-land forest and is located between the branches of Periyar River, the longest river in Kerala.The Thattekad Bird Sanctuary has a rich and varied birdlife. Several species of birds, both forest birds as well as the water birds, visit the sanctuaries, and the important ones include the following:The Indian Pitta, which visits the sanctuary during winter and spends almost six months here.