Bird Watching in Havelock Island, Andaman

The birds of the Andaman Islands

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have well over two hundred recorded bird species, and an unusually high share of them are endemic, meaning they occur here and nowhere else. That is a direct consequence of geography. These islands sit far out in the Bay of Bengal and were never joined to the Asian mainland in a way that let birds move freely back and forth, so populations that arrived here evolved in isolation and became their own species.

For a visitor this means something simple and quite rare: on a two hour walk in Havelock you have a real chance of seeing birds that a lifelong birder from Delhi or Bengaluru has never seen.

Andaman endemics to look for

Others on the endemic list include the Andaman Cuckoo-Dove, Andaman Coucal, Andaman Flowerpecker and Andaman Shama. Which ones turn up depends on the day, the season and a fair amount of luck.

Birds you are very likely to see

• White-bellied Sea Eagle, a very large raptor, brilliant white underneath with grey wings, nesting in tall trees along the shore. Seen over the coast most days, and hard to mistake for anything else.
• Brahminy Kite. Chestnut body, white head, common along the coastline and wherever there is fishing going on.
• Collared Kingfisher. Bright blue and white, loud, and far more visible than its size suggests. Common in coastal trees and along mangrove edges.
• White-throated Kingfisher: turquoise back, chestnut head, white throat patch, often perched on wires and posts well away from water.
• Pacific Reef Egret. This one comes in two colour forms, one pure white and one dark slate grey. Both are the same bird, which surprises most people.
• Olive-backed Sunbird, tiny and fast, the male with a metallic blue-black throat, feeding at flowers in gardens and along the forest edge.
• Oriental Magpie-Robin. Black and white, and the best singer on the island by some distance.
• Shorebirds: whimbrel, sandplovers and other waders working the tideline, mostly between November and March.

Best time of day, and best time of year

How to actually see birds in dense forest

Forest birding is a skill and most of it is unlearning habits. What works:

• Listen before you look. Your guide is navigating by ear. In thick canopy sound tells you where to point your eyes far more often than sight does.
• Look for movement, not for colour. A bird in shade is a grey shape. The flick of a tail against still leaves is what gives it away.
• Move slowly and stop often. Standing still for two minutes shows you more than walking for ten.
• Scan the sunlit edge of the canopy, and the gap between the canopy and the understorey. Birds work edges.
• Wear muted colours and keep conversation low. Bright clothing and loud voices clear a patch of forest ahead of you.
• Follow the pointing, not the description. "Second branch, left of the split trunk" beats "over there" every time, and your guide will use the clock face on the tree.

What your ₹3,000 covers

What to bring

• Water
• A cap or hat
• Comfortable walking shoes
• Muted colours. Greens, browns and greys. Bright clothing works against you
• Binoculars if you own a pair. You do not need them to enjoy the walk, but they change what you get out of it
• Insect repellent

Weather and rescheduling

• Heavy rain or strong wind flattens bird activity, so we would rather move you than take you out in it.
• Free rescheduling to another slot during your stay.
• Full refund if nothing suitable is available before you leave.
• If you cancel 72 hours or more before, you get a full refund minus a 5% fee and GST. Inside 72 hours there is no refund. Walks between 15 December and 15 January are non-refundable. See our refund policy.

This pairs naturally with the forest trail, which covers the same woodland from the plants-and-insects side, and with the mangrove walk, where kingfishers and herons work the root edges.

Bird watching in Andaman: frequently asked questions