Delhi Earth Walks Uncover Gray Hornbill Wonders and 35 Bird Species
For the love of birding - A report of the Delhi Earth Walk birdwatching trail held at Lodhi Garden & Sunder Nursery
Date: 24 May 2026
Location: Lodhi Garden
Walk Leader: Deepak Kumar and Pankaj Kumar
Walk Theme: Urban Birding in Delhi
Walk Coordinator: Salil Dutta
No of participants: 89
Delhi has its own ways of amazing people, especially when it comes to birding. The capital stood up to its name of being the second bird-rich capital in the world, with the continuous sighting of a female Oriental Pied Hornbill being reported in the Lodhi Garden. This was a source of amazement amongst the birders as well as all the nature lovers, as this would have been an unusual sighting for a bird being found in the Terai and Himalayan region to be seen in the urban settings of Delhi. To discover this same intriguing sighting, Asian Adventures, in collaboration with the Global Wildlife Fair and Delhi Tourism, had organised an Earth Walk in the Lodhi Garden.
The participants were very excited when they met at the designated location and were beaming with questions, such as what brought the bird here. Is it misplaced, or is there something that is attracting it here? Would it stay here for long, or is it a temporary visitor? The walk leaders assured the participants that what they would experience in this walk is nothing less than extraordinary, but for that, the participants needed to contain their excitement, which made even the group laugh. Towards the tree where it was predicted to be seen, the group headed straight. The bird was quietly sitting on the treetop as if balancing on the top of something. The participants left no opportunity to click the most perfect shots of the bird, and some were even gasping at the sight, as if they were witnessing something extraordinary. It was then, on closer observation from the binoculars, that it was seen that it was warming the chicks in the nest.
Many assumed that it was her eggs and nest, but it was then that the walk leaders revealed the biggest twist: that the eggs and the nest was that of an Indian Gray Hornbill. This case had emerged as one of the rarest incidents in avian history, where the maternal instincts of this Oriental Pied Hornbill had urged her to assume the children, as the nest belonged to her, and she took responsibility for caring for them. Why this case became even more extraordinary is that in the avian world, it is usually the male who takes the responsibility of feeding the children, but here the male was just bringing in the food, and the female was feeding the children. The most surprising detail was that the female was rejecting all the food, such as the jungle babbler or the egg of a pigeon, that was being brought by the male Indian Gray Hornbill.
They further explained that expert birders spend days understanding the unique phenomenon that was taking place. Close observation revealed that the female was accepting only berries and seeds brought by the male. This overall management by the two species was something that had left the participants wondering what all the surprises nature has in store for the human world. After clicking ample noteworthy pictures of the birds and understanding the rare coordination that was taking place between the two species of the same avian families, the participants headed towards Sunder Nursery to experience the best of urban birding on a bright sunny day.
The Black-rumped Flameback became the first bird that was spotted upon arriving, and the leaders explained the different plumage seasons of a variety of birds. The discussion shifted towards the common resident and migratory birds that are found in Delhi. What really stood out during the walk were the children who used apps such as Merlin and eBird to track the different bird species being observed. On being asked what made them interested in using these applications, one of them stated that she had seen our walk coordinator actively using it in our previous walks, and then got after her parents to teach her too. Another child claimed that making a bird list is very interesting, as it corresponds with catching Pokémon in real life. It was even learnt that the kids compare their lists later to see who tracked the most species.
Earth Walks had the initiative of making citizen science an easier concept for people. Seeing people and children use it with this much ease was nothing but a source of pure joy to the team. Overall, the walk was a huge success, with participants looking forward to joining more such fun Sunday activities. You can even join such out-of-the-box walks and explore the new things that exist around you. To walk with Earth Walks, click here and join your natural adventure next Sunday: https://asianadventures.info/p/af0725/
Bird List
- Graylag Goose
- Indian Spot-billed Duck
- Mallard (domestic type)
- Indian Peafowl
- Rock Pigeon
- Eurasian Collared-Dove
- Laughing Dove
- Yellow-footed green pigeon
- Asian Koel
- Eurasian Moorhen
- White-breasted Waterhen
- Red-wattled Lapwing
- Red-naped Ibis
- Little Egret
- Eastern Cattle-Egret
- Black Kite
- Indian Gray Hornbill
- Oriental Pied-Hornbill
- Coppersmith Barbet
- Brown-headed Barbet
- Black-rumped Flameback
- Alexandrine Parakeet
- Rose-ringed Parakeet
- Rufous Treepie
- House Crow
- Common Tailorbird
- Ashy Prinia
- Wire-tailed Swallow
- Red-vented Bulbul
- Indian White-eye
- Jungle Babbler
- Indian Pied-Starling
- Common Myna
- Oriental Magpie-Robin
- Purple Sunbird