By Sheetal Kumari | October 30, 2025

Top 10 Rare Waterbirds Found in India

White-bellied Heron

This rare bird, a tall, dark-grey heron with a white throat, inhabits pristine rivers in the eastern Himalayan foothills.

Image: Canva

Baer’s Pochard

A migratory waterfowl diving duck that occurs in India during winter. Its numbers have drastically declined because of loss of habitat and degradation of wetlands.

Image: Canva

White-winged Wood Duck

An uncommon duck with remarkable white patches on its wings inhabits Northeast India’s forested wetlands. It is seriously threatened by deforestation and loss of habitat.

Image: Wildlife Trust of India

Spoon-billed Sandpiper

This small wader, renowned for its spoon-billed bill, breeds in Russia and winters on India’s east coast, comprising Odisha and West Bengal.

Image: Canva

Bengal Florican

A scarce bustard inhabiting tall grasslands of the Indo-Gangetic plains but rapidly declining owing to habitat conversion for agriculture.

Image: Canva

Great Indian Bustard

One of the heaviest flying birds, it inhabits semi-arid grasslands close to water bodies and is subjected to serious dangers from habitat destruction and power lines.

Image: Canva

Siberian Crane

An impressive white migratory crane that was once abundant in Rajasthan’s Keoladeo Park. Critically endangered now, very few remain in the wild.

Image: Canva

Greater Adjutant

A large stork with a huge beak and dangling pouch, inhabiting Assam and Bihar wetlands in large numbers. It assists in cleaning ecosystems as a scavenger.

Image: Canva

Black-bellied Tern

A graceful riverine bird breeding along Indian rivers and lakes, now threatened with extinction because of pollution, fishing nets, and habitat loss.

Image: Canva

Indian Skimmer

Identified by its vibrant orange beak with a longer lower mandible, the bird skim-rides rivers and coasts to catch fish but is quickly vanishing.

Image: Canva

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