Come nightfall, the forests are abuzz with the faint sawing sound of the leopard at night, the mouse deer that slink in the undergrowth, the endemic Malabar gliding frog with its ruby red feet gliding from branch to branch, the draco or the flying lizard that whizzes from tree to tree, Malabar gray hornbill prodigiously feeding its mate, the beautiful green vine snake and the strange wailing sound of the rare slow loris.
Malabar Gliding Frog and the Gaur
The gaur is Goa’s state animal and is to be found in plenty at Cotigao. Goa attracts many migrants other than Homo sapiens; rare marine creatures like the Olive Ridley turtles come to the Morjim and Galgibaug beaches to nest. The female lays eggs, it is believed, on the same beach where she started her life as a little turtle, just hatched from an egg.
This tiny state boasts of myriad ecosystems - coastal, wetlands, estuaries, grasslands. Within its folds are moist deciduous, evergreen forests of the Western Ghats - among the richer reservoirs of biodiversity in the world. Goa is a great birding destination - with over 300 species including the Malabar whistling thrush (below), black eagle, red wattled lapwing and the blossom-headed parakeet.
Malabar whistling thrush
Of the various birding sites in Goa, the Carambolim wetland near Old Goa is home to the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary. This is an important staging point for migrants to rest awhile, before flying further south. Anytime is a good time to view the feathered beauties, though September is the peak time when this sanctuary in Chorao teems with waterfowl.
Text: Prerna Bindra