The Attiveri Wildlife Sanctuary occupies an area of 2.22 sq km while the bird sanctuary covers a total area of 92.23 sq km. The sanctuary is located in Attiveri village of Uttara Kannada district and was established in October 1994. The bird sanctuary lies between latitudes 15°14' to 15°15'N and longitude 75°02' to 75°03'E and receives an annual rainfall of 1,500 mm.
Most of this sanctuary is covered by dry deciduous forest, except the area around the Attiveri reservoir where the vegetation type is mainly riverine. Tree species in the forests include Albizia lebbeck, Acacia arabica, A. leucophlea, Artocarpus integrifolius, Dalbergia latifolia, Tectona grandis, Bombax malabarica, Borassus flabellifer, Bambusa arundianacea and species of Syzygium and Callophyllum.¹
The Attiveri reservoir covers an area of 1.01 sq km and is a popular spot for sighting many of the sanctuary's birds and mammals. The Attiveri reservoir is especially important for water birds because of the abundance of aquatic insects. The farmlands around the reservoir too have a rich diversity of insects. Many globally rare species of water birds from several countries visit Attiveri to nest and breed during the winter months. Nearly 79 species of birds nest in this sanctuary and the best time for sighting migratory species is between November and March. Common species of Indian birds seen throughout the year in and around the Attiveri reservoir are Indian cormorant (Phalacrocorax fuscicollis), cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis), little cormorants (Phalcrocorax niger), Eurasian spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia), pied kingfishers (Ceryle rudis), black-headed ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus), white-throated kingfishers (Halcyon smyrnesis), Indian grey hornbills (Ocyceros birostris) and barn swallows (Hirundo rustica). ¹
Reference
Kazmierczak, K. 2000. A field guide to the birds of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistn, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. OM Book Service, New Delhi, India. 352 pp.
1. Attiveri Bird Sanctuary. http://ces.iisc.ernet.in/biodiversity/documents/sanpeack.htm. Accessed on 8 January 2008.
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