Birds of Bangalore: A Business Trip Turned Safari

Black Kite ( AI generated for Illustration Purposes)

Business trips don’t usually lend themselves to much wild discovery—but now and then, the margins between meetings reveal something unexpected. I found myself in Bangalore, India this May, summoned for a week of cross-continental collaboration. While my calendar was booked with strategy sessions and slide decks, the real revelations came during the quiet in-betweens: walking to and from my hotel, wandering the corridors of the office complex, and most memorably, on an impromptu visit to the famous Lalbagh Botanical Gardens.

The City That Soars

From my very first morning, it was clear that Bangalore doesn’t just hum with human life—it pulses with birdsong. The ubiquitous Common Myna and House Crow strutted boldly on sidewalks like they owned the place. Black Kites and their more distinctive cousins, the Yellow-billed Kites and Brahminy Kites, floated overhead in lazy spirals, ever watchful. Even outside my hotel, the trees buzzed with Little Swifts, White-cheeked Barbets, and the vibrant calls of Asian Koels echoing through the urban canopy.

I’d expected traffic and tech. I hadn’t expected such an overwhelming presence of avian life.

Common Myna ( AI Generated for Illustration Purposes)

A Stroll Through Lalbagh

The highlight, though, was an early-morning walk through Lalbagh Botanical Gardens. A few colleagues—some fellow nature-minded expats and a couple of local staffers—joined me just after dawn. The garden, originally commissioned by Hyder Ali in the 18th century, is now an urban sanctuary sprawling with ancient trees, serene lakes, and wide stone paths.

I had not brought my binoculars or cameras on this trip so I had to use my eyes, ears and my iPhone with the Merlin App on regularly. The Rose-ringed Parakeets were out in force, squabbling playfully from the tree canopies. A White-throated Kingfisher flashed past me enroute to the lake from a tree canopy.

Among the more exciting finds for me was the Shikra, a small hawk darting between branches in search of prey. We also spotted the Greater Coucal, skulking like a shadow in the underbrush. Jungle Mynas, Yellow-billed Babblers, and the flitting Pale-bellied Flowerpecker kept our heads swivelling.

My personal highlight was watching a Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus) aka as a Red-Backed Sea Eagle swooping down and taking small fish from the lake.

Brahminy Kite ( AI generated for illustration purposes)

A Sacred Moment Under a Tree

Toward the end of the walk, we paused beneath a sprawling tree with heart-shaped leaves rustling gently in the breeze. A kind older man, catching my curious glance, struck up a conversation. He introduced me to the Peeple Tree (Ficus religiosa), revered in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions. With quiet reverence, he explained how this “Tree of Life” is often seen as a bridge between earth and sky—a fitting metaphor, I thought, for birdwatching itself.

As we stood beneath its branches, a Purple-rumped Sunbird zipped past, its iridescence catching a shaft of sunlight. Indian White-eyes flickered through the leaves above. I remember thinking: if I came all this way just for this moment, it would still be worth it.

A Checklist Grows

Over just a few short days, I recorded 31 bird species in Bangalore—many of them lifers. Some standouts with checkmarks in my birding list:

1. Black Kite
2. Rock pigeon 
3. Common Myna ✅
4. Asian Koel
5. Little swift ✅
6. White cheeked Barbet ✅
7. White browed wagtail✅
8. Purple Rumped sunbird✅
9. Jungle myna✅
10. Shikra.✅
11. Yellow Billed kite ✅
12. Rose Ringed Parakeet✅
13. Common tailorbird✅
14. Yellow Billed Babbler✅
15. Red whiskered Bulbul✅
16. Pale Bellied Flower Pecker✅
17. Asky Prinia✅
18. Red Wattled Lapwing✅
19. Little Grebe
20. White Throated Kingfisher✅
21. Oriental Magpie-Robin✅
22. Alexandria Parakeet✅
23. Indian Cormorant✅
24. Little Egret
25. Long-billed crow✅
26. House crow✅
27. Indian White Eye✅
28. Indian Pond Heron✅
29. Greater Coucal✅
30. Brahminy Kite✅
31. Indian Spot Billed Duck✅

Bangalore may be known as India’s tech capital, but its skies, gardens, and city parks hum with something older, wilder, and deeply rooted.

Final Thoughts

This trip reminded me that I should never leave my binoculars or wildlife camera kit behind, no matter the destination or the reason for travel. Nature is not reserved for remote wilderness. It’s waiting—in the shade of a Peeple Tree, in the flutter of wings above a crowded avenue, and in the eyes of a stranger willing to share a story.

A big thanks to my Indian colleagues for being so hospitable and taking me to the botanical gardens to birdwatch.

* This post has been created with the assistance of AI. I really wish I had taken a decent camera.