Painted Storks Return To Malik Talab, Zone 2

A flock of painted storks (Mycteria leucocephala) has returned to Malik Talab, Zone 2 — an early signal of the pre-monsoon wetland transition that draws birders to Ranthambore's Lahpur gate routes.

Malik Talab sits within Zone 2's Raj Bagh circuit, alongside the 13th-century hunting palace ruins and open grassland margins. Painted storks share the wetland with spoonbills, black-headed ibis, grey herons, and resident kingfishers. Zone 2 is also prime tiger country — tigress Riddhi (T-124) holds territories overlapping this zone — so birding and big-cat safaris often combine on a single drive.

Ranthambore hosts over 300 bird species across its 1,334 sq km, from raptors above the fort ramparts to warblers in the buffer scrub.

Spotted: Zone 2 (Malik Talab) | Season: May–June arrivals