Pichavaram Mangrove Forest

Pichavaram is a village near Chidambaram in Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu, India. Pichavaram consists of a number of islands interspersing a vast expanse of water covered with mangrove forest. The Pichavaram mangrove Forest is one of the largest mangrove forests in India covering about 1100 hectare of area. It is separated from the Bay of Bengal by a sand bar. The mangroves also attract migrant and local birds including snipes, cormorants, egrets, storks, herons, spoonbills and pelicans. About 177 species of birds belonging to 15 orders and 41 families have been recorded. High population of birds could be seen from November to January due to high availability of prey, coincidence of the time of arrival of true migrants from foreign countries and local migrants from their breeding grounds across India. The availability of different habitat types such as channels, creeks, gullies, mudflats and sand flats and adjacent seashore offers ideal habitat for different species of birds and animals.