Dehing Patkai & Maguri Beel: Why Eastern Assam’s Overlooked Habitats are a Birder’s Paradise

When birders dream of Northeast India, the usual names float to mind—Eaglenest, Mishmi, Kaziranga, Manas. But tucked away in the far eastern corner of Assam lies a breathtaking, underrated biodiversity haven that quietly outshines them all: Dehing Patkai National Park and Maguri Beel wetlands.

This landscape, where ancient lowland forests meet shimmering wetlands, offers a birding experience unlike anywhere else in India. It is raw, immersive, unpredictable, and incredibly rewarding. If you love discovering places before they explode in popularity, Dehing Patkai and Maguri Beel are the hidden gems you’ve been waiting for.

A Landscape of Two Worlds: Forests & Wetlands in Perfect Harmony

What makes Eastern Assam so extraordinary is the seamless blend of two habitat types that rarely exist side-by-side in such pristine form:

The Lowland Rainforests of Dehing Patkai

Often called the “Amazon of the East,” Dehing Patkai is a mosaic of tall forests with dense evergreen canopies, with patches of bamboo thickets and a fern-rich forest floor

These forests once blanketed the entire Brahmaputra Valley, but today, Dehing Patkai holds the last substantial stretch of this unique ecosystem, a refuge for some of India’s most rare and secretive birds. Forest specialists thrive here, making it a treasure trove for birders seeking species rarely seen elsewhere.

Red-headed Trogon

Streaked Wren Babbler

White-spectacled Warbler

Blue-winged Leafbird

Gray Peacock Pheasant

Lesser Shortwing

Collared Treepie

Sultan Tit

Pied Falconet

The Wetland Wonderland of Maguri Beel

Just 45 minutes away lies Maguri Beel, an expansive wetland system connected to the Dibru River. It's open waters, surrounded by reedbeds and swampy grasslands, and adjoining river channels create an ever-changing habitat that attracts a spectacular mix of migratory and resident birds. The area is especially famous for hosting near-mythical passage migrants and tall-grass specialists. Together, Dehing Patkai combined with Maguri Beel form a one-of-a-kind birding circuit—where every hour brings new habitats, new species, and new surprises.

Jerdon's Babbler

Swamp Grass Babbler

Pied Harrier

Graylag Goose

Marsh Babbler

Smoky Warbler

Swamp Francolin

Tickell's Leaf Warbler

Red crested Pochard

Birding Highlights: Rarities Hiding in Plain Sight

The region is rich year-round, but the winter months are particularly sensational. Birders flock here for:

• White-winged Duck – critically endangered and highly elusive. Eastern Assam is their last stronghold population in India.

• Brown Hornbill – a lowland forest specialist

• Collared Treepie – endemic to the Northeast hill forests

• Grey Peacock-Pheasant – shy, camouflaged, and incredibly rewarding to see

• Chestnut-backed Laughingthrush – rare and localised to eastern Assam

• Oriental Bay Owl - secretive

• Rufous-throated Fulvetta - range-restricted fulvetta only found in eastern Assam and Myanmar hill forests

• Streaked Wren-Babbler- In India, found only in hill forests of eastern Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Manipur 

• White-hooded Babbler - Found only in northern Myanmar and northeast lowland forests

• Pied Falconet - In India, only found in Assam’s lowland forests and parts of Namdapha 

• Hainan Blue Flycatcher

Mixed flocks here are electric, fast-moving, multi-layered, filled with laughingthrushes, flycatchers, drongos, and the occasional surprise.

Wetland Rarities of Maguri Beel

This wetland is famous nationwide for hosting:

• Baikal Teal – a dream species for Indian bird photographers

• Baikal Bush Warbler – a super-skulker of dense reeds

• Swamp Grass Babbler & Marsh Babbler in tall grasslands

• Australasian Grass Owl

• Spotted Bush Warbler

• Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler

• Chestnut-crowned Bush Warbler

• Falcated Duck

• Eastern Spot-billed Duck

• Baer’s Pochard – critically endangered waterfowl

• Ferruginous Duck

• Eastern Marsh Harrier

• Pied Harrier

• Reed Bunting

• Jerdon’s Babbler

• Jerdon’s Bushchat

• Black-breasted Parrotbill

• Brown-cheeked Rail

• Chinese Rubythroat

  
  

Unlike the more famous birding circuits, Dehing Patkai and Maguri Beel remain blissfully peaceful; No tourist rush, no vehicle traffic, just forests, wetlands, and birds.

The astounding diversity of habitats, within a 20–40 km radius, is unreal: rainforests, bamboo forests, wetlands and long grass grasslands. This allows birders to clock huge species lists in short time frames.

Extraordinary Photography Opportunities

Maguri Beel is a dream for photographers: soft light on the wetlands, open vistas, and birds at eye level from boats. Dehing Patkai, with its dramatic rainforest ambience, offers moody, documentary-style frames that stand out in any portfolio. You’re experiencing one of India’s most biodiverse corners in its raw, authentic form.

It’s a Region in Need of Awareness

With threats from mining, development, and changing land use, birders visiting Dehing Patkai & Maguri Beel contribute to eco-tourism that supports conservation efforts and local communities.

Dehing Patkai and Maguri Beel may not yet be mainstream names in the Indian birding world — but that’s exactly what makes them special. For birdwatchers and photographers seeking fresh, unexplored, deeply rewarding landscapes, this is perhaps the most exciting region in India right now.

Come for the rarities.

Stay for the wilderness.