The big five of Kaziranga are - rhino, elephant, buffalo, tiger and swamp deer.

BIG FIVE

	HINO Rhinoceros Unicornis Kaziranga has the world’s largest population of the great Indian one horned rhinoceros, approximately 1,600 great Indian one-horned rhinoceros, Rhinoceros unicornis. The animal gets its name from the Greek words rhis - nose and keros - horn. The rhino is generally solitary, unless accompanied by a calf. It lives approximately 45 years and the
female may give birth to a young ones at between six and eight years. Despite its bulk, the rhino can attain speeds of 48 to 50 kms.

ASIAN ELEPHANT Elephas maximus
Kaziranga has over 1,000 Asian elephants. Kaziranga's wild elephant populations are not static. Herds moves along traditional migratory routes over long distances. Herds are led by a mattriachs. Males are usually solitary, but may also be found in the company of a younger male. Early mornings and late afternoons are the preferred times to feed in the open. When the sun is high, they choose forested parts of their range where they will continue feeding on branches, leaves, barks and fruits whose seeds will be dispersed near and far. On an average, they weigh 3,000 kgs.

ASIATIC WILD BUFFALO Bubalus Bubalis
About 1,400 buffalo population are in Kaziranga. Kaziranga harbours a crucial breeding population. Sporting magnificent horns, perhaps the largest among all bovines in the world, wild buffalo are formidable opponents that can weigh over 1,000 kgs. Like rhinos and elephants, wild buffalo can be seen grazing in and around Kaziranga’s many beels in the morning and afternoon. Males are essentially solitary though herds may comprise dominant male.

TIGER Panthera Tigris
It is estimated that Kaziranga is home to around 90 tigers, but extensive area of tall elephant grass means that the sighting of the big cats are very less.

SWAMP DEER Cervus Duvauceli Rnjitsinghi
There are approximately 500 Swamp Deer, or barasingha (twelve-horned deer), the largest population in Eastern India. Swamp deer prefers grassland with reed brakes and patches of tree forests.

ANIMALS
As many as 14 rare and endangered species are found in Kaziranga including Indian bison or gaur, sloth bear, leopard, capped langur, assamese macaque, mongoose, otter, hog deer, sambar, barking deer, wild boar, rodent, snakes.

Apart from mammals, Kaziranga is also home to an incredible diversity of insects, arachnids, reptiles.

BIRDS OF KAZIRANGA

Spotted bill or Grey pelican (Pelicanusb phillippensis), Large cormorant (Phalocrorax carbo), Little cormorant (-do-niger), Pigmy cormorant (-do-pygmaeus), Indian shag (-do-fuscicollia), Darter or snake bird (Anhinga rufa)

HERONS AND BITTERNS :
Grey heron (Ardea cinerea), Purple heron (-do-purpurea), Little green heron (Butorides striatus), Pond heron (Ardeola grayii), Night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), Chestnut bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus), Yellow bittern (-do-sinensis), Black bittern (Depetor Flavicellis).

EGRETES :
Little egrets (Egretta garzetta), Median egret (-do-intermedia), Large egret (-do-alba), Cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis).

STORKS :
Open bill stork (Anostonus oscitamus), White necked stork (Ciconia episcopus), Black necked stork (Xenorhynchus asiaticus), Black stork (Ciconia niger), Greater adjutant stork (Dubius), Lesser adjutant stork (javanicus)

GOOSE AND DUCKS :
Bar headed goose (Answer indicus), Lesser whistling teal (Dendrocygna javanica), Common teal (Anus crecca), Cotton teal (Nettapus coromandelianus), Ruddy shelduck (Brahminy Duck) (Tadorna ferruginea), Paintal duck (Anus acuta), Mallard duck (Anus platyrlynchos), Spot bill duck (Anus poecibor), Gadwall duck (Anus strepera), Wigeon duck (Anus penolope) Gargeny (blue winged teal) (Anus querquedula), Shoveller (Anus clypeata), Common pochard (Aythya terina), White eyed pochard (Aythya niyroca), Tufted pochard (Aythya fuligula), Graylag goose (Anser anser)

EAGLES AND KITES :
Pallas fishing eagle or ring Tailed fishing (Haliaeetus leucoryplus), Bonellis Hawk eagle (fasciatus), Crested serpent eagle (Spilornis cheela), Grey headed fishing eagle (Icthyophaga ichthyaetust), Short toed eagle (Circaetus gallicus), Black winged kite (Elanus caeruleus), Brahminy kite (Haliastur Indus), Black kite (Milvus migrants), Black cresned baza (Aviceda leuphotes), Shikra (Accipiter badius), Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Eurasian kestrel (Falco tinnun culus)

PATRIDGE PHEASANTS AND FOWLS :
Kalij pheasant (Lophura leucomelana), Common crow pheasant (Centropus sinsis), Median crow pheasant (intermedius), Lesser crow pheasent (intermedius), Swamp patridge (Froncolinus gularis), Red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus)

CRAKES, MOORHENS, FLORICANS, JACANAS ETC :
Branded crake (Rallina eurizonoides), Brown crake (Amaurornis akool), Ruddy crake (-do- fuscus) White breated waterhen (phoenicurus), Water cock (Gallicrex cinerea), Indian moorhen (Gellinula chloropus) Purple moorhen (Gellinula chloropus), Bengal florican (Eupodotis bengalensis), Bnonze winged jacana (Metopidius indicus), Pheasant tailed jacana (Hydrophasianus chiragus) Tailed fishing eagle.

PLOVERS, LAPWINGS, SHANKS, SAND PIPERS ETC. :
Lapwing or green plover (Vanellus vanellus), Sociable lapwing (gregarious), Greyheaded lapwing (cinerius), Red-wattled lapwing (indicus), Spur winged lapwing (spinosus), Little ringed plover (Charadrius dubius), Spotted redshank (Tringa erythropus), Green shank (nebubaria), Marsh sandpiper (Stagnatilis), Green sandpiper (Ochropus), Common sandpiper (hypoleucos)

SNIPES, STINTS, GULLS AND TERNS ETC :
Fantail snipe (Capella gallinaya), Temmincks stint (Calidris temminckii), Brown headed gull (Larus brunnicephalus), Indian whiskered tern (Chldonias hybrida), Indian river tern (Sterna aurontina), Blackbellied tern (Sterna acuticauda)

PIGEONS AND DOVES :
Orange brasted green pigeon (Treron bicincta), Bengal green pigeon (Phoenicoptera), Impereal green pigeon (Bucula aenea), Rufous furtle dove (Streptopelis prinentalis), Ring dove (decaocto), Red turtle dove (tranquabarica), Spotted dove (chinensis), Emarald dove (Chalcophaps indica)

PARAKEETS :
Large Indian parakeet (Psittacula eupatria), Roseringed parakeet (Krameri), Redbrested parakeet (alexandri)

SHRIKE :
Black headed shrike (Lanius schach), Greybacked shrike (Lanius phrohotus), Brown shrike (Lanius cristatus), Common wood shrike (Tephrodonis-pondicerianus), Large cuckoo shrike (Coracina melaschistos)

DRONGO :
Black drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis), Crow billed drongo (Dicrurus annectans), Bronze drongo (Dicrurus aeneus), Hair crested drongo (Dicrurus hottentotus), Lesser racked tailed drongo (Dicrurus remifer)

MYNAS :
Grey headed myna (Sturnus malabaricus), Pied myna (Sturnus centra), Common myna (Acridotheres tristis), Jungle myna (fuscus), Bank myna (Ginginianusa), Hill myna (Gracula raligiosa)

STARE, PIE, AND ORIOLE :
Spot winged stare (Saraglossa spiloptera), Green magpie (Cissa chinensis), Tree pie (Dendrocitta bagabunda), Black headed oriole (Oriolus xanthornus)

CROW, MINIVET AND CHLOROPESE :
House crow (Saraglossa spiloptera), Jungle crow (Corvus splendens), Scarlet minovet (Pericrocotus flamneus), Shortbilled minovet (Pericrocotus brevirostris), Small minovet (Cinnamomeus), Gold fronted chloropsis (Chlororopses auriferous), Common iora (Aegithina tiphia)

BULBULS :
Black headed yellow bulbul (Pycnonotus melanictrus), Red whiskered bulbul (Pycnonotus Jocosus), White vented bulbul (cafer), White throated bulbul (Criniger flaveolus)

BABBLERS :
Spotted babbler (Pellorneum), Red fronted babbler (Stachris rufifrous), Red capped babbler (Timalia pileata), Black throated babbler (Stachyris nigriceps), Yellow throated babbler (Macronous gularis), Yellow eyed babbler (Chrysomma sineeuse), Striated babbler (Turdoies earlei), Jungle babbler (striatus)

THRUSH :
Necklaced laughing thrush (Garrulax monileger), Rufous necked laughing thrush (ruficollis), White erested laughing (Leucolophus), Blue rock thrush (Monicola solitarius) Himayayan whistting thrush (Myiophonous caeruleus)

FLY CATCHERS :
Red breasted fly catcher (Muscicena parva), Verditer (thalassina), Little pied fly catcher (Muscicapa westermanni), Slaty blue (Leucomelanura), Grey headed (Culicicana ceylonensis), White browed fantail fly catcher (Rhipidura anveola), Yellow bellied fantail (hypoxantha), Paradise fly catcher (Terpsiphone, paradisi)