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Nanmangalam Reserve Forest is a protected forest located in 
Chengalpattu district
Chengalpattu District is one of the 38 List of districts of Tamil Nadu, districts of Tamil Nadu, in India. The district headquarters is located at Chengalpattu. Chengalpattu district came into existence on 29 November 2019 when it was carved o ...
, about 24 km from the city centre. It is located at Medavakkam
Medavakkam is a southern suburb of Chennai in Tambaram taluk of Chengalpattu district, which is adjacent to the neighbourhood of Sholinganallur, Madipakkam, Selaiyur, Keelkattalai, Velachery and Tambaram and it is center place to the developi ...
on Velachery High Road between Velachery and Tambaram
Tambaram is a southern suburb of Chennai, India. Located in the Chengalpattu district of Tamil Nadu, it is governed by Tambaram City Municipal Corporation and is a part of the Chennai Metropolitan Area.
Etymology
Tambaram is an ancient to ...
. The reserve forest has an area of 320 hectares. However, the total area of the forest is 2,400 hectares.
The forest
The forest is popular amongbird watcher
Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, ...
s and is home to about 85 species of birds. Red-wattled lapwing
The red-wattled lapwing (''Vanellus indicus'') is an Asian lapwing or large plover, a wader in the family Charadriidae. Like other lapwings they are ground birds that are incapable of perching. Their characteristic loud alarm calls are indicat ...
, Hoopoe
Hoopoes () are colourful birds found across Africa, Asia, and Europe, notable for their distinctive "crown" of feathers. Three living and one extinct species are recognized, though for many years all of the extant species were lumped as a single ...
, crested honey buzzard, grey partridge
The grey partridge (''Perdix perdix''), also known as the gray-legged partridge, English partridge, Hungarian partridge, or hun, is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. The scientific name ...
, coucal, Indian eagle-owl
The Indian eagle-owl (''Bubo bengalensis''), also called the rock eagle-owl or Bengal eagle-owl, is a large horned owl species native to hilly and rocky scrub forests in the Indian Subcontinent. It is splashed with brown and grey, and has a whit ...
, white-breasted kingfisher, pied kingfisher
The pied kingfisher (''Ceryle rudis'') is a species of water kingfisher widely distributed across Africa and Asia. Originally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, it has five recognised subspecies. Its black and white plumage and crest, as well as ...
, southern bush lark and red-whiskered bulbul
The red-whiskered bulbul (''Pycnonotus jocosus''), or crested bulbul, is a passerine bird native to Asia. It is a member of the bulbul family. It is a resident frugivore found mainly in tropical Asia. It has been introduced in many tropical are ...
are commonly seen in the area.
The 320-hectare Nanmangalam Reserved Forest, located about 10 km from Velachery, is a scrubland around an abandoned granite quarry and is home to some of the rare territorial orchids, according to a recent study.
The state forest department has entrusted the work of data collection in this small forest area to Care Earth, a bio-diversity research organisation. Located near Medavakkam, a rapidly developing residential locality, the forest needs immediate fencing to protect it from encroachment and to curtail any non-forestry activity there, the study says.
The neighbourhood of Nanmangalam is one of the 163 notified areas ( megalithic sites) in the state of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
.
See also
*Birding in Chennai
Housing more than 200 resident and wintering bird species, Chennai (formerly known as Madras) has long been a haven for bird watchers. It is the one of the few urban areas in India with diverse range of birds including greater flamingo, black baz ...
* Vandalur Reserve Forest
References
{{Chennai Topics, left Geography of Chennai Protected areas of Tamil Nadu Reserved forests of India Protected areas with year of establishment missing