Kheechan-Demoiselle Crane Village

Kheechan is a village in the Rajasthan state of India. It is located in the Phalodi tehsil of Jodhpur district. The Village is known for a large number of demoiselle cranes that visit it every winter. This annual bird migration began with around a hundred cranes in the 1970s when a local couple started feeding pigeons. The village is located 150 km west of Jodhpur City in the Jodhpur district of Rajasthan. In the past few years, the village has developed the trend of feeding the Demoiselle cranes that visit here every winter. A few years ago, a section of local people along with a bird lover from the Marwari community started feeding grains to these birds every morning. As a result, a large number of Demoiselle Cranes locally called as Kurjas, got attracted. Since then, the trend of feeding grains to these birds has continued. Nowadays, around 5000 kg of bird seeds are consumed by these cranes every day in Kheechan. Widely popular among the bird watchers, this village got international recognition after it was featured in the ‘Birding World’ magazine in an article with the title, Kheechan – the Demoiselle Crane village. Marwari Crane Foundation has also been initiated to further carry on the mission of protecting the birds. Kheechan has been declared as a tourist spot by the Rajasthan Government. The place has also been visited by the Director of the International Crane Foundation, an organisation supporting the Marwari Crane Foundation in feeding the cranes. The place is easily accessible by air, rail, and road. The nearest airport is the Civil Airport, Jodhpur at a distance of 150 km while Phalodi is the nearest railway station situated at a distance of 4.5 km from the destination. The best time to travel to Kheechan is the winter season, as the weather remains pleasant during this period.

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