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Chimmini Wildlife sanctuary is a national park located along the Western Ghats in Mukundapuram taluk of Thrissur District of Kerala state in India.Geography and HistoryEstablished in 1984, the sanctuary with an area of about 85.067 km2 is on the Western slopes of the Nelliyampathi Hills. The highest peak in sanctuary is Punda peak (1116 m). Along with the neighboring Peechi-Vazhani Wildlife Sanctuary it forms a continuous protected area of 210 km2. It also lies just west of Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, providing some habitat connectivity with the forests of that relatively large protected area. The sanctuary consists of the watershed areas of Kurumali River and Mupliam rivers. Nestled in the sanctuary is Chimmony Dam which is built across the Chimmony river.FaunaThe sanctuary is an important bird area with 192 recorded avian species. Five Western Ghats endemic bird species occur here, including the grey-headed bulbul (Pycnonotus priocephalus), Indian rufous babbler (Turdoides subrufus) and white-bellied blue-flycatcher (Cyornis pallipes). Other interesting species found here include-Ceylon frogmouth (Batrachostomus moniliger), Indian edible-nest swiftlet (Collocalia unicolor), Malabar trogon (Harpactes fasciatus), Malabar whistling-thrush (Myiophonus horsfieldii) and Loten's sunbird (Nectarinia lotenia) (Islam and Rahmani 2004). A recent survey recorded the presence of the lesser fish eagle (Ichthyophaga humilis), which until recently was only known from the foothills of the Himalayas.
