State of India’s Birds 2023 report

• The report is an assessment of the distribution range, trends in abundance and conservation status of 942 of India’s 1,200 bird species and has been carried out by 13 partner organisations, including the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).
• The assessments rely on three indices-
  • long-term trend (change over 30 years)
  • current annual trend (change over past seven years)
  • measure of distribution range size in India.

MAJOR FINDINGS

• There is a general decline in numbers in most bird species in the country. Raptors, migratory shorebirds and ducks have declined the most.
• Bird species such as the Indian Peafowl, Rock Pigeon, Asian Koel and House Crow are healthy in both abundance and distribution, and showing an “increasing trend”.
  • In the last 20 years, Indian Peafowl has expanded into the high Himalaya and the rainforests of the Western Ghats.
• Of the 338 species, for which long-term trends have been identified, it says, 204 or 60% have declined in the long term, 98 species are stable, while 36 have increased.
• Using IUCN standards, the report says that 178 bird species are high conservation priority, 323 as moderate priority and 441 as low priority.
• Bird species which are “specialists’’ – restricted to narrow habitats like wetlands, rainforests and grasslands, as opposed to species that can inhabit a wide range of habitats such as plantations and agricultural fields – are rapidly declining.
  • The “generalist’’ birds that can live in multiple habitat types are doing well as a group.
• Long-distance migratory birds, such as those from Eurasia and the Arctic, have suffered significant declines, while resident species remain more stable.
• Major threats include– Climate Change, Urbanization, Monocultures, Energy Infrastructure.