State of Birds: Most species dip, India Peafowl among those flourishing

State of Birds: Most species dip, India Peafowl among those flourishing

Subject: Environment

Section: Species in news

Context:

• There is a general decline in numbers in most bird species in the country – some recording current decline and others projected to decline in the long term, according to a report based on data from about 30,000 birdwatchers.

About the Report:

• Report title: The State of India’s Birds 2023
• Released after three years.
• The report is an assessment of distribution range, trends in abundance and conservation status of 942 of India’s 1,200 bird species.
• The survey 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.
  • Two of them are related to change in abundance — long-term trend (change over 30 years) and current annual trend (change over past seven years) — and the third is a measure of distribution range size in India.
• According to the report, long-term trends as well as current annual trends could not be established for many of the 942 species.

Key findings of the Report:

• Raptors, migratory shorebirds and ducks have declined the most.
• Of the 338 species, for which long-term trends have been identified:
  • 204 or 60% have declined in the long term,
  • 98 species are stable
  • 36 have increased.
• Current annual trends could be determined for 359 species, of which:
  • 142 species or 39% are declining,
  • 64 are in rapid decline,
  • 189 are stable and
  • 28 bird species are increasing.
• The range size, or measurement of a bird species’ territory and home range, was assessed for all 942 bird species.
  • The range size of 39% bird species is moderate,
  • 33% is very large
  • 28% species inhabit a “restricted and very restricted” area.

Birds that are declined are:

• Specialist birds (having narrow range),
• Shorebirds (migratory birds),
• Raptors (due to agro-chemicals),
• Vultures (White-rumped Vulture, Indian Vulture, and Red-headed Vulture),
• Birds that feed on invertebrates and insects,
• Woodpecker,
• Birds endemic to western ghats and Sri-Lanka biodiversity hotspots,
• Bustard species of birds (Great Indian Bustard, Lesser Florican and Bengal Florican).

Birds with stable population:

• Resident birds,
• Birds that feed on fruits and nectars,
• Generalist birds (having wide ranging habitats).

Birds with increasing populations:

• Several bird species such as the Indian Peafowl, Rock Pigeon, Asian Koel and House Crow are not healthy in both abundance and distribution, but showing “increasing trend”.
• Indian Peafowl:
  • The Peafowl, India’s national bird, is one of the most rapidly increasing species in the country today.
  • It is expanding into habitats where it has never occurred previously.
  • In the last 20 years, Indian Peafowl has expanded into high Himalaya and the rainforests of the Western Ghats.
  • It now occurs in every district in Kerala, a state where it was once extremely rare.
  • Apart from expanding its range, it also appears to be increasing in population density in areas where it occurred earlier.
• The Asian Koel has shown a rapid increase in abundance of 75%, with an annual current increase of 2.7% per year.
• Similar increase is seen in the populations of House Crow, Rock Pigeon and the Alexandrine Parakeet.