New Delhi (NVI): A new study has claimed that India’s bird population is on a steady decline over the past few years. 101 species have been classified as of ‘High Conservation Concern’, and require immediate attention, as per the findings of the report.
The ‘State of India’s Bird Report 2020’ was released at the 13th Conference of Parties of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals in Gandhinagar.
867 species of Indian birds were assessed in the report. Over 10 million observations were uploaded to the eBird platform by more than 15,500 birdwatchers to evaluate the distribution range size of 867 Indian birds, and their trends in abundance in both the long term (over 25+ years) and currently (past 5 years).
As per the report, 58 species on the long-term pattern are in ‘solid decline’ and 77 species in ‘moderate decrease’.
The report found that birds that fed on invertebrate had declined as a whole. While 101 species required ‘immediate concern’, 319 species required ‘moderate concern’, 442 species needed low concern for conservation.
According to the study, the most affected are raptors, migratory shorebirds and habitat specialists, among others.
“The assessment is based on three indices. Two are indices of change in abundance: long-term trend and current annual trend (over 5 years), and the third is a measure of distribution range size,” the report says.
“Using these three indices together with the IUCN Red List (Red List of Threatened Species), each species was classified into categories of conservation concern for India,” it added.
By and large, decrease in species requests investigation into their causes. To ensure the high concern species, consideration from protection approach, the board and subsidising are required.
The number of sparrows was found to be roughly stable across the country, despite declining in major cities.
However, the report highlights a dramatic rise in the number of Indian peafowls (national bird peacock). There has been a 100 per cent increase in the abundance of peafowl across the country over the past decades, as per the report.
