The conservation status of 12 Indian bird species has been revised following the latest update to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. This global reassessment, which included 1,360 bird species worldwide, revealed that while eight Indian species have been ‘downlisted’—indicating positive conservation trends—four have been ‘uplisted,’ signaling growing concerns for their populations.
According to an analysis by the State of India’s Birds Partnership, species like the Indian Courser, which is endemic to the Indian Subcontinent, have moved from ‘Least Concern’ to ‘Near Threatened’. Similarly, the Indian Roller and the Rufous-tailed Lark have also been uplisted to ‘Near Threatened’, and the Long-billed Grasshopper-warbler is now classified as ‘Endangered’.
Gopinathan Maheswaran, Senior Scientist at the Zoological Survey of India, emphasized the importance of national red lists. “A national red list is essential for India—it allows us to evaluate threats and trends within our own ecological and socio-economic context. The IUCN list gives us a global view, but national assessments can drive region-specific conservation actions and policy responses,” he stated.
The data underpinning this reassessment for nine of these species originates from the comprehensive ‘State of India’s Birds’ report. This report meticulously analyzes citizen science data, gathered from birdwatchers’ observations on platforms like eBird, to assess population trends, abundance, and distribution, ultimately informing conservation status evaluations.
Notably, the four species that have been uplisted are all dependent on open natural ecosystems, including grasslands, semi-arid regions, deserts, croplands, and scrublands. These vital habitats are currently under significant pressure from infrastructure development, intensive agriculture, invasive species, and even afforestation efforts that convert them into woodlands. The decline of birds reliant on these open landscapes underscores the urgent need for their conservation.
Sujit Narawde, Deputy Director at the Bombay Natural History Society, highlighted the critical situation for grassland-dependent species: “The uplisting of the Indian Courser is not just a warning—it’s an alarm bell for India’s vanishing grasslands. […] Conservation must extend beyond protected areas and embrace coordinated efforts across agencies to safeguard birds surviving in human-dominated landscapes.”
This update comes shortly after the IUCN declared the slender-billed curlew extinct. Globally, the latest IUCN Red List reassessment found that nearly 11.5% of the 11,185 assessed bird species are threatened, with 61% of all bird species experiencing declining populations, an increase from 44% in 2016.