If you look around, it will be impossible to miss a massive shift in the birds spotted in urban centres, whether it’s a suspicious lack of sparrows and crows, or a ballooning in the number of pigeons. Experts assess that these anomalies are happening due to a variety of factors, including anthropogenic and climate change.
Vibhav Srivastava, a birder associated with the Wildlife Institute of India, says: “The environmental shifts that would have naturally come about as a result of climate change occurring over a period of 50-100 years, humans are inflicting upon birds in 20-30 years.” It would be natural to see changes in bird sightings and flight patterns, given these circumstances, he offers, adding: “Some frequently spotted birds have become rare sightings, while others are being spotted in places they were never seen in before.”
With a variety of climates in India, many birds find refuge here, according to the State of India’s Birds (SoIB) Report of 2023. Some are ‘specialists’ restricted to a narrow habitat type, but others have adapted to live in habitats created and shaped by humans, such as plantations, agricultural fields, open fallow land, and even urban areas.
“We can already see impacts of these population changes and nesting areas in certain places—impacting health, nature, tourism and more. If these birds’ ecosystems and populations are not protected, the impacts will also be more far reaching,” adds Srivastava.
New and old sightings
The SoIB Report of 2023 has been compiled from observations and studies done by over 30,000 birdwatchers across the country, along with institutes of national and international repute. The report assesses a total of 942 birds for conservation priority, classifying them as low, moderate or high priority, based on their population and risk of endangerment.
While 217 species have been observed to remain stable or increasing in numbers, 178 typically sighted have also been observed to be declining, with ducks, migratory shorebirds and raptors the worst affected, and 14 species have been recommended to be added to the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List. On the whole, the report lists out all ‘highest priority’ and ‘high priority conservation’ species for each state.
The report also states that the decline of riverine sandbar-nesting birds is attributed to widespread pressures on rivers from irrigation schemes, transportation, human disturbance, domestic use, and pollution from agricultural and industrial chemicals.
India currently houses 93 of the 2,531 ‘Ramsar sites’ or wetlands of international importance, as of February 2025. These wetlands are also important stops in the migratory paths of birds, and the sheer number of sites is proof enough of the number of birds that nest in or migrate through India. Ramsar sites are wetland areas which were decided at the Ramsar Convention or the Convention of Wetlands in 1971. Indian states, especially ones with more tropical climates, are hotspots for different avian species from across the world, playing temporary hosts for birds coming through from Africa, China, Siberia and other countries.
A few birds like the Amur Falcon, which used to be rarely spotted and used to be hunted along their migratory path, have now become a tourist attraction. The bird comes from Siberia, with a stopover in Central Asia through China and Nagaland. Earlier, due to the construction of a reservoir in Nagaland, the Amur falcons started arriving in the thousands, to feed on the termites that began brewing there. At this time, locals began hunting these birds for bushmeat in the northeastern state.
Conservationists found that these birds were being hunted at the rate of 1,20,000-1,40,000 in ten days, and efforts began to protect them. Conservation India initiated a global campaign to protect these endangered birds, prompting Nagaland to impose a ban on hunting Amur falcons. Now, Nagaland is known as the ‘falcon capital of the world’, with the Amur falcons considered as a tourist attraction. Several other species have been spotted across India, geotagged and then found outside of their migratory paths as well.
Another rare bird belonging to the Terai region, the Oriental Hornbill was recently spotted in Delhi, outside of its residence and migratory path. Such changes are taking place, not just due to climatic factors, but more pertinently due to human actions.
However, an article published by Bird Count India, an informal partnership of organisations and groups working together to increase our collective knowledge about bird populations, finds that there are bound to be some gaps, when most bird counts or research are based on inputs from independent birders. While on the surface, the eBird portal, an online portal that maintains a count of bird sightings submitted by birders, is growing in magnitude with the number of sightings increasing— this may be a false assumption. Birder Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi writes that there are some parts of India with fewer birders than others, if not none at all. This would mean that any conclusion might provide an incomplete picture of the ground reality in India.
As the pigeon flies…
Srivastava notes that in recent years, flocks of pigeons are becoming a common sight in India, especially in metro cities like Delhi and Mumbai. This was not the case a little over a decade ago. “Back then, the most commonly sighted birds in urban cities were sparrows and crows,” he says. The reasons for this are a combination of human factors coupled with the nature of these birds. “Now we see more pigeons and an increase in black kites as well.”
According to the SoIB of 2023, the pigeon population in India grew by 150% since the year 2000. Delhi alone has been home to around 20-25 million pigeons in recent years.
“In my estimation,” says the birder, who is also supported by other experts holding the same views, “The overwhelming number of pigeons and decreased sighting of sparrows is as a result of artificial feeding that humans are doing.” Feeding pigeons is considered a religious practice that brings goodwill and blessings, by many in India. “When artificial feeding grounds are created for social species, they tend to flock to the easier source of food. Thereby, other birds that would otherwise feed there and do not travel in flocks get pushed out and stop frequenting those areas,” he explains.
Role in ecosystem
According to Kedar Gore of The Corbett Foundation, birds play a massive role in the ecosystem of wherever they nest or stopover. “It is difficult to tackle the population or loss of habitat of any one animal without discussing all the other factors of their specific ecosystem. When speaking of the population of tigers, we must also consider whether we are protecting the biodiversity of birds of that area, the rivers originating from there, the quality of the soil, etc.”
Birds are important for transfer of pollen from their droppings. Birds that are not predators feed on the little insects and bugs that suit them on their migratory paths, while predator birds will feed on the carcasses of dead animals or fish, speeding up the decomposition process.
Anand Shinde, founder of Trunk Call—Wildlife Foundation, points to the role of birds in elephant habitats. “The footprints of elephants make depressions in wet soil—and when they collect water and bird droppings after rainy seasons, it is natural forestation and breeding of insects without human interference,” he says. Forest areas and animal habitats are best left untouched, he explains, as it is an ecosystem that humans do not fully understand.
Thriving species
- Ashy prinia: Found around Manas National Park and around the Brahmaputra River in Assam
- Indian peafowl: Found in the high Himalayas, rainforests of Western Ghats, almost every district of Kerala
- Asian koel: Found in high densities around cities, towns and villages
- Rock pigeons: Found near remote gorges and cliffs along rivers, and in the Himalayas
Common threats
- Monoculture plantations (coffee, tea, rubber, teak, etc)
- Environmental pollutants (heavy metals, pesticides)
- Forest degradation
- Urbanisation
- Energy infrastructure (power lines, wind turbines)
- Avian diseases
- Illegal hunting and trade
- Climate change
