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Tawny-bellied Babbler Index Declined 32.3% Long Term in India, While Recent Trend Was Unclear

Tawny-bellied Babbler perched in vegetation in Mahabaleshwar, India
Conservation · Population & status

The 2025 interim update from State of India’s Birds reported revised national trend estimates for the tawny-bellied babbler (Dumetia hyperythra) in India. The numerical update was released on 6 May 2026 from the project’s updated eBird-based dataset.

The long-term trend was estimated at −32.3% and clearly supported a long-term decline. The current annual trend was −0.27% per year, but its uncertainty was too broad to establish a clear recent increase or decline. These are the updated national numerical estimates; the 2026 interim release did not recalculate the earlier assessment categories.

The species’ modelled distribution range in India was estimated at 798,211 km². State of India’s Birds lists the tawny-bellied babbler as a resident, non-specialized bird endemic to the Indian Subcontinent and at Low conservation priority.

The interim release updated numerical range and trend estimates for 942 previously assessed species using approximately 48 million eBird observations through 31 May 2025. The trend values describe change in a reporting-based abundance index rather than direct counts of individual birds.

Sources and image credit

  1. State of India’s Birds Partnership. (2026). State of India’s Birds: Range, trends, and conservation status (Version 2) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20036633Primary 2026 dataset release created 6 May 2026. Version 2 updated numerical distribution range size, long-term trend and current annual trend values for 942 previously evaluated species using approximately 48 million eBird observations through 31 May 2025; the assessment categories were unchanged.
  2. State of India’s Birds Partnership. (2025). State of India’s Birds factsheet: Tawny-bellied Babbler (Dumetia hyperythra), Protected Areas.The Protected Areas page’s 2025 table displays the India-wide numerical values alongside Protected Areas estimates: India long-term trend −32.28% (−45.60 to −15.16), current annual trend −0.27% (−1.48 to +0.95), and distribution range 798,211 km² (797,536–798,886). The assessment categories shown at the top of this page refer to Protected Areas, not the national India values.

Image: Tisha Mukherjee / Wikimedia Commons — tawny-bellied babbler in Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra, India, 5 August 2025; cropped to 16:9. Representative image for this story; not presented as an animal or scene from the reported study or event. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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