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Indian Grey Hornbill Index Was About 2.4 Times Its Earlier Level and Still Rising Recently in India

Indian grey hornbill in New Delhi, India
Conservation · Population & status

The 2025 interim update from State of India’s Birds reported revised national numerical estimates for Indian grey hornbill (Ocyceros birostris) in India. The numerical update was released on 6 May 2026.

The long-term numerical trend was estimated at +141.7%. In practical terms, the reporting-based abundance index was about 2.4 times its earlier level. The current annual estimate was +1.7% per year. Both updated estimates clearly supported an increase. The species page still carries the 2023 categories Rapid Increase for the long-term trend and Stable for the current annual trend because these qualitative categories were not recalculated from the 2025 numerical estimates.

The species’ modelled distribution range in India was estimated at 1,675,896 km². State of India’s Birds describes the Indian grey hornbill as resident, without clear habitat specialization and endemic to the Indian Subcontinent, and retains it in the Low conservation-priority category.

The interim release updated numerical range and trend estimates for 942 previously assessed bird species using about 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 – 2025 interim update (Version 2) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20036633Primary 2026 release, created 6 May 2026. For Indian Grey Hornbill, the India-wide update estimated a long-term change of +141.7% (95% CI +101.7 to +189.5), a current annual trend of +1.7% (+0.2 to +3.2), and a distribution range of about 1,675,896 km².

Image: Tatino78 / Wikimedia Commons — Indian grey hornbill (Ocyceros birostris) photographed in New Delhi, India, 9 January 2018. Representative species image, not linked to the national trend analysis. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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