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Updated India Index Estimated a 1.7% Annual Decline for Large-billed Crow

Indian form of large-billed crow perched on a branch
Conservation · Population & status

The 2025 interim update to State of India’s Birds, released on 6 May 2026, estimated that the national abundance index for large-billed crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) was declining by 1.7% per year in the current assessment period. The updated estimate clearly supported a decline.

The updated long-term numerical estimate was −8.4% relative to the pre-2000 baseline, but the uncertainty was broad enough that the long-term numerical result does not show the same clear direction as the recent annual estimate.

The categorical labels were not recalculated in the interim update

The species page still displays the categorical assessments “Stable” for current annual trend and “Trend Inconclusive” for long-term trend. This is because the 2025 interim update recalculated the numerical values for trends and range but deliberately retained the categorical assessments from the earlier 2023 report.

The new numerical estimates therefore provide updated information without constituting a new formal conservation-category assessment.

A very large estimated Indian range

The analysis estimated the species’ distribution range in India at 2,258,607 km². State of India’s Birds classifies large-billed crow as a resident, non-specialist species with a very large range and retains it in the Low conservation-priority category.

The update used 48 million observations

The 2025 update was based on about 48 million eBird observations available through 31 May 2025. State of India’s Birds derives its abundance trends from changes in frequency of reporting on complete bird lists, so the figures describe changes in an abundance index rather than a direct census of individual crows.

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 interim release, created 6 May 2026; numerical DRS, LTT and CAT values updated for 942 species using 48 million eBird observations through 31 May 2025.
  2. State of India’s Birds Partnership. (2026). Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) factsheet: 2025 update.India-wide 2025-update values: LTT −8.38% (95% CI −16.94 to +1.64), CAT −1.71%/year (95% CI −2.28 to −1.13), DRS 2,258,607 km²; retained categories Trend Inconclusive and Stable, Low priority.
  3. State of India’s Birds Partnership. (2026). Interpreting State of India’s Birds results.Methodological guidance explaining why numerical values changed while categorical assessments remained unchanged.

Image: Gagands / Wikimedia Commons — Indian jungle crow, treated on Wildlife Vagabond as the Indian form of large-billed crow (Corvus macrorhynchos culminatus), photographed 23 August 2020. Representative image for this story; not presented as an animal or scene from the reported study or event. · CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

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