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Updated India Index Estimated a 70.3% Long-term Decline for Crested Treeswift

Crested treeswift perched on a branch in India
Conservation · Population & status

The 2025 interim update to State of India’s Birds, released on 6 May 2026, estimated a steep long-term decline in the abundance index for crested treeswift (Hemiprocne coronata) in India. The updated long-term estimate was −70.3%.

The long-term estimate clearly supported a steep decline. The current annual trend was much less clear: it was estimated at −1.0% per year, but the uncertainty was broad enough that the recent trend could not be distinguished clearly from little or no change.

State of India’s Birds classifies the crested treeswift as a resident forest-associated species in India. The updated analysis estimated its national distribution range at 572,722 km². The species remains in the Moderate conservation-priority category under the assessment framework carried forward from the 2023 report.

The 2025 update used about 48 million eBird observations available through 31 May 2025, compared with 30 million in the 2023 assessment. The trend values describe change in a reporting-based abundance index rather than direct counts of individual birds. The numerical estimates were revised for 942 species; trend and range-size categories were carried forward from 2023.

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.20036633

Image: Shiv's fotografia — wild Crested Treeswift photographed near Pune, Maharashtra, India, 22 May 2024; Wikimedia Commons; representative species image; cropped to 16:9 · CC BY 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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