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India’s Green Sandpiper Index Fell 35% Over the Long Term While the Recent Trend Was Uncertain

Green sandpiper standing on a wetland margin
Conservation · Population & status

The national abundance index for green sandpiper (Tringa ochropus) showed a substantial long-term decline in India, according to the 2026 interim update of State of India’s Birds. Comparing the reporting-based abundance index in 2024/25 with the baseline before 2000, the long-term trend was estimated at −35.1%.

The numerical update was released on 6 May 2026 as version 2 of the State of India’s Birds dataset. It used 48 million eBird observations submitted across India through 31 May 2025 and recalculated numerical range and trend estimates for 942 previously assessed species.

The recent annual trend showed no clear direction

The current annual trend — the average annual change in the reporting-based abundance index from 2015/16 to 2024/25 — was estimated at +0.14%. The uncertainty was broad, so the recent annual estimate did not show a clear increase or decline.

The estimated national distribution range was about 2.05 million km². In India, green sandpiper is mainly a winter migrant and is associated with wetlands.

The numerical update did not change the existing categories

State of India’s Birds states that the 2026 interim release updated numerical values for range and trends but did not recalculate the previously assigned categorical assessments. The species remains in the low conservation-priority category used by the report.

Green sandpiper is globally classified as Least Concern and is listed in Schedule II of India’s Wild Life (Protection) Act.

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.
  2. State of India’s Birds Partnership. (2026). Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus) factsheet: 2025 update.India-wide LTT −35.07% (95% CI −41.8 to −27.71), CAT +0.14%/year (95% CI −0.64 to +0.93), DRS 2,049,865 km².

Image: Charles J. Sharp — representative green sandpiper photographed at Standlake, Oxfordshire, UK. Source: Wikimedia Commons. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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