Skip to content

Wire-tailed Swallow Index Showed Clear Increases on Both Time Scales in India

Wire-tailed swallow perched in Goa, India
Conservation · Population & status

The 2025 interim update from State of India’s Birds reported revised national numerical estimates for wire-tailed swallow (Hirundo smithii) in India. The numerical update was released on 6 May 2026.

The long-term numerical trend was estimated at +43.2%, while the current annual estimate was +2.3% per year. Both updated estimates clearly supported an increase. The species page still displays the carried-over 2023 category Stable for both time scales; these categories were not recalculated from the 2025 numerical estimates.

The species’ modelled distribution range in India was estimated at 1,718,364 km². State of India’s Birds describes the wire-tailed swallow as resident, without clear habitat specialization and non-endemic to India, 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. The update recalculated numerical distribution range size, long-term trend and current annual trend values for 942 species using about 48 million eBird observations through 31 May 2025.
  2. State of India’s Birds Partnership. (2026). Wire-tailed Swallow (Hirundo smithii) factsheet: 2025 update.Species factsheet reporting a national long-term trend of +43.15% (95% CI +22.27 to +67.10), a current annual trend of +2.29% (+1.07 to +3.50), and an estimated distribution range of 1,718,364 km².

Image: Wire-tailed swallow at Zuari, Goa, India, 26 December 2015. Representative image; not linked to the national trend analysis. Photo: Rudraksha Chodankar / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0. · CC 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

Population & status

SPECIES IN THIS STORY

Species in this story

Wire-tailed Swallow Hirundo smithii Explore species

Independent research and conservation news archive

Did you find this information useful?

Wildlife Vagabond is independently built and maintained. Voluntary support helps cover source verification, hosting and continued work on research and conservation news.

Support Wildlife Vagabond

The news archive will remain freely available.