Guwahati: Even as the first international census of the critically endangered Yellow-breasted Bunting recorded more than 1.87 lakh birds across Asia, scientists say Assam’s population of the species remains vastly undercounted because many of its winter roosting sites are scattered across difficult-to-monitor agricultural landscapes.
The Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola), once among the most abundant migratory landbirds in Eurasia, has suffered a catastrophic population decline of more than 84–95 per cent since the 1980s due to hunting, habitat destruction and agricultural intensification. The species is currently listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN.
The first multi-country Joint Yellow-breasted Bunting Winter Roost Count, conducted between mid-February and mid-March 2026 across Nepal, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, recorded 187,310 birds. However, researchers involved in the exercise said India’s figures remain incomplete because key roosting habitats in Assam could not be systematically surveyed.
Unlike countries such as Thailand and Myanmar, where large concentrated roosts were counted, Assam’s buntings appear to use fragmented agricultural landscapes and hedgerows spread across large areas.
“Roost sites are often scattered over a large area. A prime example is the large roost at Gophur in Biswanath, where Yellow-breasted Buntings were recorded using hedgerows between bora rice fields as roosting habitat,” said Dr Leons Mathew Abraham of the Assam Bird Monitoring Network.
He said the birds roost within dense hedges and move into adjacent paddy fields during the day, making accurate counts extremely difficult without disturbing the flock.
Researchers believe Assam may therefore harbour a significantly larger wintering population than is currently documented.
Why Assam matters for migratory bird conservation
The study underscores how little is still known about the species’ winter ecology in Northeast India, despite the region lying along an important migratory corridor for Asian landbirds.
Conservationists say the incomplete Assam count also highlights a broader challenge in landbird conservation. Unlike waterbirds that gather in visible wetlands, migratory buntings often depend on dispersed farmland habitats that are far more difficult to survey systematically.
The census brought together a wide network of conservation groups and institutions across Asia, including Bird Count India and the Assam Bird Monitoring Network from India; Bird Conservation Nepal and Pokhara Bird Society from Nepal; BANCA from Myanmar; Bird Conservation Society of Thailand and Khon Kaen University from Thailand; NatureLife Cambodia and Wildlife Conservation Society from Cambodia; and the National University of Laos.
Researchers involved in the initiative now plan to expand future surveys in Assam and other underexplored landscapes through improved monitoring techniques, greater participation from local birdwatchers and stronger international collaboration.
Also Read: 2023 Sikkim glacial floods wasn’t a cloudburst, study confirms
You just read a story that took days to report. Help us keep our reporters on the ground in the Northeast.
Ad-free reading, support and keep important stories alive
Support once (any amount)
Scan to pay via UPI