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India’s open natural ecosystems - grasslands, semi-arid landscapes, desert, croplands, hilly scrublands, and fallow lands – are under increasing threat as four bird species inhabiting them have been ‘uplisted’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) this week, according to a statement by the State of India’s Birds.
State of India’s Birds is a comprehensive assessment of the distribution range, trends in abundance, and conservation status for most of the bird species that regularly occur in India.
Some 1,360 bird species worldwide were assessed during the IUCN’s latest Red List update, including 12 Indian bird species.
“Of the 12 Indian species which have been reassessed, eight have been ‘downlisted’, signaling positive trends in their conservation status. Conversely, four species have been ‘uplisted’, indicating increased concerns regarding their population trends,” the statement pointed out.
The four species include the Indian Courser, a bird that is endemic to the Indian Subcontinent. It has been uplisted from Least Concern to Near Threatened.
“The Indian Courser is a very specialised bird which lives in grasslands and fallow lands. Other species such as the Indian Roller and the Rufous-tailed Lark have also been uplisted to Near Threatened, while the Long-billed Grasshopper-warbler has been categorized as Endangered,” the statement noted.
It observed that all four species that have been uplisted depend upon Open Natural Ecosystems, which include habitats like grasslands, semi-arid landscapes, desert, croplands, hilly scrublands, and fallow lands.
These ecosystems have been under pressure from the expansion of power infrastructure, intensification of agriculture, introduction of invasive species, and interestingly, conversion into woodlands through afforestation.
The decline of bird species that rely on these ecosystems highlights the critical need to conserve such open habitats.
“Many open-country birds persist today within community-managed grazing lands and village commons. Strengthening these traditional systems of shared stewardship and community rights over commons can be the most practical way to conserve open landscapes and the species that depend on them,” the statement quoted Rajkamal Goswami, Fellow at ATREE, as saying.
“The uplisting of the Indian Courser is not just a warning—it’s an alarm bell for India’s vanishing grasslands. These open landscapes, once vibrant with life and tradition, are shrinking rapidly. If we don’t act now to protect and restore natural grasslands, we risk losing the very species that define our open country. Conservation must extend beyond protected areas and embrace coordinated efforts across agencies to safeguard birds surviving in human-dominated landscapes,” warned Sujit Narawde, Deputy Director, Bombay Natural History Society.
According to M D Madhusudan, wildlife biologist and ecologist, who mapped all open natural ecosystems in India, what are usually termed ‘wastelands’ are actually rich Open Natural Ecosystems—grasslands, scrublands, and semi-arid habitats that sustain unique biodiversity. “Recognising that much of India’s so-called wasteland is ecologically vital is the first step toward reversing decades of neglect,” said Madhusudan.