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India hosts multiple global biodiversity hotspots while being one of the most populous countries in the world. Here, we examine how well India has protected its avifauna, based on the fraction of their ranges falling within "protected areas." India has protected 5% of its land this way. The issue is whether India has done better than expected in protecting its threatened species. To this end, we assessed 99 Near Threatened, Threatened, and small‐ranged species by estimating their Area of Habitat (AOH). We refined published species ranges using secondary information on elevation limits and habitat preferences. More than half (52) of the species assessed have their AOH <30% of their published ranges, while 31 have <10%. India has protected 87 threatened species' AOH more than expected (>5%), and for 33 species, the proportion protected exceeds the Aichi target (>17%). When we consider the top 10% richest regions as hotspots, only 9.2% of their total area falls under India's protected area network, inadequately covering areas with most threatened birds. We also discuss the conservation concerns for grassland and open habitat species across India, since we find that substantial proportions of their AOHs fall outside protected areas. This result highlights the significance of alternative conservation models, including other effective area‐based conservation measures. We show that species' AOH provides a more realistic well‐informed range that can aid in assessing their protection status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the presence and status of the Irrawaddy Dolphin Orcaella brevirostris in the Hooghly River of West Bengal, India. These observations were made while conducting our field work on the Ganges River Dolphin, which involved vessel-based surveys as well as intensive monitoring from an anchored boat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduced and invasive species are emerging as a significant threat to biodiversity, especially to endemic species, worldwide. One of the ways in which introduced species might impact native species is through competition for space, mediated through interspecific interactions. The Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus) is one such species that was introduced to the central Nicobar from mainland India in the late 1800s. Several bird studies from the region postulate that it may pose a serious threat to the endemic Nicobar Bulbul (Ixos nicobariensis). In this study we explored broad patterns in habitat-use intensity of these 2 bulbuls using point counts. Further, we conducted playback trials to assess the nature of their interspecific interactions. Our results show that these 2 species show segregation in habitat use. The Nicobar Bulbul is a forest-dwelling species showing preference for primary forests, while the Red-whiskered Bulbul occurs in the secondary habitats around human habitation. Further, the playback experiments failed to yield any interspecific response indicating a lack of interspecific aggression. We believe that both species, being evolutionarily distinct, naturally segregate themselves on the currently available habitats on these islands. However, destruction of primary forest for plantations and infrastructure development might be a more immediate threat to the endemic Nicobar Bulbul. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]