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Hyderabad Bird Atlas documents 248 bird species after fourth survey season

The Hyderabad Bird Atlas has recorded 248 bird species after adding three new species during its fourth survey season. More than 200 volunteers contributed over 1,250 hours, documenting 158 species and over 75,000 birds, reinforcing efforts to monitor urban biodiversity and conservation.

By T.Karnakar Reddy

Published Date - 27 July 2026, 04:52 PM

Hyderabad Bird Atlas documents 248 bird species after fourth survey season — Indian Golden Oriole from Race Course and Baya Weavers from Jalpally.

Sangareddy: The fourth season of the Hyderabad Bird Atlas (HBA), a collaborative citizen science initiative collectively driven by World Wildlife Fund for Nature-India (WWF), Hyderabad Birding Pals (HBP), and Deccan Birders (DB), has added three more bird species to HBA, taking the total number of bird species identified so far to 248 in Hyderabad.

With the completion of four seasons, the HBA has now documented a cumulative total of 248 bird species. The three new species added during the fourth season were Greater Flamingo, Yellow-footed Green-Pigeon, and Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker.

The 22-day-long survey, which commenced on July 4, has been completed with enthusiastic participation from more than 200 volunteers.

Speaking to ‘Telangana Today’, Sriram Reddy, a core member of HBA, said the volunteers collectively contributed over 1,250 volunteer hours to survey birds across Hyderabad, representing a remarkable 44 per cent increase in volunteer hours compared to season three. During this season, participants documented 158 bird species and recorded more than 75,000 individual birds across the state capital. While the number of species is slightly lower than the 166 species recorded during the Monsoon 2025 season, the observations recorded by volunteers were still under review by the data reviewing team, and the final species count may slightly change.

Sriram Reddy said that the HBA would continue to generate valuable information on the distribution and seasonal occurrence of birds in and around Hyderabad, providing an important scientific resource for bird conservation and urban biodiversity planning.

The first season of HBA was launched in February 2025. Since then, they have been carrying out the survey twice a year in February and July.

He said that the fifth and sixth seasons, which will complete the third year of the project, are planned for February 2027 and July 2027, respectively. The team is looking forward to welcoming both existing and new volunteers to continue this citizen science initiative.