Pink-headed Duck. By Henrik Grönvold (1858–1940) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Anyone seen a Pink-headed Duck recently??
More seriously, here is a list of species from India for which eBird has not even a single observation. Some of you (perhaps someone who has visited the Nicobars?) may have seem one ore more of them.
If you’ve seen any of these birds, do upload them! If you are concerned that providing exact details of the location, etc, of these species, please take a look at the eBird guidelines for reporting sensitive species. Of course, if you have seen a Narcondam Hornbill, you don’t need to bother hiding the location!
List of species from India with no observations in eBird. This list (with all details shown) has been taken directly from the global list of “missing” species put out by eBird.
| Species | IUCN Status | Range |
| Pink-headed Duck (Rhodonessa caryophyllacea) | CR | India and Myanmar. Last confirmed report 1949. |
| Nicobar Scrubfowl or Nicobar Megapode (Megapodius nicobariensis) | VU | Nicobar Islands |
| Manipur Bush-Quail (Perdicula manipurensis) | EN | W Bengal, Manipur, and Assam (India) |
| Sclater’s Monal (Lophophorus sclateri) | VU | Eastern Himalayas (India, Myanmar, China) |
| Nicobar Sparrowhawk (Accipiter butleri) | VU | North and central Nicobar Islands |
| Jerdon’s Courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus) | CR | SE India (Andhra Pradesh). On verge of extinction |
| Nicobar Imperial-Pigeon (Ducula nicobarica) | NE | Nicobar Islands |
| Nicobar Scops-Owl (Otus alius) | DD | Great Nicobar I. (s Nicobar Islands) |
| Narcondam Hornbill (Aceros narcondami) | EN | Lowland forests of Narcondam I. (Andaman Islands) |
| Nicobar Parakeet (Psittacula caniceps) | NT | Nicobar Islands |
| Nicobar Bulbul (Hypsipetes virescens) | NT | Forests of Nicobar Islands |
| Large-billed Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus orinus) | DD | Breeds se Kazakhstan, ne Afghanistan; winters Myanmar, Thailand; previously known only from one 1867 specimen from n India, distribution still poorly known |
| Snowy-throated Babbler (Stachyris oglei) | VU | Mountains of ne India (ne Assam and se Arunachal Pradesh) |
| Large Blue-Flycatcher (Cyornis magnirostris) | LC | Himalayas (Nepal to Bangladesh); > to pen. Thailand |
| Nicobar Jungle-Flycatcher (Cyornis nicobaricus) | NE | S China (Guangxi); > to Nicobar Islands |
| Rusty-bellied Shortwing (Brachypteryx hyperythra) | NT | NE India (Sikkim to Arunachal Pradesh) to sw China (Yunnan) |
| Tawny-headed Mountain-Finch (Leucosticte sillemi) | DD | Mountains of western Tibet |
Key to IUCN classifications:
(EW) – Extinct in the Wild
(CR) – Critically Endangered
(EN) – Endangered
(VU) – Vulnerable
(NT) – Near Threatened
(LC) – Least Concern
(DD) – Data Deficient
(NE) – Not Evaluated
Header Image: Great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps by Saurabh Sawant/ Macaulay Library
