Why a raptor survey in Madhya Pradesh has bird watchers excited

Given how tigers fascinate us, a count of the large carnivore is held across India every four years and its findings eagerly awaited. There is, however, another enumeration being carried out in Madhya Pradesh, and in three more states in the days to come: of birds of prey, with numbers expected to be just as compelling.

Madhya Pradesh is in the midst of a raptor survey by WWF India. Next to follow will be Karnataka, Assam and Rajasthan.

Teams from WWF have divided the entire state in 12,000 grids of 10x10 km each. Around 30 per cent of the total grids would be covered in the survey, which would encompass all protected areas of the state.

The teams move by road in jungles and record and photograph any raptor seen. The data collected is to be refined, the specimens identified and an estimation made. The survey findings would be out by July. A similar survey held in Rajasthan last year had recorded the presence of 45 raptor species.

What are raptors and what is the significance of their enumeration? Raptors are birds that have beaks and talons for hunting and consuming meat. Simply put, they are birds of prey. While gulls and kingfisher also hunt, they are not classified as raptors. Vultures, though not hunters, are classified as raptors. The common raptors are eagle, hawk, owl and falcon.

The MP forest department, which is leading the statewide raptor survey, is enthusiastic that the exercise will yield potentially important findings. Subharanjan Sen, the state’s chief wildlife warden, said the exercise would not only help the forest department identify specific locations important for raptors but also facilitate informed management decisions pertaining to raptor conservation.

INDIA TODAY accompanied the survey team at the Ratapani Tiger Reserve in central MP last week. As the day progressed, raptor sightings increased. Many of the birds were seen sunning themselves on tree tops, mostly those without vegetation. The raptors sighted included the short-toed snake eagle, Bonelli’s eagle, black-winged kite, greater spotted eagle, crested serpent eagle, Egyptian vulture and jungle owlet.

“With the support of the MP forest department, this raptor survey marks a significant step towards building a robust, science-based understanding of birds of prey across central India,” said Ratul Saha, director of the raptor conservation programme at WWF-India, adding: “Raptors are powerful indicators of ecosystem integrity, and generating systematic baseline data on their distribution, abundance and threats is essential for informed conservation and land-use planning. This initiative will strengthen long-term monitoring frameworks, enable evidence-based management decisions and support the integration of raptor conservation into landscape-level biodiversity strategies. The outcomes of this survey will help guide future conservation investments and reinforce collaborative stewardship of critical habitats.”

As of now, there is very little baseline data available on raptors. The only data is maintained on eBird, a Cornell University-maintained website where amateurs can report any sighting. Ebird data since the 1990s shows around 60 species of raptors in India.

Raptors are migratory too. A Eurasian griffon vulture that was tagged in Satna in MP in March 2025 was recorded travelling to Kazakhstan and finally returning to India in October. The largest raptor in India would be the cinerous vulture and the smallest the collared falconet, found in the Northeast.

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