Important Bird Areas in India

Important Bird Areas in India is the result of five years' exhaustive work by the BNHS and a large number of people. The data, which forms the core of the book, has been collected by more than 1000 people: many hundreds of professional and amateur ornithologists, birdwatchers, conservationists, forest officials and others interested in birds. It is the most detailed publication ever produced on the subject of birds or conservation, and it uncovers, analyses and assesses all the evidence, presenting it together with all the sources.

The study gives a detailed analysis of sites that have been identified for bird conservation in India on the basis of globally accepted criteria. Each bird area is introduced with maps, analysis, an avifauna section with tables of threatened species present and brief descriptions of threatened birds, which have important habitats in the relevant states. The study shows that out of 465 important bird area in India, 191 wildlife sanctuaries have been identified as IBAs, 52 are national parks, 23 are tiger reserves, while 198 are not officially protected.