Landmark count identifies Yellow-breasted Bunting winter strongholds
The first coordinated international survey of winter roosts recorded 187,310 Yellow-breasted Buntings across six Asian countries, establishing a vital new baseline for the Critically Endangered migrant.
The first coordinated count of Yellow-breasted Bunting winter roosts has recorded 187,310 birds and provided conservationists with a new benchmark for monitoring one of Asia's most threatened migrants.
Ornithomedia reports that the survey was carried out between mid-February and mid-March 2026 across Nepal, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Universities, government departments, conservation organisations and local bird-monitoring groups collaborated across the six countries.
Teams concentrated on known communal roosts, positioning observers around the sites early in the morning and counting the buntings as they departed. This approach allowed large concentrations to be assessed at the same stage of the species' annual cycle using broadly coordinated methods.
Thailand held by far the largest number, with 126,076 Yellow-breasted Buntings counted at six sites. Myanmar produced 49,086 birds from three sites, Cambodia 10,407 from two and Nepal 1,741 from five.
The overall figure should not be interpreted as a complete global population estimate. Important roosts in India proved inaccessible, although several hundred birds were recorded away from them, while no major roost was located in Laos during the survey period. Other roosts were not covered and not every Yellow-breasted Bunting spends the night in a communal gathering.
Even with those limitations, the exercise establishes the first coordinated cross-border baseline for the species on its wintering grounds. Repeating and expanding the survey should allow changes at the principal roosts to be detected and could reveal whether birds move between sites or countries.
Yellow-breasted Bunting was formerly one of Eurasia's most abundant landbirds. Before the 1990s its population was estimated to exceed 100 million, with immense flocks occurring across Asian farmland. The species subsequently underwent a decline estimated at up to 95% and has been classified as Critically Endangered since 2017.
Extensive trapping, particularly along migration routes and on the wintering grounds, is considered a major cause of the collapse. Habitat loss and changes to agricultural landscapes, including the use of agrochemicals, have placed additional pressure on the remaining population.
The roost survey was complemented by the fourth Winter Bunting Count, a wider citizen-science project running from November 2025 to April 2026. Birdwatchers submitted 25,232 records covering eight bunting species across 20 Asian countries and regions, providing further information about winter distribution beyond the principal Yellow-breasted Bunting roosts.
Participating organisations included Bird Count India, Bird Conservation Nepal, the Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association in Myanmar, the Bird Conservation Society of Thailand, NatureLife Cambodia and the National University of Laos, alongside numerous regional partners.
The international group plans to extend future roost counts to additional sites and countries. A standardised survey manual is also being developed to train more observers and make results increasingly comparable between winters.
18 Sep 2026
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