When a birder in Bengaluru uploads a sighting of a Black Drongo, and another in Bhutan records a Himalayan Monal call, they may not realize they are part of something vast — a living data web stretching across South Asia, linking forests, farms, and smartphones.
In the past decade, citizen science in birding has gone from a niche pursuit to a movement. What began as enthusiasts noting birds in notebooks is now a coordinated regional network generating millions of verified records — data that scientists, conservationists, and policymakers rely on to track migration, habitat change, and species decline.
And at the center of this transformation? A set of well-integrated tools and workflows that make participation simple, satisfying, and scientifically powerful.
1. The Core Workflow: Merlin → eBird → BirdCount India
If you’re birding anywhere in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, or Bhutan, this trio forms the backbone of modern citizen science:
🪶 Step 1: Identify with Merlin
Merlin’s regional packs for India and South Asia include hundreds of local species, from the Indian Roller to the Malabar Whistling Thrush. You can identify birds offline — even deep inside a sanctuary with no signal.
Once you’re confident of your ID, tap “This is my bird” to log the sighting.
📋 Step 2: Upload to eBird
That same sighting syncs to eBird, where you can add count details, location, time, and habitat notes. eBird’s India portal is localized — with hotlists, challenges, and data tailored for subcontinental birders.
🌏 Step 3: Contribute to BirdCount India
Behind the scenes, your eBird records flow into BirdCount India, a partnership between the BirdLife network, the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), and local birding clubs.
Their teams curate, verify, and analyze submissions to produce countrywide trends — like the State of India’s Birds report, which is shaping real conservation decisions.
2. Regional Add-ons: BirdNET and iNaturalist
🎧 BirdNET for Sound Data
In sound-rich tropical environments, visual ID isn’t always possible — think dense Western Ghats forests or mangrove thickets.
BirdNET excels here. Record bird calls, get automated suggestions, and cross-check them in Merlin. Uploading verified calls to eBird enriches acoustic datasets that are vital for AI model training and species monitoring.
🌿 iNaturalist for Habitat Context
Pairing iNaturalist with eBird gives your data ecological context. You might log a White-throated Kingfisher in eBird and, in the same spot, identify its perch tree in iNaturalist. This holistic approach helps researchers understand where birds thrive — not just that they exist.
3. Workflows That Work in the Field
🔹 The “Pocket Birder” Workflow (for rural/remote areas)
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Download Merlin’s India and Nepal pack before heading out.
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Record bird calls offline.
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When back online, cross-check using BirdNET and upload to eBird.
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Join a regional WhatsApp group (many state birding societies have one) for help confirming tricky IDs.
🔹 The “Team Survey” Workflow (for clubs or schools)
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Assign routes and hotspots using eBird’s shared checklists.
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Use standardized survey durations (e.g., 15-min stationary counts).
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Review all checklists before submitting them to ensure consistent metadata.
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Submit to BirdCount India projects like Asian Waterbird Census or Great Backyard Bird Count.
🔹 The “Data-to-Insight” Workflow (for research-minded birders)
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Export your eBird data for a region of interest.
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Use R packages like
aukor visualization tools likeShinyBirds. -
Identify seasonal trends or species shifts, and contribute insights back to local clubs or BirdCount forums.
4. How India Is Building Its Own Birding Data Culture
Citizen science in India isn’t just about using global apps — it’s about local ownership of data and stories.
Projects like:
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MigrantWatch (tracking migratory species)
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Early Bird (a school-based birdwatching program)
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Kerala Bird Atlas and Tamil Nadu Bird Atlas
have demonstrated that consistent, community-led data collection can be as rigorous as formal surveys.
Meanwhile, universities and NGOs are beginning to analyze eBird data alongside satellite imagery and climate layers — turning citizen logs into models of habitat change, crop–bird interactions, and urban biodiversity resilience.
5. What’s Next: AI, Policy, and Participation
South Asia’s bird data is exploding — but its power lies in how it’s used.
New initiatives aim to:
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Integrate AI-assisted monitoring using BirdNET datasets and low-cost recorders.
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Feed data directly into national biodiversity portals like India’s IndOBIS and GBIF.
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Influence policy — such as wetland protection priorities — using State of India’s Birds trend maps.
In the near future, even rural schools may run small bird observatories powered by old smartphones, collecting sounds and sightings daily. The age of community observatories is dawning.
6. Why It Matters
Every checklist you upload, every call you record, adds a pixel to the bigger picture of South Asia’s avian life. From the rooftop kites of Delhi to the waders of Chilika, each record tells a story — of migration, adaptation, or loss.
Citizen science isn’t just about data. It’s about democratizing observation, giving everyone — farmer, student, or scientist — the means to notice and contribute.
And in noticing, we begin to protect.
🌍 The Takeaway
Citizen science in India and South Asia is no longer a hobbyist’s pastime — it’s becoming the region’s most powerful conservation tool.
By combining Merlin for discovery, eBird for documentation, and BirdCount India for data curation, birders here are setting a global example of what collaborative, community-driven science can achieve.
So the next time you lift your phone to identify that flash of wings, remember — you’re not just spotting a bird.
You’re helping map the living pulse of an entire subcontinent.
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