- A study in Himachal Pradesh mapped the distribution of Galliformes, a group of ground-dwelling birds, and found that a majority of the species fall outside the existing protected areas.
- The transition zone between the Greater Himalaya and Trans-Himalaya emerged as the most important landscape for Galliformes conservation because it supports species from both ecosystems.
- The study calls for moving beyond snow leopard-focused conservation to protecting the wider range of co-occurring species, including through community-led conservation outside protected areas.
In the high-altitude landscapes of Himachal Pradesh, conservation efforts have long revolved around the charismatic snow leopard (Panthera uncia). But a new study suggests this focus may be leaving a host of other ecologically vital species outside the conservation umbrella.
The study, led by scientists from the Nature Conservation Foundation and partner institutions, mapped the distribution of Galliformes — a group of heavy-bodied, ground-dwelling birds that includes pheasants and partridges — across 26,000 square kilometres. It found that only 12.5% of areas with high Galliformes species richness and 8.8% of areas with high concentrations of endemic species fall within existing protected areas (PA), designated zones for conservation of wildlife and habitats.
The findings indicate that important bird habitats lie outside the designated protected areas. They point to the need for conservation planning that considers multiple species and the landscapes they share, rather than focusing mainly on flagship species such as the snow leopard.
Snow leopard cameras reveal bird conservation gap
The study, however, did not begin with birds at all. It grew out of a snow leopard survey conducted between 2016 and 2019.
“We deployed close to 300 camera traps to estimate snow leopard populations,” said Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi, a scientist with the Nature Conservation Foundation, and senior author of the paper. “We completed that work and published those results. That is when we realised that while studying these charismatic species, our camera traps had detected many other animals.”
Suryawanshi and his team revisited the data to identify species that warranted greater attention. Pheasants turned out to be among the top candidates.
The scale of the dataset allowed the researchers to examine Galliformes species across the state rather than within a single protected area. The survey used 284 camera traps across 10 sites and detected six Galliformes species. Only three had sufficient detections for statistical modelling.
Chukar partridge (Alectoris chukar) and Himalayan monal (Lophophorus impejanus) were the most frequently detected species, followed by Himalayan snowcock (Tetraogallus himalayensis).
Koklass pheasant (Pucrasia macrolopha), cheer pheasant (Catreus wallichii), and snow partridge (Lerwa lerwa) were excluded from the stacked model owing to insufficient detections.
The analysis found that vegetation cover and seasonal temperature changes were important factors influencing where the birds occurred. For example, the chukar partridge and Himalayan monal were more likely to occur in greener, more vegetated areas. In contrast, the Himalayan snowcock was primarily found in the higher-elevation regions of the Greater and Trans-Himalaya and was more strongly influenced by temperature seasonality than by vegetation cover.
The analysis also revealed that some of the most important areas for these birds lie outside the existing protected-area network.
Where two Himalayan ecosystems meet
The transition zone between the Greater and Trans‐Himalaya — a region where the wetter, monsoon-influenced Greater Himalaya merges with the colder, drier Trans-Himalaya — was found to be particularly important. Galliformes species from both regions overlap here, resulting in high diversity.
The areas falling within Hangrang, Tabo, Bharmour and Kullu — located in this transition zone — were found to support a high diversity of Phasianidae species found in both ecosystems.
“Some pheasants are forest specialists, while others are specialists of the Trans-Himalaya. In the transition zone, species from both ecosystems occur together. That is why you see much higher diversity there,” said Suryawanshi.
Yet much of this transition zone remains outside protected areas. That gap matters because conserving a single species or habitat type does not necessarily protect the full range of species that occur in the landscape.
The study, therefore, advocates an assemblage-level approach — one that maps several co-occurring species together to identify areas of shared conservation importance.
Why protecting one flagship species is not enough
Galliformes species may lack the appeal of a snow leopard, but they play important roles in mountain ecosystems.
“Pheasants are much like chickens. They are omnivores that consume insects as well as seeds,” Suryawanshi explained. “While searching for insects, they rake through leaf litter, aerating the forest floor. They often occur in high densities, so simply because of their numbers, they can significantly influence insect populations, seed dynamics and the forest undergrowth.”
Their relatively high biomass also makes them an important food source for predators, including raptors and martens.
Some species also contribute to seed dispersal. Research has, for example, documented chukar partridges dispersing pistachio seeds, an economically important forest product.
Yet several Himalayan Galliformes species are declining. Global populations of the Himalayan monal, cheer pheasant, snow partridge and koklass pheasant are reported to be declining, while a State of India’s Birds report has documented sharp declines in cheer pheasant populations.
For several other species, population trends could not be investigated due to lack of adequate data.
Conservation in the Himalayas is often built around flagship or umbrella species such as the snow leopard. The assumption is that protecting the habitat of a wide-ranging predator will also benefit other species living there. But the study argues that this does not always happen.
“Many studies rely on single‐species distribution maps or occurrence records to assess overlap with PAs, making it difficult to discern broader, community‐level patterns,” the paper states.
Single‐species studies are essential for addressing extinction risk. However, the study argues that multi-species approaches can reveal whether umbrella‐based conservation strategies actually deliver wider biodiversity benefits.
An assemblage-level approach looks at where several species occur together, identifying areas with high species richness and concentrations of range-restricted species. It is more effective as it captures ecological complexity and interactions, not just one species’ needs. It can therefore highlight conservation priorities that may be missed when species are assessed individually.
Threats extend beyond habitat loss
Hunting of Galliformes species for meat and habitat loss due to land conversion for agriculture and aquaculture are among the predominant threats to the birds in the Himalayas.
“Decades ago, habitat destruction and local poaching were probably the biggest concerns, and they still persist at the local level,” said Rahul Kaul, chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Galliformes Specialist Group for South Asia.
A 2004 study by Kaul suggested that the primary motivation for hunting was to supplement dietary protein, although some species were also hunted for commercial purposes, including the sale of meat and animal parts.
But Kaul says another pressure is becoming increasingly important — forest fires.
“Forest fires usually occur during summer, around April, which coincides with the nesting season,” Kaul said. “Most Galliformes nest on the ground, so fires destroy nests and eggs. Adult birds can escape, but the nests are lost.”
Even if birds attempt to nest again, repeated breeding failures reduce the number of young entering the population. “I think fire may now be a much bigger driver of population decline than habitat destruction,” Kaul added.
Climate change could also alter where Himalayan birds are found. Kaul pointed to evidence of species such as the Indian peafowl moving to higher elevations. “This creates new problems because peafowl become agricultural pests in these areas, leading people to retaliate by killing them. They may also compete with species already occupying those habitats,” Kaul said.
Conservation beyond protected areas
One of the study’s central recommendations is to move away from conservation models that rely solely on national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, and instead engage local communities and raise awareness about the importance of conserving areas outside formal PAs.
Unlike national parks, community and conservation reserves can allow people to continue living in and using landscapes while participating directly in their management. Mandar Jeware who was previously posted as Deputy Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) in the Spiti Forest Division, said community-based conservation initiatives can help bridge long-standing gaps.
“The participatory approach gives local communities a sense of attachment and belonging,” he said. “It bridges the trust gap that often exists between people and government in remote mountain areas.” Community reserves can also protect habitats that conventional protected areas often exclude. “They bring additional habitats such as pasturelands and traditional land-use systems into the protected area network and under active management,” Jeware explained.
Researchers argue that community conservation should go beyond simply allowing people and wildlife to coexist. Instead, local communities could actively manage habitats to benefit particular species.
“If a reserve is created for pheasants, local people would manage the habitat specifically for pheasants,” Suryawanshi said. “Depending on the species, they might retain undergrowth, modify how fire is used or adopt other management practices that improve habitat quality.”
For a biodiversity-rich but resource-limited country like India, Suryawanshi believes the study also demonstrates the value of making better use of existing datasets.
“When researchers study charismatic animals such as snow leopards, tigers or elephants, they inevitably collect valuable information on many other species,” he said. “We should make much better use of those datasets.”
Banner image: A Himalayan snowcock. Image courtesy of Himachal Pradesh Forest Department and Nature Conservation Foundation.
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