• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Least Concern
2016	Near Threatened	A2bcd+3bcd+4bcd
2012	Near Threatened	A2bcd+3bcd+4bcd
2008	Near Threatened	A2b,c,d; A3b,c,d; A4b,c,d
2006	Near Threatened
2004	Near Threatened
2000	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1994	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	low
Land-mass type	continent shelf island	Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	17,700,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	-	-	-
Population trend	increasing	poor	inferred	-
Generation length	7.32 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population size of this species has not been formally evaluated, but consideration of the size and number of colonies throughout South Asia and South-East Asia (e.g. Goes 2013, Visal and Mahood 2015, Haq et al. 2018, eBird 2024) suggests that the population probably numbers at least in the tens of thousands.

Trend justification: Although Oriental Darter may locally be declining, the global population is now very probably stable or slightly increasing. Formerly, this species was suspected to be declining moderately rapidly, principally in response to pollution, wetland drainage and, especially in South-East Asia, hunting (BirdLife International 2001). More recently, successful conservation action in parts of its range have reversed this trend and the species has probably been increasing in abundance since the turn of the century. In India, eBird citizen science data suggest a stable reporting rate (SoIB 2023), while heronry count data from Kerala 2014-2022 show a fluctuating but broadly stable trend (R. Ramesh in litt. 2024). The species has also expanded its range in Kerala, and has only recently colonised Jammu and the Andaman Islands (Praveen J in litt. 2024). While there are reports of localised declines (A. Verma and S. Subramanya in litt. 2024), these are probably offset by recoveries elsewhere.

 At the Tonle Sap waterbird colony in Cambodia, the population has recovered from historic persecution, with 241 nests in 2000 increasing to several thousand (Goes 2013). In large part, this contributed to recoveries elsewhere in South-East Asia. In Thailand, the species was nearly extinct by the mid-1980s (the species only persisting in a few remote forested rivers: P. D. Round in litt. 2023) but recovered rapidly concurrently with populations in Cambodia, and the species is now widespread and common throughout most of the country (P. D. Round in litt. 2023, eBird 2024; see also data in Haq et al. (2018) and testimony in Round (2008)). Observations in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore have also recently been increasing (with a notable increase from 2016) and the first modern breeding of the species in Peninsular Malaysia was recorded in 2022 (Amar-Singh HSS et al. 2023). The species has so far not been successful in returning to Lao PDR as a breeding visitor, despite formerly having almost certainly been so, due to ongoing threats (principally hunting). However its  extirpation here as a breeding species was historical and there are signs of increasing non-breeding numbers (Timmins et al. 2024). There are no time series data from Indonesia, although where it would be expected the species continues to be seen in good numbers (eBird 2024).

Overall, the species is suspected of having increased its population size in the past three generations (22 years: 2002-2024) and this trend is likely to continue with increasing protection of wetlands throughout its range.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Bangladesh	extant	native	yes
Brunei	extant	native	yes
Cambodia	extant	native	yes
India	extant	native	yes
Indonesia	extant	native	yes
Laos	extant	native	yes
Malaysia	extant	native	yes
Myanmar	extant	native	yes
Nepal	extant	native	yes
Pakistan	extant	native	yes
Philippines	extant	native	yes
Sri Lanka	extant	native	yes
Thailand	extant	native	yes
Vietnam	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Cambodia	Boeung Chhmar / Moat Khla
Cambodia	Lower Stung Sen
Cambodia	Prek Toal
India	Bhashkarpara
India	Harike Lake Bird Sanctuary
India	Watrap Periakulam and Virakasamuthrakulam
Indonesia	Muara Gembong - Tanjung Sedari
Indonesia	Pulau Dua
Indonesia	Rawa Tulang Bawang
Indonesia	Tanjung Puting
Myanmar	Ayeyarwady River: Myitkyina to Sinbo Section
Myanmar	Indawgyi Lake Wildlife Sanctuary and surroundings
Myanmar	Tanai River
Nepal	Barandabhar forests and wetlands
Nepal	Bardia National Park
Nepal	Chitwan National Park
Nepal	Ghodaghodi Lake
Nepal	Jagdishpur Reservoir
Nepal	Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve and Koshi Barrage
Nepal	Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve
Sri Lanka	Yala
Thailand	Ban Khlong Marakor Tai
Vietnam	Bac Lieu
Vietnam	Ca Mau
Vietnam	Chua Hang
Vietnam	Yok Don

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Mangrove Vegetation Above High Tide Level	major	resident
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes	major	resident
Marine Neritic	Estuaries	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls)	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Lakes	major	resident
Altitude	0 - 2000 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		No decline		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		No decline		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species mortality
Human intrusions & disturbance	Work & other activities	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		No decline		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species disturbance
Natural system modifications	Dams & water management/use - Abstraction of surface water (domestic use)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		No decline		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Pollution	Agricultural & forestry effluents - Type Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		No decline		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence, national
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Oriental Darter Anhinga melanogaster. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/oriental-darter-anhinga-melanogaster on 22/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/12/2024.