India, Oct. 16 -- India's open natural ecosystems - grasslands, semi-arid landscapes, desert, croplands, hilly scrublands, and fallow lands - are under increasing threat as four bird species inhabiting them have been 'uplisted' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) this week, according to a statement by the State of India's Birds.

State of India's Birds is a comprehensive assessment of the distribution range, trends in abundance, and conservation status for most of the bird species that regularly occur in India.

Some 1,360 bird species worldwide were assessed during the IUCN's latest Red List update, including 12 Indian bird species.

"Of the 12 Indian species which have been reassessed, eight have been 'downliste...