The silent disappearance

Across the Terai region along the India–Nepal border, a quiet ecological crisis is unfolding. The Finn’s Baya, a small yellow weaver bird once seen in modest numbers across Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Nepal, is now on the brink of vanishing from its last known habitat. What makes the situation alarming for researchers is that the species’ disappearance has gone almost unnoticed, overshadowed by larger conservation priorities.
The Haripura Dam area in Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar district has long been considered the final refuge of the Finn’s Baya. Yet by 2024, not a single female bird was recorded there. This year, the situation has worsened, with neither males nor females sighted in the entire region. For ornithologists and forest department researchers, the absence signals a potential local extinction event.
The Finn’s Baya (Ploceus megarhynchus), also known as Finn’s Weaver, Yellow Weaver and Himalayan Weaver, is recognised for its yellow plumage and distinctive nesting habits. In Uttarakhand, it is commonly called the Pahari Baya. The species depends on a fragile combination of wetlands, marshes, tall grasses and specific tree species such as Semal and Shisham. These landscapes, shaped by the presence of dams and reservoirs, provide essential nesting grounds. The birds typically weave hanging nests on tall grass and the branches of these trees during the breeding season.
For Tanuja, a research associate with the Uttarakhand Forest Department, the decline has been particularly visible and distressing. She has surveyed the Haripura Dam region since 2021, documenting the changes in population over time. She recalls that in 2021, researchers recorded 17 males and 10 females during the breeding months. The birds would appear around May, build nests, and leave by August. But every subsequent year brought a smaller population. By 2024, the absence of females was a serious warning. In 2025, the disappearance of both sexes confirmed fears that the species may no longer be breeding in the area.
Tanuja expanded her search beyond Haripura Dam to nearby Baur Dam and adjoining forest patches, but the results did not change. “I searched from Haripura to Baur Dam and inside the forests. I could not find a single bird or nest,” she said.