Understanding species distribution and richness can contribute significantly to our knowledge of community assembly and macroecological patterns, as well as to the effective conservation of threatened species and habitats. Although there have been a plethora of studies on birds in India over the years, there is a critical need to accurately delineate species distributions and understand patterns of richness. The focus of this study was to understand the factors that influence the distribution of bird species in the Western Ghats, as well as to explore patterns in their geographic range sizes. These questions were addressed at the scale of the entire Western Ghats using a combination of primary field data comprising 78 one km transects across habitat types and a published secondary dataset comprising 57 transects. Random forest analysis and species distribution modeling were used to examine the influence of environmental factors, and the relationship of floristics and vegetation structure on bird species distribution were explored using Mantel’s tests. Species distribution models also produced fine scale maps which were used to investigate patterns in range sizes in terms of species-specific traits and compared with currently available information on range. The specific approaches used to address these questions and the findings will be presented at the colloquium.