Justification This species is listed as Near Threatened because there are some indications that it has a moderately small, fragmented population, and it may be undergoing a continuing decline owing to trapping and forest loss. However, little is currently known about the population size and structure of, and threats to, this species. Further information is needed to improve the accuracy of this assessment.

Family/Sub-family Psittacidae

Species name author (Linnaeus, 1766)

Taxonomic source(s) Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993)

Identification

Population estimate

Population trend

Range estimate (breeding/resident)

Country endemic?

2,500-9,999

unset

291,000 km²

No

Range & population Tanygnathus lucionensis is confined to the Philippines, where there are records from at least 45 islands, plus the Talaud Islands, Indonesia, and islands off north-east Borneo belonging to Malaysia. It was common on most islands in the Philippines a century or less ago, but has suffered declines since on such a scale that it is now rare or extinct on many islands. However, while not a small-island specialist it does survive in small pockets of habitat on the smaller islands, so that its status overall is difficult to assess. Moreover, it is still fairly numerous in some areas of Palawan and on Tawitawi, and high numbers persist in a large tract of forest on Talaud. The total population was provisionally estimated to be below 10,000 individuals in 1993¹.

Ecology: It is a bird of closed and open forest formations, including second growth, coconut plantations, banana patches and mangrove, chiefly in lowland and coastal areas, up to 1,000 m. It is usually found in flocks of up to 12 individuals which roost communally and make regular dawn and dusk flights between feeding and roosting areas. It feeds in fruiting trees on nuts, fruits, berries and also on grain in other habitats. Nesting takes place in a hole in a tree in April-June.

Threats It has declined through trapping (for both domestic and international trade) and habitat loss owing to agricultural expansion and logging pressure.

Conservation measures underway CITES Appendix II. It occurs in several national parks within the Philippines: Bataan, Quezon and Minalungaw, and is relatively common within St Paul's Subterranean River National Park, Palawan.

Conservation measures proposed Determine the impact of trade on the species's population. Revise its global population estimate. Estimate rates of decline based upon rates of deforestation within its range. Effectively protect significant areas of tall forest with suitable nesting trees at key sites throughout it range, in both strictly protected areas and community led multiple use areas.

References Collar et al. (1999). 1. Lambert et al. (1993).

Further web sources of information

Fully detailed species accounts from the Threatened birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book (BirdLife International 2001), together with new information collated since the publication of the Red Data Book

Text account compilers Phil Benstead (BirdLife International), Jeremy Bird (BirdLife International), Simon Mahood (BirdLife International)

IUCN Red List evaluators Jeremy Bird (BirdLife International), Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Mike Crosby (BirdLife International)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: Tanygnathus lucionensis. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 10/2/2010

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

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