Justification This species is listed as Near Threatened because it occupies a small range, in which it is threatened by hunting and limited habitat loss and degradation. The proliferation of protected areas in Costa Rica and Panama is likely to have reduced the threats to this species's habitat. However, if these threats prove to be serious, the species may be uplisted to a higher threat category.

Family/Sub-family Cracidae

Species name author Salvin, 1867

Taxonomic source(s) AOU checklist (1998 + supplements), Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993), Stotz et al. (1996)

Identification 64 cm. Short-tailed glossy black cracid. Overall glossy black, sootier below. Bare blue facial skin with red iris. Coral red legs. Immature duller and sootier. Voice Mostly silent. In breeding season gives soft low piping calls at dawn. Also low kowr when startled and tsik tsik alarm call. Wings rattle when flying between trees. Hints Forages singly, in pairs or small groups, mostly in trees but sometimes on the ground.

Population estimate

Population trend

Range estimate (breeding/resident)

Country endemic?

unknown

unset

15,600 km²

No

Range & population Chamaepetes unicolor is rare to locally fairly common throughout the highlands of Costa Rica and in Chiriquí, Bocas del Toro, Veraguas (Calovévora and Sante Fe) and west Coclé, west Panama^5,6. It is common (estimated density of 7.4 birds/km²) in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, Costa Rica², and large areas of suitable habitat are protected in La Amistad International Park and the Cordillera de Guanacaste⁷. This suggests that the 1994 population estimate of 800-1,000 birds in Costa Rica⁸ is too low. In Panama, it was reported as locally common in the 1930s, uncommon and local in 1971⁴, and rare to locally fairly common (e.g. in Fortuna Forest Reserve) in the 1980s⁵. The species was found to be fairly common at Cerro Pena Blanca, west of El Cope, in 2001¹⁰.

Important Bird Areas Click here to view map showing IBAs where species is recorded and triggers any of the IBA criteria.

Ecology: This frugivore inhabits montane cloud forest, preferring steep terrain with ridges and ravines^5,6,9. It typically occurs at elevations of 900-2,250 m but has been recorded to 450 m ⁵. In Panama, young birds have been seen in February and June, and pairing has been observed to begin in March in Costa Rica, with both very young chicks and almost full-grown young seen in July⁴. It lays 2-3 eggs⁴.

Threats This species is much hunted for food⁴. Highland forests have suffered burning, logging and conversion to intensive agriculture³, and in east Chiriquí only isolated patches of forest remain above 1,000 m ¹. However, the extent of fragmentation is less than in lowland areas and, where not hunted for food, it persists in forest edge and secondary growth adjacent to undisturbed forest^5,7,8. In Panama a belt of nearly continuous forest remains along the cordillera from the Costa Rican border to just east of El Cope, although continuity may be lost in future.

Conservation measures underway This species occurs in numerous protected areas, including private reserves.

Conservation measures proposed Conduct surveys to obtain an up-to-date total population estimate. Monitor population trends through regular surveys. Monitor rates of habitat loss and degradation across its range. Assess whether hunting is still a serious threat, and in which areas it is most severe. Protect remaining substantial tracts of cloud forest. Encourage the restoration of cloud forests, especially to link remaining fragments.

References 1. W. J. Adsett in litt. (1993). 2. D. Brooks in litt. (2000). 3. Dinerstein et al. (1995). 4. del Hoyo (1994). 5. Ridgely and Gwynne (1989). 6. Stiles and Skutch (1989). 7. F. G. Stiles in litt. (1999). 8. Strahl et al. (1994). 9. Wheelwright et al. (1984). 10. G. Angehr in litt. (2005).

Text account compilers Phil Benstead (BirdLife International), David Capper (BirdLife International), Aidan Keane (World Pheasant Association), Tom Stuart (BirdLife International), Joe Taylor (BirdLife International)

Contributors W. J. Adsett, George Angehr (Panama Audubon Society), Dan Brooks (Houston Museum of Natural Science), F. Gary Stiles (Universidad Nacional de Colombia)

IUCN Red List evaluators Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Joe Taylor (BirdLife International)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: Chamaepetes unicolor. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 9/2/2010

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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