Species

Justification
This species has a very small range, in which habitat is being lost and degraded, although its population is not considered to be severely fragmented or restricted to a few locations. Its population is thought to be moderately small and is likely to be in decline owing to habitat loss. It is therefore considered Near Threatened, although further studies are urgently needed to validate this assessment.

Taxonomic source(s)
Sibley, C. G.; Monroe, B. L. 1990. Distribution and taxonomy of birds of the world. Yale University Press, New Haven, USA.

Distribution and population
Tanysiptera riedelii is endemic to the twin islands of Biak-Supiori off Papua (formerly Irian Jaya), Indonesia (Beehler et al. 1986). It is sometimes considered to be a subspecies of Common Paradise-kingfisher T. galeata but there are significant morphological differences (Forshaw 1985, Sibley and Monroe 1990, Sibley and Monroe 1993). It is reported to be fairly common, although it may be restricted to areas of tall forest (K. D. Bishop in litt. 2000).

Population justification
This species is poorly known and no population estimates are available.

Trend justification
Data on population trends are lacking, but a slow decline is suspected to be occurring, owing to on-going habitat destruction.

Ecology
This species occurs in primary, secondary and logged forest up to at least 300 m, and possibly 600 m (Gibbs 1993, Poulsen and Frolander 1994, Eastwood 1996b, B. Beehler and S. van Balen in litt. 2000, M. Van Beirs in litt. 2000). It may be restricted to areas with tall trees and a closed canopy.

Threats
On Biak, forest is under heavy threat from logging and subsistence farming, but there appears to be large areas of forest remaining in interior Supiori (Bishop 1982, K. D. Bishop in litt. 1996, D. Holmes in litt. 2000).

Conservation actions underway
It is present in the 110 km² Biak-Utara protected area (B. Beehler and S. van Balen in litt. 2000).

Conservation actions proposed
Conduct surveys throughout the range to clarify its current abundance and distribution. Repeat surveys to monitor rates of population decline. Conduct ecological studies to identify habitat associations and levels of tolerance of secondary habitats. Ensure the effective protection of tall forest in the Biak-Utara protected area.

References
Sibley, C. G.; Monroe, B. L. 1990. Distribution and taxonomy of birds of the world. Yale University Press, New Haven, USA.

Beehler, B. M.; Pratt, T. K.; Zimmerman, D. A. 1986. Birds of New Guinea. Princeton University Press, Princeton.

Bishop, K. D. 1982. Endemic birds of Biak Island.

Forshaw, J. M. 1985. Kingfishers and related birds. Lansdowne, Sydney.

Gibbs, D. 1993. Irian Jaya, Indonesia, 21 January--12 March 1991: a site guide for birdwatchers, with brief notes from 1992.

Sibley, C. G.; Monroe, B. L. 1993. A supplement to 'Distribution and taxonomy of birds of the world'. Yale University Press, New Haven, USA.

Poulsen, B. O.; Frolander, A. 1994. Birding Irian Jaya, Indonesian New Guinea.

Eastwood, C. 1996. A trip to Irian Jaya. Muruk 8(1): 12-23.

Further web sources of information
Detailed species accounts from the Threatened birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book (BirdLife International 2001).

Hear sounds for this species from xeno-canto, the community database of shared bird sounds from around the world.

View photos and videos, and hear sounds of this species from the Internet Bird Collection

Text account compilers
Benstead, P., Gilroy, J., Taylor, J.

Contributors
Beehler, B., Bishop, K., Holmes, T., van Balen, S., van Beirs, M.

IUCN Red List evaluators
Butchart, S., Symes, A.

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2013) Species factsheet: Tanysiptera riedelii. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 23/05/2013. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2013) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 23/05/2013.

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.

To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife

To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums.