Species

Justification
This species is listed as Near Threatened because its range has been estimated to be moderately small and is thought to be in decline owing to habitat loss and degradation. Its range may be larger than currently estimated, which if confirmed may lead to the species being downlisted to Least Concern.

Taxonomic source(s)
AOU. 1998. Check-list of North American birds. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.
Sibley, C. G.; Monroe, B. L. 1990. Distribution and taxonomy of birds of the world. Yale University Press, New Haven, USA.
Stotz, D. F.; Fitzpatrick, J. W.; Parker, T. A.; Moskovits, D. K. 1996. Neotropical birds: ecology and conservation. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Distribution and population
Xenotriccus mexicanus is found in the interior of south-west Mexico from central Michoacán and Morelos to Oaxaca (Howell and Webb 1995). Reports from Laguna del Tigre National Park, Guatemala, are thought to be erroneous (Eisermann and Avendaño 2007). It is common at Monte Albán, Oaxaca, in summer, but rare or absent in winter when birds may migrate into the Balsas drainage (Howell and Webb 1995). It is also reported to be common during summer in scrub and oak woodland around Oaxaca city and in Tehuacan Cuicatlan Biosphere Reserve, ranging north of Cuernavaca (M. Grosselet in litt. 2010). 



Population justification
Partners in Flight estimated the population to number fewer than 50,000 individuals (A. Panjabi in litt. 2008), thus it is placed in the band for 20,000-49,999 mature individuals.

Trend justification
The population is suspected to be in decline owing to on-going habitat destruction.

Ecology
This species is fairly common at 900-2,000 m in arid montane scrub, and particularly mesquite in arid scrub (Howell and Webb 1995, Stattersfield et al. 1998). It feeds on insects, foraging from a low branch and sallying out to capture prey from the air or foliage (del Hoyo et al. 2004). Its nest, in which it lays two or three eggs, is made of grasses and other plant fibres, and is bound to a fork in a low thorny thicket using spider silk (del Hoyo et al. 2004).

Threats
Most habitat has been affected by agricultural expansion, including coffee and citrus plantations and cattle-ranching (Dinerstein et al. 1995).

Conservation actions underway
There are very few protected areas within the species's restricted range to mitigate threats to its habitat (Stattersfield et al. 1998).

Conservation actions proposed
Conduct surveys to assess the total population size. Assess the species's potential occurrence in Guatemala. Carry out regular surveys to monitor population trends. Monitor rates of habitat loss and degradation across its range. Increase the area of suitable habitat with protected status.

References
Howell, S. N. G.; Webb, S. 1995. A guide to the birds of Mexico and northern Central America. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Dinerstein, E.; Olson, D. M.; Graham, D. J.; Webster, A. L.; Primm, S. A.; Bookbinder, M. P.; Ledec, G. 1995. A conservation assesssment of the terrestrial ecoregions of Latin America and the Caribbean. World Bank, Washington, D.C.

Stattersfield, A. J.; Crosby, M. J.; Long, A. J.; Wege, D. C. 1998. Endemic bird areas of the world: priorities for bird conservation. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.

del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Christie, D. 2004. Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 9: Cotingas to Pipits and Wagtails. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.

Eisermann, K.; Avendaño, C. 2007. Lista comentada de las aves de Guatemala - Annotated checklist of the birds of Guatemala. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.

Further web sources of information
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
Capper, D., O'Brien, A., Taylor, J.

Contributors
Eisermann, K., Grosselet, M., Panjabi, A., Vidal, R.

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

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2013) Species factsheet: Xenotriccus mexicanus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 24/05/2013. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2013) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 24/05/2013.

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.