Species

Justification
This species is listed as Vulnerable because its population is believed to have declined rapidly as a result of extensive forest clearance. It is projected that continued habitat loss will cause future rapid declines in its population and range.

Taxonomic note
Dicaeum australe (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) has been split into D. australe and D. haematostictum following Brooks et al. (1992).

Identification
10 cm. A tiny canopy-dwelling passerine. Black upperparts with blue gloss. White underparts, greyer on belly, with prominent black bar on upper breast and bright scarlet patch extending from the bar and continuing as line down centre of breast and belly. Longish, fine bill. Voice Song a series of thin, high-pitched, sweet notes. Call a thin seep interspersed with harder tup tup notes. Hints Sings from exposed perches and frequents fruiting berry trees.

Distribution and population
Dicaeum haematostictum is endemic to the Western Visayas in the Philippines (Collar et al. 1999). Formerly widespread and common on Negros at least, it appears to have undergone a steep decline, with surprisingly few recorded during recent surveys, although it was reportedly abundant around Mt Talinis in 1991-1992, and was recorded at Simpang Forest, Sipalay in 2005 (J. Hornbuckle per A. Bucol in litt. 2007), with records from multiple sites in 2011 (per D. Allen in litt. 2012). Its status on Panay is unclear. Despite a number of recent records, no birds were recorded from Mt Madja-as during a month of fieldwork in 1991. It is presumed extinct on Guimaras, although this requires verification.

Population justification
The population size is preliminarily estimated to fall into the band 10,000-19,999 individuals. This equates to 6,667-13,333 mature individuals, rounded here to 6,000-15,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification
A rapid and on-going population decline is suspected to be taking place, owing to the rapid loss and degradation of forest habitats, although this species's apparent tolerance of moderate levels of habitat disturbance suggests that declines may not be drastic.

Ecology
It occurs in a variety of habitats in the lowlands and hills, up to 1,250 m on Mt Talinis (A. Bucol in litt. 2007) but generally below 1,000 m in other areas. These include primary and secondary forests, heavily degraded forest, scrubby habitats and even gardens, where it frequents fruiting or flowering trees.

Threats
Chronic deforestation has led to its presumed extinction on Guimaras and its decline on Negros; however, its ability to tolerate substantial habitat modification may alleviate the overall level of threat posed.

Conservation actions underway
There are recent records from Bulabong Puti-an and the tiny (0.5 km²) Sampunong Bolo National Parks on Panay, Mt Canlaon Natural Park and the North Negros Forest Reserve, which receives only nominal protection. It has also been recently recorded in the Mt Talinis/Twin Lakes area, which has been proposed for conservation related funding.

Conservation actions proposed
Conduct further surveys, particularly on Panay and Guimaras, to assess its status and identify additional appropriate areas for protection. Gazette further areas of forest for protection, following surveys to identify key populations. Promote more effective protection of the North Negros Forest Reserve and other remaining lowland forest tracts in the Western Visayas.

References
Collar, N. J.; Mallari, N. A. D.; Tabaranza, B. R. J. 1999. Threatened birds of the Philippines: the Haribon Foundation/BirdLife International Red Data Book. Bookmark, Makati City.

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
Allen, D., Bucol, A.

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

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2013) Species factsheet: Dicaeum haematostictum. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 22/05/2013. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2013) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 22/05/2013.

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

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