Species

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Justification
This species qualifies as Endangered because it has a very small population; suitable habitat is declining through clearance for agriculture and introduced predators are also reducing numbers.

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.

Identification
13-14 cm. Small, black or brown finch with heavy, black bill. Male entirely black with pink legs. Female brown above with contrasting grey crown and buffy below. Immature like female. Similar spp. Lesser Antillean Bullfinch Loxigilla noctis is larger, has smaller bill and lacks pink legs. Voice Rough tick-zwee-swisiwis-you with emphasis on second and last notes, slightly resembling Bananaquit Coereba flaveola. Hints Mainly terrestrial in leaf-litter of dense understorey. Bobs tail up and down.

Distribution and population
Melanospiza richardsoni is endemic to St Lucia in the Lesser Antilles, where it is most numerous in the mountains (Bond 1979, Keith 1997). Surveys in 1987 failed to find any large populations and noted that much apparently suitable habitat was unoccupied (Keith 1997), although due to its broad habitat tolerance its range is probably not severely fragmented (H. Temple in litt. 2007).

Population justification
The population is estimated to number 250-999 mature individuals based on an assessment of known records, descriptions of abundance and range size. This is consistent with recorded population density estimates for congeners or close relatives with a similar body size, and the fact that only a proportion of the estimated Extent of Occurrence is likely to be occupied. This estimate is equivalent to 375-1,499 individuals in total, rounded here to 350-1,500 individuals.

Trend justification
There are no new data on population trends, but the species is suspected to be in a slow decline owing to habitat degradation.

Ecology
It exhibits considerable ecological flexibility, inhabiting rainforest, forest edge, secondary vegetation, plantations, shrubbery, semi-arid scrub and woodland, up to 800 m (Bond 1979, Trail and Baptista 1989, Keith 1997). However, it has a preference for dense undergrowth, which is naturally found in ravines within moist montane forest (Keith 1997). Birds feed primarily on the ground on seeds, fruit and insects (Keith 1997). Nesting has been recorded in April-June.

Threats
The clearing of undergrowth, particularly in timber plantations, renders areas completely unsuitable and is probably the major threat (Keith 1997). Introduced mongooses and rats may also predate eggs, nestlings and adults (Keith 1997).

Conservation actions underway
It occurs in a number of forest reserves, such as La Sorcière and Edmond (Raffaele et al. 1998).

Conservation actions proposed
Assess the species's current distribution and population, and use the results to design a conservation strategy. Curtail undergrowth clearing in plantations and other forested areas (Keith 1997).

References
Trail, P. W.; Baptista, L. F. 1989. The behaviour, status and relationships of the endemic St Lucia Black-finch. National Geographic Society Research Reports 5(1): 82-98.

Bond, J. 1979. Birds of the West Indies. Collins, London.

Keith, A. R. 1997. The birds of St Lucia, West Indies: an annotated check-list. British Ornithologists Union, Tring, UK.

Raffaele, H.; Wiley, J.; Garrido, O.; Keith, A.; Raffaele, J. 1998. Birds of the West Indies. Christopher Helm, London.

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
Isherwood, I., Mahood, S., Pople, R., Sharpe, C J, Wege, D.

Contributors
Morton, M., Temple, H.

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

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2013) Species factsheet: Melanospiza richardsoni. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 25/05/2013. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2013) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 25/05/2013.

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.

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