This discussion was first published on Dec 1 2010 as part of the 2010-2011 Red List update, but remains open for comment to enable reassessment in 2013.
Link to BirdLife species factsheet for Yellow-headed Manakin
Yellow-headed Manakin Xenopipo flavicapilla is currently listed as Near Threatened under criteria A2c; A3c; A4c; B1a+b(i,ii,iii); C1; C2a(i) because, although the species was considered to have an Extent of Occurrence (EOO) estimated at less than 20,000 km2, within which its population of over 10,000 mature individuals is suspected to be declining at a rate of 20-29% over 10 years owing to habitat loss, the population was previously not considered to be severely fragmented or restricted to a few locations.
Recently, the level of habitat fragmentation within the species’s range has been described as severe (O. Cortes in litt. 2009); however, recent records have extended its known range (e.g., Cuervo et al. 2003, Cuervo et al. 2008) and subsequent updates to the EOO suggest it is around 32,700 km2, thus the species is not eligible for uplisting under the B1 criterion.
Updated BirdLife range map for Yellow-headed Manakin
Recent fieldwork confirms that the species is in decline and that it may be disappearing from some localities (Castaño-Villa and Patiño-Zabala 2008, O. Cortes in litt. 2009). It has also been noted that the species occupies an altitudinal range in which the rate of deforestation is high (O. Cortes in litt. 2009). This information suggests that the species’s rate of decline could be higher than previously thought; however, more detail is required for the rate of population decline over 13 years (three generations) to be reliably estimated.
Up-to-date information is requested on this species’s likely population size, sub-population structure, estimated rate of decline and the severity of threats to help in the assessment of its threat level under all relevant criteria. The required information on sub-population structure includes the maximum number of individuals in any one sub-population or the maximum percentage of all mature individuals that form a single sub-population.
Castaño-Villa, G. J. and Patiño-Zabala, J. C. (2008) Extinciones locales de aves en fragmentos de bosque en la región de Santa Elena, Andes Centrales, Colombia. Hornero 23: 23-34
Cuervo, A. M., Pulgarín, P. C. and Calderón, D. (2008) New distributional bird data from the Cordillera Central of the Colombian Andes, with implications for the biogeography of northwestern South America. Condor 110: 526-537
Cuervo, A. M., Stiles, F. G., Cadena, C. D., Toro, J. L. and Londoño, G. A. (2003) New and noteworthy bird records from the northern sector of the Western Andes of Colombia. Bull. B. O. C. 123: 7-24
Related posts:
- Archived 2010-2011 topics: Golden-crowned Manakin (Lepidothrix vilasboasi): uplist to Endangered?
- Archived 2010-2011 topics: Pale-headed Brush-finch (Atlapetes pallidiceps): downlist to Endangered?
- Archived 2011-2012 topics: White-headed Steamerduck (Tachyeres leucocephalus): uplist to Vulnerable?
- Archived 2010-2011 topics: Mountain Grackle (Macroagelaius subalaris): request for information
I have only recorded this species at Pichindé corregimiento in the municipio de Cali and Farallones de Cali natural park, where it is locally not uncommon in degraded and secondary forest. Given the geographic distribution of this very small species, I would guess that it is small population which is in decline due to habitat loss. However this species should be treated as Data Deficient until there is increased knowledge of its population density, habitat requirements and natural history
En el AICA Cañón del río Barbas y Bremen CO050 durante seis meses obtuvimos una abundancia relativa de 0,013 ind/ha y un tamaño poblacional probable de 24 individuos para un área de aproximadamente 1450ha. Sin embargo estos datos estas subestimados porque X.flavicapilla es una especie poco conspicua y difícil de detectar en campo.
MARÍN-GÓMEZ, O., BANGUERA, N.Y. & CARMONA, P.J. (2009) «Monitoreo» de la Avifauna Amenazada del AICA Barbas-Bremen y Evaluación de la Población de Pava Caucana (Penelope perspicax) en el Cañón del Río Barbas. Technical report. CRQ, Armenia, Colombia.