Following information received during the Forum consultation, the distribution range map has been updated:
Malay Crestless Fireback (Lophura erythrophthalma): Revise global status?
Malay Crestless Fireback (Lophura erythrophthalma): Revise global status?
Along with Black Partridge, this is potentially the most threatened species in Sundiac forest. I believe the current estimate, as alarming as it is, is actually an underestimate due to the effect of fragmentation and hunting.
Almost all of its habitat in Peninsular Malaysia has now been cleared and most protected areas (e.g. Taman Negara) actually have a relatively small area of suitable habitat for the species, given its preference for poor-soil and peatswamp forest below 300m elevation. The situation in Sumatra is unlikely to be any rosier, especially when looking at extent of forest, and with just a single ebird entry (half the number of entries to Black Partridge from Sumatra even!).
Anecdotal data suggests that even well-birded forest blocks that historically recorded the species, no longer do, with last records for the following locations, Krau – 2003, Pasoh – 1998, Templer’s Park – 1988 (ebird 2022). All these areas still have tracts of forest of varying size, so would be included in the range of the species, however, it is now severely fragmented, which in turn would have made hunting easier due to accessibility, and a rapid rise in observer coverage and data into ebird has not led to any further sightings of the species in this areas, indicating local extinctions not highlighted in the data above. In addition, Panti Bird Sanctuary in Johor, possibly no sight records this century despite being previously well-known from the site by multiple birders – a single, recent record from ebird is listed as a Heard only.
Taman Negara, despite being birded by a far greater number of birders in recent years and the rapid rise in ebird checklists, ebird data is as follows:
Pre1990 – 8 records
1990-2000 – 9 records
2001-2010 – 11 records
2011-2020 – 14 records
If someone is able to show how many ebird checklists were made for the whole of Taman Negara National Park during these periods, then the drop in sightings would obviously be highlighted, and show an alarmingly steep decline.
The data being used for forest loss indicate that >50% (potentially >60%) of the species’ range has been lost over the past 20 years. Hunting and fragmentation, in my opinion, will have caused additive impacts exceeding (potentially vastly) 20% and hence the species has probably suffered a rate of reduction equivalent to more than 80%. Regardless of the values they used (they estimated a total reduction of 84%), it is notable that Symes et al. (2018) considered hunting to be causing a greater population reduction in this species than forest loss.
Does this indicate the threshold could, and should, actually be CR?
I’m a bit nervous about the question whether the rate of decline is likely to slow in the near future as the remaining populations become restricted to those in better protected areas. The reality is that as less well protected areas disappear, the places that are now well protected will become increasingly difficult to defend, because land interests will shift towards them. I see the same question is being posed about several species.
There is one site in northern Johor known to a few birdwatchers that seemed to have a good density of this species, at least up to 2016. Unfortunately it too is under threat.
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested by so many people in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments until 21 February 2022. We will now analyse and interpret the new information, and we will post a preliminary decision on this species’s Red List status on this page on 21 February 2022, when discussions will re-open.
Preliminary decision
Habitat loss in this species’s range has been incredibly rapid and estimations of suspected decline as written in the initial forum proposal are thought to have underestimated declines.
Recalculating the percentage of flat, low-lying (< 200 m) forest to have been lost over the past three generations suggests declines of c.65-68%. Fragmentation and collinear impacts of hunting are believed to have additive impacts that mean the overall rate in population reduction has likely exceeded 80% over the past three generations. This is supported by the fact that of c.22 sites in Peninsular Malaysia identified as having records since 1980, only c.6 still have an extent of suitable habitat for the species (and even at some of these there are no recent records), with many sites having been lost to plantations and housing (BirdLife International 2001, eBird 2022, J. Eaton in litt. 2022, G. Davison in litt. 2022). These rates of reduction are suspected to continue with few remaining areas of habitat being afforded adequate protections from forest loss and/or hunting. It is notable that hunting is suspected to have caused the loss of birds within Taman Negara National Park (J. Eaton in litt. 2022) which is among the best-protected of sites in this species’s range. Almost all suitable habitat on Sumatra (where it was seemingly always rare [van Marle & Voous 1988, BirdLife International 2001], notwithstanding its low detectability) has been cleared.
Based on the information available, the preliminary proposal is to list this species as Critically Endangered under Criteria A2cd+3cd+4cd. A revised map has also been produced.
References
BirdLife International. 2001. Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.
van Marle, J. G. & Voous, K. H. 1988. The birds of Sumatra: an annotated check-list. British Ornithologists’ Union, London.
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested by so many people in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments. We will analyse and interpret the new information, and we will post a final decision on this species’ Red List status on this page on 7 March 2022.
Recommended categorisation to be put forward to IUCN
The final categorisation for this species has not changed. Malay Crestless Fireback is recommended to be listed as Critically Endangered under Criteria A2cd+3cd+4cd.
Many thanks for everyone who contributed to the 2022.1 GTB Forum process. The final 2022.1 Red List categories will be published on the BirdLife and IUCN websites in July 2022, following further checking of information relevant to the assessments by both BirdLife and IUCN.