There is no documentation of this species from anywhere in India since early 1900s. Forests in Cachar hills, where it was collected historically, has been heavily degraded or completely cleared. Hunting is rampant everywhere in north-eastern India and even if they have remained in isolated pockets, most of those would have gone locally extinct.
Most likely, the species has gone extinct in India and hence IUCN should uplist the species to CR and do everything to conserve the Bangladesh population
Urgent conservation actions are required in all its range countries especially in the Sundarbans of Bangladesh where an update of its population status and distribution would be a necessary first step to formulate a long-term national conservation action plan. I have no doubt in my mind that it should be Critically Endangered.
I fully agree with this proposed revision. There has not been any recent sighting of this formerly regular species in Thailand despite the increasing number of birders and bird photographers.
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.
Based on available information, our preliminary proposal for the 2022.1 Red List would be to adopt the proposed classifications outlined in the initial forum discussion.
There is now a period for further comments until the final deadline on 27 February 2022, after which the recommended categorisations will be put forward to IUCN.
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.
The following comment was received from Naimul Islam while the window for consultation was temporarily closed:
“Glad to learn that this majestic bird is finally getting some attention. It’s critically important to take action immediately to protect our wild birds in the mangrove. Thanks!”
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. Masked Finfoot is recommended to be listed as Critically Endangered under Criterion C1.
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.
I fully support changing Masked Finfoot status to Critically Endangered.
There is no documentation of this species from anywhere in India since early 1900s. Forests in Cachar hills, where it was collected historically, has been heavily degraded or completely cleared. Hunting is rampant everywhere in north-eastern India and even if they have remained in isolated pockets, most of those would have gone locally extinct.
Most likely, the species has gone extinct in India and hence IUCN should uplist the species to CR and do everything to conserve the Bangladesh population
The last records of Masked Finfoot in Myanmar are from 2008 and many areas are no longer suitable and or no longer accessible.
I am afraid it is also critically endangered now!
Urgent conservation actions are required in all its range countries especially in the Sundarbans of Bangladesh where an update of its population status and distribution would be a necessary first step to formulate a long-term national conservation action plan. I have no doubt in my mind that it should be Critically Endangered.
I fully agree with this proposed revision. There has not been any recent sighting of this formerly regular species in Thailand despite the increasing number of birders and bird photographers.
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 proposal
Based on available information, our preliminary proposal for the 2022.1 Red List would be to adopt the proposed classifications outlined in the initial forum discussion.
There is now a period for further comments until the final deadline on 27 February 2022, after which the recommended categorisations will be put forward to IUCN.
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.
The following comment was received from Naimul Islam while the window for consultation was temporarily closed:
“Glad to learn that this majestic bird is finally getting some attention. It’s critically important to take action immediately to protect our wild birds in the mangrove. Thanks!”
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. Masked Finfoot is recommended to be listed as Critically Endangered under Criterion C1.
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.