5 thoughts on “Black-browed Babbler (Malacocincla perspicillata)”
As the co-author of several publications listed in the document, I would like to confirm that concern regarding poachers and deforestation in 2021 was made before the exact habitat preference of limestone was known by Akbar et al (2022) and the fact that the original specimen in 2020 was captured by then-poacher and planned to be sent to a bird trader (a fact that has been omitted out of safety concern for our co-author). These assumptions have been since debunked in some unpublished findings from our expedition in 2021 that have not been included in Akbar et al (2022), most of which have been correctly addressed in this Red List Changes document—and hence, I strongly agree with the proposed changes from DD to NT.
As additional information, me and my team are currently still developing a follow-up paper that will discuss distribution modelling of this species based on 2021 data and some new findings. While I cannot reveal much about this upcoming paper, again the result is also generally in line with the theme of this bird being much less threatened than initially expected. Our study will only use confirmed presence point from the southernmost point at -3.2,115.797 (collected during the 2021 expedition) and the northernmost point at -1.826, 116.037 (submitted to Burungnesia by Jazuli Abdillah in 2023) which generates similar EOO as mentioned in the document above. However, there are some anecdotal records as well as pictures from before the 2020 rediscovery of this bird that we still try to confirm its exact location, but apparently came from the north-west side of the Meratus range and even further north close to Sangkulirang Karst formation (correctly highlighted as possibly extant on the map above) which will greatly boost the EOO value of this species—which again show that the true extend of this species’ distribution may not be as concerning as originally thought.
Moreover, none of the presence points we collected in 2021 were located inside the national conservation area under BKSDA (Cagar Alam and Suaka Margasatwa). The initial modelling from our unpublished writing shows that a tiny part of the predicted presence (15%, 30 km2) is located inside Hutan Lindung Pegunungan Meratus, which is a regional-level conservation area managed by Dinas Kehutanan Kalimantan Selatan. This value is subject to change as we develop the model with new information since the 2021 expedition, but in general shows that the majority of this species’ AOO might fall under unprotected areas.
Another unpublished finding from our expedition is regarding the lack of Black-browed Babblers found in trade during visits to 13 bird markets and bird traders across the landscapes. A careful interview with the bird seller also showed that they are not aware of this bird, indicating a lack of demand in general. There is a slight concern regarding the generation of demand for this species after the sensational publication of its rediscovery, with MS saying that multiple parties have been offering him up to IDR 5,000,000 to purchase the bird (which he refused), but this has died down several months after the publication. All these facts limit the poaching threat to merely bycatch capture from poachers that targeted other songbirds as happened in the rediscovery event—itself being unlikely to be a massive threat to its population but may be worth mentioning in Threat Justification.
I would also like to suggest one possible threat to be addressed: forest fire, which according to local community members that we interviewed, is happening quite often in the karst landscape. Some local community members also mentioned the forest fire in the 2010s has been completely decimating the entire forest in a karst hill in -3.110792, 115.957219 which is completely isolated from other karst formations by oil palm plantations for at least 1 km, yet the forest regenerates within <10 years and the bird has been known to repopulate this hill, indicating its ability to quickly repopulate destroyed habitat by crossing the possibly unfavourable landscape to a certain extend. This fact, combined with the range extension in recent findings, again shows that it is unlikely to become a substantial threat to its total population, but may still be relevant to be addressed in the Thread Justification without changing its proposed status.
Finally, while this might be less relevant, I personally think that the plan of building new Indonesian capital in East Kalimantan could be included in the threat justification as a factor that might indirectly accelerate habitat loss in the future, especially when the northern range of this species has been confirmed. While nothing has been finalized, there are multiple plans to develop a route to link Banjarbaru and Banjarmasin with this new capital and Balikpapan, which will certainly pass through the prime habitat of this species.
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments until 12 February 2024. We will now analyse and interpret the information, and we will post a preliminary decision on this species’ Red List status on this page on 12 February 2024, when discussions will re-open.
Based on available information, our preliminary proposal for the 2024 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 18 February 2024, after which the recommended categorisations will be put forward to IUCN.
The final 2024 Red List categories will be published on the BirdLife and IUCN websites in December 2024, following further checking of information relevant to the assessments by both BirdLife and IUCN.
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments. We will analyse and interpret the information, and we will post a final decision on this species’ Red List status on this page on 26 February 2024.
Recommended categorisation to be put forward to IUCN
The final categorisation for this species has not changed. Black-browed Babbler is recommended to be listed as Near Threatened, approaching thresholds for listing as threatened under Criterion B1b(iii).
Many thanks for everyone who contributed to the 2024.1 GTB Forum process. The final 2024 Red List categories will now be published on the BirdLife and IUCN websites in October 2024, following further checking of information relevant to the assessments by both BirdLife and IUCN.
As the co-author of several publications listed in the document, I would like to confirm that concern regarding poachers and deforestation in 2021 was made before the exact habitat preference of limestone was known by Akbar et al (2022) and the fact that the original specimen in 2020 was captured by then-poacher and planned to be sent to a bird trader (a fact that has been omitted out of safety concern for our co-author). These assumptions have been since debunked in some unpublished findings from our expedition in 2021 that have not been included in Akbar et al (2022), most of which have been correctly addressed in this Red List Changes document—and hence, I strongly agree with the proposed changes from DD to NT.
As additional information, me and my team are currently still developing a follow-up paper that will discuss distribution modelling of this species based on 2021 data and some new findings. While I cannot reveal much about this upcoming paper, again the result is also generally in line with the theme of this bird being much less threatened than initially expected. Our study will only use confirmed presence point from the southernmost point at -3.2,115.797 (collected during the 2021 expedition) and the northernmost point at -1.826, 116.037 (submitted to Burungnesia by Jazuli Abdillah in 2023) which generates similar EOO as mentioned in the document above. However, there are some anecdotal records as well as pictures from before the 2020 rediscovery of this bird that we still try to confirm its exact location, but apparently came from the north-west side of the Meratus range and even further north close to Sangkulirang Karst formation (correctly highlighted as possibly extant on the map above) which will greatly boost the EOO value of this species—which again show that the true extend of this species’ distribution may not be as concerning as originally thought.
Moreover, none of the presence points we collected in 2021 were located inside the national conservation area under BKSDA (Cagar Alam and Suaka Margasatwa). The initial modelling from our unpublished writing shows that a tiny part of the predicted presence (15%, 30 km2) is located inside Hutan Lindung Pegunungan Meratus, which is a regional-level conservation area managed by Dinas Kehutanan Kalimantan Selatan. This value is subject to change as we develop the model with new information since the 2021 expedition, but in general shows that the majority of this species’ AOO might fall under unprotected areas.
Another unpublished finding from our expedition is regarding the lack of Black-browed Babblers found in trade during visits to 13 bird markets and bird traders across the landscapes. A careful interview with the bird seller also showed that they are not aware of this bird, indicating a lack of demand in general. There is a slight concern regarding the generation of demand for this species after the sensational publication of its rediscovery, with MS saying that multiple parties have been offering him up to IDR 5,000,000 to purchase the bird (which he refused), but this has died down several months after the publication. All these facts limit the poaching threat to merely bycatch capture from poachers that targeted other songbirds as happened in the rediscovery event—itself being unlikely to be a massive threat to its population but may be worth mentioning in Threat Justification.
I would also like to suggest one possible threat to be addressed: forest fire, which according to local community members that we interviewed, is happening quite often in the karst landscape. Some local community members also mentioned the forest fire in the 2010s has been completely decimating the entire forest in a karst hill in -3.110792, 115.957219 which is completely isolated from other karst formations by oil palm plantations for at least 1 km, yet the forest regenerates within <10 years and the bird has been known to repopulate this hill, indicating its ability to quickly repopulate destroyed habitat by crossing the possibly unfavourable landscape to a certain extend. This fact, combined with the range extension in recent findings, again shows that it is unlikely to become a substantial threat to its total population, but may still be relevant to be addressed in the Thread Justification without changing its proposed status.
Finally, while this might be less relevant, I personally think that the plan of building new Indonesian capital in East Kalimantan could be included in the threat justification as a factor that might indirectly accelerate habitat loss in the future, especially when the northern range of this species has been confirmed. While nothing has been finalized, there are multiple plans to develop a route to link Banjarbaru and Banjarmasin with this new capital and Balikpapan, which will certainly pass through the prime habitat of this species.
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments until 12 February 2024. We will now analyse and interpret the information, and we will post a preliminary decision on this species’ Red List status on this page on 12 February 2024, when discussions will re-open.
Preliminary proposal
Based on available information, our preliminary proposal for the 2024 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 18 February 2024, after which the recommended categorisations will be put forward to IUCN.
The final 2024 Red List categories will be published on the BirdLife and IUCN websites in December 2024, following further checking of information relevant to the assessments by both BirdLife and IUCN.
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments. We will analyse and interpret the information, and we will post a final decision on this species’ Red List status on this page on 26 February 2024.
Recommended categorisation to be put forward to IUCN
The final categorisation for this species has not changed. Black-browed Babbler is recommended to be listed as Near Threatened, approaching thresholds for listing as threatened under Criterion B1b(iii).
Many thanks for everyone who contributed to the 2024.1 GTB Forum process. The final 2024 Red List categories will now be published on the BirdLife and IUCN websites in October 2024, following further checking of information relevant to the assessments by both BirdLife and IUCN.