7 thoughts on “Spot-breasted White-eye (Heleia muelleri)”
I would be cautious on this one. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Timor-Leste, through the lowlands in particular, and seen it very rarely – too rarely to have a handle on the altitudes and type of habitat which might be making it so rare and local. It is also worth noting that most/all closed forest types in Timor-Leste are now fragmented and decreasing in extent. It is not unusual for Heleia to be uncommon, but this one seems particularly so to me (giving cause for concern there may be some habitat restriction/threat at play that is not obvious).
This is one of the most interesting Timor endemics – and I also feel like I don’t have a good handle on its habitat preferences. According to Ebird i have 131 records (since 2022, approx 1,000 field days) – it can be quite common in montane habitat in particular, where if you spend all day you may hear them say 5-15 times per day, and obviously different individuals/groups often when surveying over areas of say 1-3 km. Nowhere really common, but can record many times a day. In lowlandish areas below 500 m – they can regular in better quality semi-evergreen forests in Lautem district of Timor-Leste. In 2019 I visited Vero valley – roughly a 12 km walk to the coast and did that walk 3 times over 2 days recording probably around 10-25 individuals per day. Thats a valley with mostly semi-evergreen forest and patches of dry forest and agriculture below about 150 m elevation – definitely regular there and relatively common, or as common as anywhere (and regular in other parts of the Nino Konis Santana NP – forget regularity in dry forest, may be absent/less frequent) – and not really any different to the regularity at some mountain areas. Also interesting are the records just south of Dili where recently birders have spent more time – there is very little good quality tropical forest (mostly in gullies and ravines) but still many records of this bird – I forget if you can occasionally get it in Eucalyptus woodland, would have to look at records more closely. Last year had a few records of 4-5 individuals on Mt Legumau (West Timor) where fairly regular , though limited obs in 1 day, though birders followed up with recs in 2023 in limited obs prob 1 day.
Forest cover from remote mapping is showing a decline – and thats the only reason you might consider an upgrade
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.
We thank all those who have contributed valuable information, all of which has been incorporated into the updated Red List assessment. Given uncertainty surrounding this species, the suspected rate of decline is increased to 1-15% within ten years. In the absence of evidence that it meets or approaches threatened thresholds however, our preliminary proposal for the 2024 Red List would be to adopt the proposed classifications outlined in the initial forum discussion. Further information regarding the population size, particularly whether the population is likely to number less than 10,000 mature individuals, is sought.
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. Spot-breasted White-eye is recommended to be listed as Least Concern.
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.
I would be cautious on this one. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Timor-Leste, through the lowlands in particular, and seen it very rarely – too rarely to have a handle on the altitudes and type of habitat which might be making it so rare and local. It is also worth noting that most/all closed forest types in Timor-Leste are now fragmented and decreasing in extent. It is not unusual for Heleia to be uncommon, but this one seems particularly so to me (giving cause for concern there may be some habitat restriction/threat at play that is not obvious).
This is one of the most interesting Timor endemics – and I also feel like I don’t have a good handle on its habitat preferences. According to Ebird i have 131 records (since 2022, approx 1,000 field days) – it can be quite common in montane habitat in particular, where if you spend all day you may hear them say 5-15 times per day, and obviously different individuals/groups often when surveying over areas of say 1-3 km. Nowhere really common, but can record many times a day. In lowlandish areas below 500 m – they can regular in better quality semi-evergreen forests in Lautem district of Timor-Leste. In 2019 I visited Vero valley – roughly a 12 km walk to the coast and did that walk 3 times over 2 days recording probably around 10-25 individuals per day. Thats a valley with mostly semi-evergreen forest and patches of dry forest and agriculture below about 150 m elevation – definitely regular there and relatively common, or as common as anywhere (and regular in other parts of the Nino Konis Santana NP – forget regularity in dry forest, may be absent/less frequent) – and not really any different to the regularity at some mountain areas. Also interesting are the records just south of Dili where recently birders have spent more time – there is very little good quality tropical forest (mostly in gullies and ravines) but still many records of this bird – I forget if you can occasionally get it in Eucalyptus woodland, would have to look at records more closely. Last year had a few records of 4-5 individuals on Mt Legumau (West Timor) where fairly regular , though limited obs in 1 day, though birders followed up with recs in 2023 in limited obs prob 1 day.
Forest cover from remote mapping is showing a decline – and thats the only reason you might consider an upgrade
This species has also begun to be hunted for trade. I found local hunters hunting these birds to sell them in the city of Kupang.
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
We thank all those who have contributed valuable information, all of which has been incorporated into the updated Red List assessment. Given uncertainty surrounding this species, the suspected rate of decline is increased to 1-15% within ten years. In the absence of evidence that it meets or approaches threatened thresholds however, our preliminary proposal for the 2024 Red List would be to adopt the proposed classifications outlined in the initial forum discussion. Further information regarding the population size, particularly whether the population is likely to number less than 10,000 mature individuals, is sought.
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. Spot-breasted White-eye is recommended to be listed as Least Concern.
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.