Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report - IUCN

deciduous forest (e.g. Phou Xang He and Phou Xiang Thong
NBCAs) makes the species’s future in Lao PDR uncertain.
Picus chlorolophus Lesser Yellownape. Resident; north B10 ,
centre, south B2 . Evergreen and closed deciduous forest, including
secondary areas, up to at least 1400 m.
Picus flavinucha Greater Yellownape. Resident; north B1 ,
centre, south B2 . Forests, mainly evergreen, and tall secondary
growth up to at least 1850 m.
Picus vittatus Laced Woodpecker. Resident; north B1 , centre,
south B2 . Tall forests (especially mixed deciduous) and
secondary growth, below 500 m; infrequent in extensive evergreen
blocks.
• Picus xanthopygaeus Streak-throated Woodpecker.
Conservation Significance: Potentially At Risk in Lao PDR.
Documented Range and Habitat: Resident; south B14 . Deciduous
forest, including dry dipterocarp, below 500 m. Status
Information: Records prior to 1997 were reviewed by Thewlis
et al. (1998). The only historical information comes from an
unspecified part of the Bolaven Plateau (Engelbach 1932).
Recently, small numbers have been recorded in Xe Bang-
Nouan and Xe Pian NBCAs and in Dong Khanthung PNBCA
(Round 1998). There are no descriptions of the appearance
of females in Lao PDR; in adjacent Thailand and Vietnam
they possess a red forecrown (PDR, JWD), whereas across
the rest of the wide tropical Asian range it is black (Winkler
et al. 1995). The taxonomic significance of this has not been
assessed.
• Picus rabieri Red-collared Woodpecker. Conservation
Significance: Globally Threatened - Vulnerable; endemic to
Lao PDR, Vietnam and extreme south-west China (southeast
Yunnan Province). Documented Range and Habitat:
Resident; north, centre, south B14 . Evergreen forests and locally
in tall secondary growth, largely in areas of gentle relief
below 600 m, exceptionally to 1050 m. Status Information:
Records prior to 1997 were reviewed by Thewlis et al.
(1998). Recent records come from 16 areas, from Nam Xam
NBCA south to the Cambodian border (Table 11). The species
is relatively common in mature forest in all NBCAs with
substantial areas below 600 m. In some areas it is scarcer in
logged forests, but in others even this habitat supports large
numbers (e.g. Xe Bang-Nouan NBCA and Sangthong District).
Picus erythropygius Black-headed Woodpecker. Resident;
centre, south B14 . Dry dipterocarp forest below 300 m and,
locally, pine forest up to 1000 m. Records prior to 1997 were
reviewed by Thewlis et al. (1998). In view of the species’s
apparently secure status, it was dropped from the recommended
list of key species. Special Significance: Endemic
to Myanmar, Thailand and Indochina.
Birds
Picus canus Grey-headed Woodpecker (= Grey-faced
Woodpecker, ^Sm). Resident; north B1 , centre, south B2 .
Wooded areas, largely open, deciduous and below 500 m;
but up to 1420 m in mixed deciduous forest with conifers in
the north. Probably occurs in other forest types.
Dinopium javanense Common Flameback (= Common
Goldenback, ^K). Resident; north B9 , centre, south B2 . Open
wooded areas, cultivation, sometimes in extensive forest,
generally below 800 m. More often in deciduous habitats
than Greater Flameback, a pattern not reflected in other areas
where the two flamebacks are sympatric (C. R. Robson
in litt. 1999).
Chrysocolaptes lucidus Greater Flameback (= Greater
Goldenback, ^K). Resident; north B1 , centre, south B2 . Wide
range of forest types including open forests and tall secondary
growth; up to 1100 m.
Gecinulus grantia Pale-headed Woodpecker. Resident;
north, centre, south B14 . Tall bamboo in evergreen and mixed
deciduous forests, possibly using a limited range of bamboo
species. Rarely in habitat apparently lacking large bamboos.
Generally below 600 m, but up to 1170 m. Records prior to
1997 were reviewed by Thewlis et al. (1998). In view of the
species’s apparently secure status and wide distribution, it
was dropped from the recommended list of key species.
• Gecinulus viridis Bamboo Woodpecker. Conservation Significance:
Little Known in Lao PDR; endemic to South-east
Asia. Documented Range and Habitat: Resident; north B1 . Tall
bamboo in degraded forest at 200 m. The species is probably
parapatric with Pale-headed Woodpecker; the boundary between
them is not clear, but Bamboo Woodpecker is likely to
have a small range in Lao PDR, primarily west of the Mekong.
Status Information: There was one historical record, from
Ban Muangliap, north Lao PDR. This is probably west of the
Mekong (Robinson and Kloss 1931, Delacour 1951a). The
only recent records are from just east of the Mekong, in
Sangthong District, where the species was not uncommon
(Duckworth 1996a). Nam Phoun NBCA has not yet been
surveyed for birds; this area, west of the Mekong, could potentially
hold large numbers of this species. Until this is established,
it would be prudent to regard Bamboo Woodpecker
as Little Known in Lao PDR, especially as the Sangthong
area is small and not protected at the national level.
Blythipicus pyrrhotis Bay Woodpecker. Resident; north B10 ,
centre, south B2 . Forests, especially evergreen, from lowlands
(where generally scarce) up to 1850 m.
Meiglyptes jugularis Black-and-Buff Woodpecker. Resident;
north B1 , centre, south B2 . Evergreen forests, generally in
lowlands and foothills.
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