Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report - IUCN

Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report
Alcedinidae: River kingfishers (4 species)
• Alcedo hercules Blyth’s Kingfisher. Conservation Significance:
Globally Threatened - Vulnerable; Potentially At Risk
in Lao PDR. Documented Range and Habitat: Resident;
north, centre, south B14 . Forested streams at 200-1200 m.
Seems more tolerant of deforestation in the north, but everywhere
occurs primarily on ever-flowing streams of 3-20 m
width, shaded by bank-side vegetation. Status Information:
Records prior to 1997 were reviewed by Thewlis et al. (1998).
The few historical records came from a few areas of the north
(Oustalet 1899-1903, Bangs and Van Tyne 1931, David-
Beaulieu 1944). Recent observations have come from a much
wider range, in total from 11 survey areas (Table 11), from
the extreme north (Phou Dendin NBCA) south to the lowlands
of Dong Hua Sao NBCA just south of the Bolaven
Plateau. (Plate 1)
Alcedo atthis Common Kingfisher. Widespread winter visitor;
north, centre, south B2 . Breeds locally in the north (David-
Beaulieu 1944). All types of wetland in forest and non-forest
areas including towns.
Alcedo meninting Blue-eared Kingfisher. Resident; north B1 ,
centre, south B2 . Streams and smaller rivers, mainly in forests,
up to at least 630 m. Records prior to 1994 were
reviewed by Thewlis et al. (1996).
Ceyx erithacus Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher (= Black-backed
Kingfisher, ^K, ^Sm). Wet-season visitor, presumed breeder,
also occasional records in dry season; north, centre, south B2 .
Evergreen forest well supplied with streams and pools;
passage birds sometimes outside forest. Records prior to 1996
were reviewed by Duckworth et al. (1998a).
Dacelonidae: Dacelonid kingfishers (6 species)
Lacedo pulchella Banded Kingfisher. Resident; north B1 ,
centre, south B2 . Evergreen forest below 700 m.
Halcyon capensis (= Pelargopsis capensis, ^K, ^Sm) Storkbilled
Kingfisher. Resident; north B1 , centre, south B2 . Usually
along tree-lined streams and rivers, occasionally in more
open country; generally below 500 m.
• Halcyon coromanda Ruddy Kingfisher. Conservation Significance:
Little Known in Lao PDR. Documented Range
and Habitat: Passage migrant, perhaps present during other
seasons and may breed; north B7 , centre B2 . Forested streams
and rivers, up to at least 600 m. Status Information: The three
records prior to 1997, and one in Nam Kan PNBCA in 1997
(Pasquet 1997), were in April and could all relate to migrants
(Thewlis et al. 1998). Breeding birds might also occur: in
100
late April - early May 1997 at two sites in Nam Theun Extension
PNBCA, several birds were recorded on two and four
consecutive days respectively, calling frequently and possibly
establishing territories. The species was again seen in
Nam Theun Extension PNBCA on 31 May 1998 (WGR). A
record from Khonphapheng falls in Thewlis et al. (1996) was
a typographical error.
Halcyon smyrnensis White-throated Kingfisher. Resident;
north, centre, south B2 . Large rivers, marshes and open areas,
often near water; exceptionally in dense forest. Up to at least
1200 m.
Halcyon pileata Black-capped Kingfisher. Winter visitor;
north, centre, south B2 . Locally resident in north (David-
Beaulieu 1944). Wooded and open streams and rivers, and
open wetlands, up to at least 1100 m.
• Todiramphus chloris (= Halcyon chloris, ^K, ^T; =
Todirhamphus chloris, ^Sm) Collared Kingfisher. Conservation
Significance: Little Known in Lao PDR. Documented
Range and Habitat: Seasonal status unclear: centre, south
(historically B22 ). Large rivers. Status Information: No recent
records, despite substantial survey effort. The species was
recorded at several localities along the Mekong in
Savannakhet and Champasak Provinces in the 1940s (David-
Beaulieu 1949-1950). It may never have been particularly
common in Lao PDR as Engelbach (1927, 1932) never recorded
it in several years’ residence in the south. The decline
of other species of wide lowland rivers and the lack of records
despite recent observational effort along the southern Mekong
indicates that the species would be likely to be At Risk in
Lao PDR. In the absence of clear evidence that it was ever
anything other than a scarce migrant, it is classed as Little
Known in Lao PDR.
Cerylidae: Cerylid kingfishers (2 species)
Megaceryle lugubris (= Ceryle lugubris, ^K) Crested Kingfisher.
Resident subject to some seasonal altitudinal movements;
north, centre B14 , south B5 . Fast-flowing rocky rivers
mainly in forested foothills, up to at least 960 m. Records
prior to 1997 were reviewed by Thewlis et al. (1998). In view
of the species’s apparently secure status (recorded from six
survey areas), it was dropped from the recommended list of
key species. In 1997-1998 it was recorded in an additional
five survey areas, confirming its wide distribution across the
north.
• Ceryle rudis Pied Kingfisher. Conservation Significance:
At Risk in Lao PDR. Documented Range and Habitat: Resident;
north (Heath 1996), centre (historically B22 ), south B14 .
Wide slow-flowing rivers with exposed earth banks; histori-