Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report - IUCN

Phalaropus lobatus Red-necked Phalarope. Presumed passage
migrant; south B15 . Mekong sand-bars. First recorded for
Lao PDR in 1996 (Evans et al. in prep. a).
Rostratulidae: Painted-snipes (1 species)
Rostratula benghalensis Greater Painted-snipe. Presumed
resident; north (historically B21 ), centre (historically B22 );
south B2 . Marshy areas and adjacent paddies and wet scrub.
With few recent records, the species’s conservation status
should be reconsidered at regular intervals.
Jacanidae: Jacanas (2 species)
Hydrophasianus chirurgus Pheasant-tailed Jacana. Seasonal
status unclear; north B4 , centre B10 , south B2 . Marshes,
pools with abundant floating, emergent or fringing vegetation.
Metopidius indicus Bronze-winged Jacana. Seasonal status
unclear; north B9 , centre (historically B22 ), south B2 . Marshes,
pools with abundant floating, emergent or fringing vegetation.
Burhinidae: Thick-knees (2 species)
• Burhinus oedicnemus Eurasian Thick-knee (= Northern
Thick-knee, ^T; = Stone-curlew, ^K). Conservation Significance:
Little Known in Lao PDR. Documented Range and
Habitat: Seasonal status unclear; south (RJTiz). Sole Lao
record was in dry paddies and scrub at 80 m. Recent Observations:
First recorded in February 1998: two at Ban Sompoy,
Xe Pian NBCA (RJTiz). The species is listed as Little Known
in Lao PDR because if it breeds, numbers may be very small,
and large-bodied birds of open habitats are subject to high
hunting pressure (see Thewlis et al. 1998).
• Esacus recurvirostris (= Burhinus recurvirostris, ^Sm)
Great Thick-knee (included in E. magnirostris Great Thickknee
by ^K). Conservation Significance: At Risk in Lao PDR.
Documented Range and Habitat: Presumed resident; north
(Robson 1997b), centre (historically B22 ), south B14 . Sedimentary
features and rocks in very wide rivers. Recent Observations:
Records prior to 1997 were reviewed by Thewlis et al.
(1998). Formerly common on the Mekong and dispersing
onto open plains in the wet season. Recent records are centred
upon the Mekong in the far south, with records also of:
five along the Xe Kong upstream of the inflow of the Xe
Pian in April 1998 (JWKP), and, in the Mekong channel,
singles at Paksang (Sangthong) on 31 May 1997 (RJTiz; note
date is erroneous in Robson 1997b) and 31 December 1998
(R. Jelinek verbally 1999), and 2-3 on three March - May
dates around the mouth of the Xe Bang-Nouan (Evans in
prep.). At least around Ban Hangkhon (Champasak Province),
fishing lines baited with worms are set at night to catch these
birds (Cunningham 1998).
Charadriidae: Stilts, plovers, lapwings (12 species)
Birds
Himantopus himantopus Black-winged Stilt. Seasonal status
unclear; north, centre B2 . Mekong sand-bars, large shallow
pools in open areas. Delacour and Jabouille (1940) implied
that the species occurred in south Lao PDR but we have
traced no primary record.
Pluvialis fulva Pacific Golden Plover (included in P. dominica
Lesser Golden Plover by ^K). Passage migrant and winter
visitor; north B2 , centre B16 , south (historically B19 ). Open areas,
usually near water.
Pluvialis squatarola Grey Plover. Presumed passage migrant,
perhaps only vagrant; north (TDE). Mekong sand-bars. The
first Lao record was of two in Vientiane on 7 November 1998
(TDE).
• Charadrius placidus Long-billed Plover. Conservation
Significance: Globally Near-Threatened; Little Known in Lao
PDR. Documented Range and Habitat: Winter visitor;
north B9 , centre (historically B22 ). Sedimentary features in
rivers, perhaps favouring areas of gravel. Status Information:
Records prior to 1997 were reviewed by Thewlis et al. (1998)
and there has been only one since, from Sangthong District
on 31 December 1998 (R. Jelinek verbally 1999). There are
only two other recent records (respectively from Nam Kading
NBCA and the Mekong upstream of Vientiane); historically
it was also only recorded sporadically. It was recorded for all
Lao PDR by Delacour and Jabouille (1940) but we have traced
no primary source for the south.
Charadrius dubius Little Ringed Plover. Presumed resident,
with numbers augmented by winter visitors; north B2 , centre B10 ,
south B2 . Sedimentary features in rivers, open parts of marshes,
adjacent cultivation, airports.
Charadrius alexandrinus Kentish Plover. Winter visitor;
north B2 , centre B9 , south (Evans et al. 1996a). Mekong sandbars.
Charadrius mongolus Lesser Sand Plover (= Mongolian
Plover, ^K, ^Sm). Non-breeding visitor; north
(historically B21 ), centre (historically B22 ). Mekong sand-bars.
Recent records of sand plovers (north B2 ; centre B16 ; south B15 )
were not identified to species. Records prior to 1994 were
reviewed in Thewlis et al. (1996), who could trace no historical
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