Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report - IUCN

Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report
CITES Appendix II. Documented Range and Habitat: Resident;
north (historically B21 ), centre (historically B22 ), south B14 .
Open and lightly wooded country. Status Information:
Records prior to 1997 were reviewed by Thewlis et al. (1998).
This species was historically widespread and common but
recent records come only from southern Champasak and
Attapu Provinces. Numbers are small (the largest flock seen
recently comprised at least ten birds). Most records are from
within or adjacent to proposed or existing NBCAs (Table
11), but the species has also been seen recently near Ban
Hangkhon (Champasak Province; Cunningham 1998) and
between Senamsai and Ban Sompoy (Xe Pian NBCA), Attapu
Province (1-13 in December 1997; Robichaud 1998e).
Circaetus gallicus Short-toed Snake Eagle (= Short-toed
Eagle, ^K, ^T). Winter visitor; north B9 , south B2 . Potentially
over most open habitats. First recorded for Lao PDR in 1993
(Thewlis et al. 1996); two subsequent records (Duckworth
et al. 1998a, Round 1998). Special Significance: CITES
Appendix II.
Spilornis cheela Crested Serpent Eagle. Resident, making
local movements; north, centre, south B2 . Evergreen and
deciduous forests, including degraded and fragmented areas;
up to at least 1800 m. S. bassus was separated as a species by
Stepanjan (1992). Although no records were given from Lao
PDR, the distribution elsewhere indicates that it would
occur. However, further details are needed to assess the
validity of this separation. Special Significance: CITES Appendix
II.
Circus aeruginosus Eurasian Marsh Harrier (named as a
subspecies C. a. spilonotus Eastern Marsh Harrier by ^K;
separated as C. spilonotus Eastern Marsh Harrier by ^Sm,
^T). Winter visitor; north B9 , centre B10 , south B2 . Open country,
overwhelmingly wetlands. All Lao records are of C. a.
spilonotus; C. a. aeruginosus might also occur as a rare visitor.
The two forms are often regarded as separate species (see
Inskipp et al. 1996). Special Significance: CITES Appendix
II.
Circus cyaneus Hen Harrier (= Northern Harrier, ^K, ^Sm,
^T). Winter visitor; north (Salter 1989a), centre B9 . Open country,
especially wetlands. Records prior to 1996 were reviewed
by Duckworth et al. (1998a). Special Significance: CITES
Appendix II.
Circus melanoleucos Pied Harrier. Winter visitor; north B2 ,
centre (provisionally B10 ; historically B22 ), south B2 . Open country,
especially wetlands. Special Significance: CITES Appendix
II.
Accipiter trivirgatus Crested Goshawk. Resident; north,
centre, south B2 . Evergreen forests, even quite encroached
120
areas, up to at least 1750 m. Special Significance: CITES
Appendix II.
Accipiter badius Shikra. Resident; north, centre, south B2 .
Open wooded areas, often near cultivation and villages;
among natural habitats, it seems to be commonest in open
mixed deciduous forest. Generally low-mid altitudes. Special
Significance: CITES Appendix II.
Accipiter soloensis Chinese Sparrowhawk (= Chinese Goshawk,
^K, ^Sm, ^T). Passage migrant and local winter visitor;
north, centre, south B9 . May be seen over any habitat.
Records prior to 1996 were reviewed by Duckworth et al.
(1998a). Special Significance: CITES Appendix II.
Accipiter gularis Japanese Sparrowhawk. Presumed passage
migrant; north B7 , south B2 . Any habitat, including towns.
Status assessment is handicapped by difficulties of identification,
particularly from Besra. Delacour and Jabouille (1940)
implied that the species occurs in central Lao PDR, but we
have not traced a primary source. Special Significance: CITES
Appendix II.
Accipiter virgatus Besra. Seasonal status unclear, but presumed
resident; north B9 , centre B7 , south B2 . Forested and
wooded areas from 200 to at least 1240 m. Status assessment
is handicapped by difficulties of identification. Special
Significance: CITES Appendix II.
Accipiter nisus Eurasian Sparrowhawk (= Northern
Sparrowhawk, ^K, ^T). Winter visitor; north (provisionally B9 ;
historically B21 ), centre (provisionally B9 ; historically B22 ). Habitat
use in Lao PDR unclear. Status assessment is handicapped
by difficulties of identification. South Lao PDR was included
in the species’s range by Delacour and Jabouille (1940), but
we have not traced a primary record. Special Significance:
CITES Appendix II.
• Butastur liventer Rufous-winged Buzzard. Conservation
Significance: Globally Near-Threatened; CITES Appendix
II. Not At Risk in Lao PDR. Documented Range and Habitat:
Resident; north, centre, south B14 . Open deciduous wooded
areas (particularly dry dipterocarp forest) and open secondary
growth, chiefly of lowlands and lower hills. Status Information:
Records prior to 1997 were reviewed by Thewlis et
al. (1998). Small numbers remain widespread (there are
records from 11 recent survey areas; Table 11), both within
and outside NBCAs. Phou Xang He, Xe Bang-Nouan and
Xe Pian NBCAs and Dong Khanthung PNBCA all support
large populations. Historically it was relatively common in
suitable habitats. This is still so and as the species occupies
degraded habitats, it should be considered Not At Risk in
Lao PDR.