Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report - IUCN

no longer be considered Little Known in Lao PDR. It may be
even more widespread than these records suggest as it is partially
nocturnal, shy and difficult to detect; notably, visits to
some of the presumed breeding areas outside the calling season
failed to detect it. There is no reason to consider it as
overly persecuted or at special risk of habitat loss.
Ixobrychus sinensis Yellow Bittern. Seasonal status unclear;
north (PD), south B2 . Densely vegetated wetlands, including
wet paddies. Delacour and Jabouille (1940) also listed central
Lao PDR in the species’s range but we have not traced a
primary source.
• Ixobrychus eurythmus Von Schrenck’s Bittern (=
Schrenck’s Bittern, ^K, ^Sm, ^T). Conservation Significance:
Globally Near-Threatened; Little Known in Lao PDR. Documented
Range and Habitat: Passage migrant, one winter
record; north B14 , south B14 . Densely vegetated wetlands, pools
within forest, and wet paddies adjacent to forest. Status Information:
Records prior to 1997 were reviewed by Thewlis
et al. (1998). There is one historical record, from
Xiangkhouang Province (David-Beaulieu 1944), and six recent
sightings: four singles in the Nam Theun Extension
PNBCA (Tobias 1997) and singles from Houay Nhang NR
and Xe Pian NBCA.
Ixobrychus cinnamomeus Cinnamon Bittern. Seasonal status
unclear; probably mainly wet-season visitor, but some
records even in mid-winter; north B1 , centre, south B2 . Wellvegetated
river and stream banks, lakes, marshes, paddyfields.
Dupetor flavicollis (= Ixobrychus flavicollis, ^Sm 1 ) Black
Bittern. Passage migrant, potentially wet-season visitor B9 ;
north (historically B21 ), south B2 . Marshes and paddy-fields.
Records prior to 1996 were reviewed by Duckworth et al.
(1998a). Delacour and Jabouille (1940) also listed central
Lao PDR in the species’s range but we have not traced a
primary source.
• Botaurus stellaris Great Bittern. Conservation Significance:
At Risk in Lao PDR. Documented Range and Habitat:
Winter visitor; north (TDE), south B2 . Large well-vegetated
marshes from Mekong plains to 1150 m. Status Information:
There are only three Lao records, from Latsen
(Xiangkhouang Province) in 1940 and 1999 (David-Beaulieu
1944; TDE) and Xe Pian NBCA in 1992 (Thewlis et al. 1996).
It is unclear if the species occurs regularly in the country, but
any individuals that do are under extreme risk of being shot,
occupying as they do non-forested wetlands.
Conservation Management and Research Proposed for Herons,
egrets and bitterns: There are few heronries in Lao PDR.
Wintering herons also seem to be below carrying capacity.
Doubtless this results from direct persecution and disturbance
at feeding areas. Skulking and forest species (e.g. Von
Schrenck’s Bittern, Malayan Night Heron) are probably less
affected than are open country species (e.g. egrets, Ardea
herons, Great Bittern). Re-establishment of populations across
Lao PDR is of lower priority than for other large waterbirds
as Lao numbers are of little relevance regionally. Activities
should be concentrated where there is a realistic chance of
benefit to storks, ibises, cormorants, darters, cranes and/or
pelicans; these species are likely to be attracted to areas with
many herons and egrets.
• Management of extensive wetlands, primarily in a multiple
use context, to maintain suitable water regimes and
vegetation cover for these species.
• Identification and protection of breeding colonies.
• Designation of disturbance-free key feeding areas for all
species.
• Investigation of factors that permit the Ban Sivilai herons
(Vientiane Province) to thrive (Parr and Parr 1998)
to guide management of other areas.
• Widespread education programmes.
• Consolidation of gun collection campaigns in all areas
with extensive open wetlands.
Threskiornithidae: Ibises (3 species)
Birds
• Threskiornis melanocephalus Black-headed Ibis. Conservation
Significance: Globally Near-Threatened; At Risk in
Lao PDR. Documented Range and Habitat: Seasonal status
unclear; centre, south (historically B22 ). Wetlands. Status Information:
The only Lao record is of a single flying down
the Xe Banghiang river (the border of central and southern
Lao PDR) prior to 1950 (David-Beaulieu 1949-1950).
• Pseudibis papillosa Black Ibis (separated as P. davisoni
White-shouldered Ibis by ^K, ^Sm, ^T). Conservation Significance:
Globally Threatened - Endangered (as P. davisoni;
Collar et al. 1994); At Risk in Lao PDR. Documented Range
and Habitat: Presumed resident, although doubtless undertakes
local movements; north (historically B20 ), centre
(historically B22 ), south B14 . Pools, seasonal streams and river
banks within open lowland forest. Status Information:
Records prior to 1997 were reviewed by Thewlis et al. (1998).
This species’s population decline is among the most dramatic
of any bird in Lao PDR. Past visitors to lowland areas with
suitable habitat universally described it as common. A few
birds persist in Xe Pian NBCA and perhaps elsewhere in the
south. Post-1996 records are only of two near Ban Sompoy
(Xe Pian NBCA) on 19 December 1997 (Robichaud 1998e),
one on the banks of the Xe Pian 1 km upstream of its
confluence with the Xe Kong (JWKP) in April 1998, and
one possible heard in Dong Khanthung PNBCA in early 1998
(Round 1998). Local reports from the latter site suggest that
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