Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report - IUCN

Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report
1997 were reviewed by Thewlis et al. (1998). In view of the
species’s apparently secure status (widespread and locally
common in five survey areas, and recorded from a further
two), it was dropped from the list of key species. However, it
has only been found subsequently in one further survey area,
Nam Xam NBCA (Showler et al. 1998b) and it appears to be
restricted in Lao PDR to eastern parts. The species’s conservation
status should be reconsidered at regular intervals.
Special Significance: Endemic to Lao PDR, Vietnam
and Hainan (south China) with outlying populations in southern
Thai/Myanmar border area.
• Pica pica Black-billed Magpie. Conservation Significance:
Little Known in Lao PDR. Documented Range and Habitat:
Presumed resident; north (historically B18 ), south (provisionally,
historically, Engelbach 1927). Habitat unknown in Lao
PDR. Status Information: There is only one confirmed record
from Lao PDR: a male at Phongsali on 26 April 1929 (Bangs
and Van Tyne 1931). Engelbach (1927) considered the species
‘very common’ in south Lao PDR, yet later when summing
up his observations in the area (Engelbach 1932), he
did not mention it. It beggars belief that a mistake could have
been made in the earlier identification, yet Delacour and
Jabouille (1940) also make no reference to the 1927 record.
Thus, the magnitude of decline in Lao PDR is unclear. The
species has declined drastically in Vietnam. Delacour et al.
(1928) noted that the species was ‘very common’ in Vietnam,
but did not occur south of Cap Varela (about 13ºN). It
is now extremely rare (J. C. Eames verbally 1998). The factors
which have driven its decline in Vietnam are likely also
to have operated in Lao PDR, if the species was formerly
widespread here. It should therefore be considered Little
Known in Lao PDR.
Corvus macrorhynchos Large-billed Crow. Resident;
north B2 , centre B10 , south B2 . Open country, secondary growth,
especially near large slow-flowing rivers and other extensive
water bodies. Sibley and Monroe (1990) separated C.
levaillanti Jungle Crow as a separate species. Both races of
crow known to inhabit Lao PDR, C. m. macrorhynchos and
C. m. colonorum, belong under C. macrorhynchos (s.s.), but
levaillanti might also occur, as its distribution includes northern
Thailand and Myanmar. Crows are scarce in most of Lao
PDR, tending to be less scarce in areas away from large human
settlements. As a large bird of non-forest areas, it is vulnerable
to human pressure in various forms. The species’s
conservation status should be reconsidered at regular
intervals.
Artamus fuscus Ashy Woodswallow. Resident; north B9 ,
centre B10 , south B2 . Open wooded areas predominantly of secondary
regrowth and cultivation from 150 m up to 1400 m.
Records prior to 1996 were reviewed by Duckworth et al. (1998a).
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Oriolus chinensis Black-naped Oriole. Largely winter visitor;
north, centre, south B2 , breeding in the north B21 . Most habitats
with trees, from evergreen forest to stands of trees amid
cultivation; lowlands to at least 1000 m.
Oriolus tenuirostris Slender-billed Oriole. Seasonal status
unclear, breeds in some areas; north B8 , south B9 . Open forest,
at one site with pines, up to at least 1150 m; probably rare in
lowlands. Records prior to 1996 were reviewed by Duckworth
et al. (1998a). Difficulties of separation from Black-naped
Oriole hamper status assessment of this species.
Oriolus xanthornus Black-hooded Oriole. Resident; north
(Pasquet 1997), centre, south B2 . Forests, mainly open, deciduous
and below 800 m.
Oriolus traillii Maroon Oriole. Resident (O. t. traillii) and
winter visitor (O. t. nigellicauda); north B1 , centre B10 , south B2 .
Forests, mainly evergreen and above 500 m, but dispersing
as low as 150 m in winter.
Coracina macei Large Cuckooshrike (included in C.
novaehollandiae Large Cuckooshrike by ^K). Resident;
north B10 , centre, south B2 . Open evergreen and mixed deciduous
forest, forest edge, glades in heavy forest and ridges in
montane forest, up to at least 2000 m.
Coracina polioptera Indochinese Cuckooshrike. Resident;
north (historically B21 ), centre (historically B22 ), south B2 . Open
deciduous forest and secondary growth, chiefly of lowlands,
foothills and plateaux, up to 850 m. Separation from C.
melaschistos can be difficult; it is possible that this is responsible
for the lack of recent records of this species over
most of the country. Special Significance: Endemic to
Indochina, Thailand and Myanmar.
Coracina melaschistos (= C. melaschista, ^K, ^T) Blackwinged
Cuckooshrike. Mainly winter visitor; north, centre,
south B2 , also resident in north B21 . Forests, tall dense secondary
growth; migrants appear in even heavily fragmented areas
and town gardens. Occurs up to at least 1480 m.
Pericrocotus roseus Rosy Minivet. Passage migrant and perhaps
winter visitor; north B2 , south B2 . Forests, tall dense secondary
growth.
• Pericrocotus cantonensis Swinhoe’s Minivet (= Brownrumped
Minivet, ^Sm); (included in P. roseus Rosy Minivet
by ^K, ^T). Conservation Significance: Globally Near-Threatened.
Not At Risk in Lao PDR. Documented Range and Habitat:
Winter visitor; north, centre, south B14 . Open deciduous
forests and secondary growth, occasionally in evergreen forest,
up to at least 870 m. Status Information: Records prior to
1997 were reviewed by Thewlis et al. (1998). Small numbers