Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report - IUCN

Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report
Hodgsonius phaenicuroides White-bellied Redstart. Resident;
north B6 . Dense grass and scrub in open country, secondary
growth and forest edge, above 1200 m.
Myiomela leucura (= Cinclidium leucurum, ^K, ^Sm, ^T)
White-tailed Robin. Resident; north, centre B10 , south B2 .
Evergreen forest and bamboo, mostly above 1000 m but dispersing
locally lower in winter (rarely to 150 m).
• Cinclidium frontale Blue-fronted Robin. Conservation
Significance: Globally Near-Threatened; Little Known in Lao
PDR. Documented Range and Habitat: Seasonal status unclear
(probably resident); north (historically, Delacour and
Jabouille 1927). Habitat unknown in Lao PDR, but presumably
montane; elsewhere uses densely vegetated, damp shady
gullies within or adjacent to evergreen forest (Redman 1992).
Status Information: There is only one Lao record: from
Xiangkhouang Province in January 1926 (Delacour and
Jabouille 1927).
Enicurus schistaceus Slaty-backed Forktail. Resident; north,
centre B10 , south B2 . Rocky streams and rivers through evergreen
forest, damp gullies, from lowlands to highest altitudes.
Enicurus leschenaulti White-crowned Forktail. Resident;
north B10 , centre, south B2 . Rocky streams and damp areas
through evergreen forest, damp gullies, from lowlands to at
least 1650 m.
• Cochoa purpurea Purple Cochoa. Conservation Significance:
Globally Near-Threatened; Little Known in Lao PDR.
Documented Range and Habitat: Resident; north (TDE).
Presumed to use montane evergreen forest. Status Information:
Nine were seen for sale in Ban Phonsavan market
(Xiangkhouang Province) on 12 February 1999 (JWD). A
provisional field record from Nam Theun Extension PNBCA
was withdrawn by Evans and Timmins (1998). If the species
is as heavily harvested as is Green Cochoa, but has a more
limited range, it is likely to be more vulnerable.
• Cochoa viridis Green Cochoa. Conservation Significance:
Globally Near-Threatened. Not At Risk in Lao PDR. Documented
Range and Habitat: Resident; north, centre, south B14 .
Evergreen forest and adjacent degraded forest; generally
above 750 m, occasionally lower. Status Information: Records
prior to 1997 were reviewed by Thewlis et al. (1998). Green
Cochoa inhabits most montane areas surveyed across the
country, in the north-west, the Annamites and on the Bolaven
Plateau (Table 11). Four were seen for sale in Xam-Nua market
in January 1998 (Showler et al. 1998b) and a single was
seen in Ban Phonsavan market (Xiangkhouang Province) on
12 February 1999 (JWD). Feathers from plucked hunted birds
were found in Nam Xam NBCA (Showler et al. 1998b). Harvesting
pressure is unlikely to eradicate the species from the
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large expanses of remaining habitat, but would become a
greater threat with fragmentation of forest.
Saxicola torquata Common Stonechat (= Stonechat, ^K,
^T); (separated as S. maura Siberian Stonechat by ^Sm 1 ).
Local resident, winter visitor throughout; north, centre,
south B2 . Open areas with secondary growth, grass, cultivation,
bushes amid paddies; passage birds may appear within
small breaks (e.g. logging roads, grassy pools) in dense forest.
Resident birds on Bolaven Plateau are usually found
above 1000 m, wintering birds occur across a wide altitudinal
range.
Saxicola caprata Pied Bushchat. Resident; north B1 , centre B10 ,
south B2 . Open areas, secondary growth, cultivation, mostly
lowlands; natural habitats are dry dipterocarp forest and
island scrub in river channels.
• Saxicola jerdoni Jerdon’s Bushchat. Conservation Significance:
Globally Near-Threatened. Not At Risk in Lao PDR.
Documented Range and Habitat: Resident, lowland
populations making seasonal dispersal; north B1 . Upland tall
grassland (especially stands of Imperata and Saccharum spp.)
and scrub subject to annual burning in hills to at least 1650
m, and natural scrub on lowland river-channel islands. Wintering
birds by the Mekong in north Thailand, and presumably
on the Lao side, use tall grass on river banks. Status
Information: Records prior to 1997 were reviewed by
Duckworth (1997b) and Thewlis et al. (1998). The species
breeds in both hill grassland, where occurrence is patchy,
and on Mekong islands. Survey of the latter has been too
patchy to define the distribution in north Lao PDR, but the
species is absent from such habitat in the south. A male in the
Mekong channel between Vientiane and Sangthong at Ban
Thanasanghin on 15 November 1998 (TDE) represents the
current known downstream limit of occurrence. Records in
upland areas are scattered across the north, including four
recent survey areas (Table 11). Small numbers were seen near
Nam Xam NBCA in January 1998, but suitable habitat was
not found in the protected area (PD). The occurrence in various
areas of secondary grassland generated by prolonged
cultivation and over-burning suggests that the species should
be considered Not At Risk in Lao PDR.
Saxicola ferrea Grey Bushchat. Winter visitor; north B2 ,
centre B10 , south B2 . Open pine and broad-leaved evergreen
forest, secondary growth and scrub, including cultivation; to
at least 1650 m.
Conservation Management and Research Proposed for
Muscicapidae:
• Conservation of adequate areas of habitat, particularly
for key species with a restricted distribution, notably
Grey-winged Blackbird, Fujian Niltava, Purple Cochoa