• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Climate Change maps
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic note

Poeoptera femoralis (del Hoyo and Collar 2016) was previously listed as Cinnyricinclus femoralis.

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	C2a(ii)	C2a(i,ii)

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2021	Endangered	C2a(ii)
2016	Vulnerable	C2a(ii)
2012	Vulnerable	C2a(ii)
2008	Vulnerable	C2a(ii)
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Threatened

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	high
Land-mass type	continent	Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	42,600 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	1000-2499 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2020
Population trend	decreasing	medium	inferred	2012-2023
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-10%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-10%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-10%	-	-	-
Generation length	3.5 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: Otieno et al. (2007) estimated the population density of the Kereita forest block in the Kikuyu escarpment forest, Kenya, to be 1 bird/3 km². This species is described as locally scarce (Zimmerman et al. 1996) to locally common (Bennun and Njoroge 1999). The area of mapped range is 3,909 km² (BirdLife International 2021). Assuming that it inhabits the range at the same population densities observed by Otieno et al. (2007), then the total population may be estimated at 1,303 individuals. This is roughly equivalent to 873 mature individuals, hence it is placed here in the band 250-999 mature individuals.

This species has a small range. There is some evidence to suggest that this species may make substantial movements between the different forest blocks in which it occurs (Zimmerman et al. 1996; J. Bradley in litt. 2021). Therefore, in the absence of other data, it is assumed that the species functions as one subpopulation.

Trend justification: The species's population is inferred to be declining in line with the clearance and degradation of highland forest within its range (Otieno et al. 2007; Global Forest Watch 2020), and reports of a reduction of observation records at monitored sites (P. Gacheru in litt. 2021). The likely rate of decline is tentatively suspected to fall in the band of 1-10% over three generations.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Kenya	extant	native	yes
Tanzania	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Kenya	Aberdare Mountains
Kenya	Chyulu Hills forests
Kenya	Kikuyu Escarpment forest
Kenya	Mount Kenya
Kenya	Taita Hills Forests
Tanzania	Arusha National Park and vicinity
Tanzania	Mount Kilimanjaro
Tanzania	North Pare Mountains

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	major	resident
Altitude	1800 - 2600 m	Occasional altitudinal limits	(max) 2800 m

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Small-holder farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Bos taurus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Increase in fire frequency/intensity	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Abbott's Starling Arizelopsar femoralis. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/abbotts-starling-arizelopsar-femoralis on 26/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 26/12/2024.