Apurimac Spinetail (Synallaxis courseni) - BirdLife species factsheet

Apurimac Spinetail Synallaxis courseni

Current view: Data table and detailed info

Taxonomy

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.
SACC. 2005 and updates. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Near Threatened	D1
2016	Vulnerable	D2
2012	Vulnerable	D2
2010	Vulnerable	D2
2008	Vulnerable	D1; D2
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Threatened

Species attributes

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

Range

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	1,940 km²	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	1,576 km²
Severely fragmented?	no	-

Population

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	1200-1600 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2023
Population trend	stable	medium	suspected	-
Generation length	3.11 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: This species was previously thought to be restricted to the Ampay National Sanctuary, where it is described as common with a population of roughly 600-800 individuals (Collar et al. 1992, J. Valenzuela in litt. 2010, Lloyd 2020). Individuals are now increasingly found in areas outside of the Sanctuary, including at Huayrapata, Pacaypata, Cerro Turronmocco and above Yanama (C. Aucca in litt. 2007, H. Lloyd and B. Walker in litt. 2007, eBird 2023). Based on observational records (per eBird 2023) and in the absence of an accurate quantification of the total population, it is here tentatively assumed that half of the global population is found within the Ampay National Sanctuary, and that the total population size is consequently 1,200-1,600 mature individuals.

Trend justification: The species inhabits a mosaic of cloud forest patches interspersed with cleared, degraded areas and agricultural fields (Lloyd 2020). This suggests that it shows a certain tolerance of and adaptation to habitat degradation and fragmentation. Tree cover loss within the range is negligible (<1% over ten years; Global Forest Watch 2023, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein). Therefore, in the absence of evidence of any declines or substantial threats, the population is suspected to be stable.

Country/territory distribution

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

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Peru	Santuario Nacional del Ampay

Habitats & altitude

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	major	resident
Altitude	2210 - 3850 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threats & impact

Threat (level 1)

Threat (level 2)

Impact and Stresses

Agriculture & aquaculture

Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Small-holder farming

Timing

Scope

Severity

Impact

Ongoing

Minority (<50%)

Negligible declines

Low Impact: 4

Stresses
Ecosystem conversion