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

Taxonomic note
Proposed subspecies yemenensis (described from Wasil, N Yemen) not accepted (Kirwan and Grieve 2007). Monotypic.

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
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2022	Near Threatened	C2a(ii)
2016	Near Threatened	C2a(ii)
2012	Near Threatened	C2a(ii)
2008	Near Threatened	C2a(ii)
2004	Not Recognised
2000	Not Recognised
1994	Not Recognised
1988	Not Recognised

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	624,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	6000 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2006
Population trend	decreasing	poor	suspected	-
Generation length	3.02 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	2-100	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: It is generally scarce and difficult to locate even at known sites, with the exception perhaps of Yemen (R. Porter in litt. 2006). Its population is approximately estimated to number c.3,000 pairs, i.e. c.6,000 mature individuals and c.9,000 individuals including juveniles and non-breeders. This comprises 500 pairs in Saudi Arabia, 500 pairs in Oman, although this may be optimistic (J. Atkins in litt. 2006, R. Porter in litt. 2016), and c.2,000 pairs in Yemen (Jennings 2010).

Trend justification: R. Porter in litt. (2006) indicates that the species is possibly declining. This may primarily be due to habitat degradation, caused by over-grazing and clearance for agriculture (Kirwan and Clement 2020). Further information is however required to ascertain the exact population trend.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Oman	extant	native	yes
Saudi Arabia	extant	native	yes
Yemen	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Oman	Jabal Qamar
Oman	Jabal Samhan
Yemen	Haraz mountains
Yemen	Hawf deciduous cloud forest
Yemen	High mountains of Ibb
Yemen	Jabal Iraf
Yemen	Jabal Sumarah
Yemen	Kawkaban - Shibam
Yemen	Mahwit
Yemen	Ta'izz wadis

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	resident
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)		suitable	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	resident
Altitude	0 - 2950 m	Occasional altitudinal limits	(max) 3100 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		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Arabian Grosbeak Rhynchostruthus percivali. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/arabian-grosbeak-rhynchostruthus-percivali on 23/12/2024.
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 23/12/2024.