Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This newly split species is listed as Vulnerable because it is suspected to be experiencing a rapid population decline owing to rates of forest loss and degradation in its range.
Population justification
The global population size has not been quantified, but this species is described as 'rare' (Stotz et al. 1996).
Trend justification
This species is suspected to be undergoing a rapid population decline owing to on-going habitat loss and degradation.
Celeus tinnunculus is restricted to forest remnants in the states of Bahia and Espírito Santo in eastern Brazil (Winkler et al. 1995, del Hoyo et al. 2002, 2015). This species has been characterised as rare (Stotz et al. 1996) and the rapid and extensive destruction of forest in its range is thought to driving a decline in its population.
This lowland species occurs in tall humid forest in the Atlantic Forest region of Brazil, and is typically encountered singly or in pairs (del Hoyo et al. 2002). It feeds in various strata, from the understorey to the subcanopy, by moving along limbs and trunks, gleaning and hammering into arboreal termitaria (del Hoyo et al. 2002, 2015). The species is likely to be found only at low densities and most frequently in closed-canopy and extensive forest tracts (A. Lees in litt. 2014).
Given the extensive loss of Brazil’s Atlantic forests, with deforestation said to have been particularly severe since the early 1970s (Tabarelli et al. 2005), this species is almost certainly in decline. It has been estimated that 7-12% remains of the original extent of Atlantic Forest in Brazil (Tabarelli et al. 2005, Ribeiro et al. 2009), some of which now exists in ‘archipelagos’ of tiny and widely scattered fragments (Tabarelli et al. 2005). In the Bahia biogeographical sub-region, c.17% of original forest remains, with only 4.2% of this protected (Ribeiro et al. 2009). Across the Atlantic Forest region in Brazil, it has been estimated that 42% of the total area of remaining forest exists in fragments of less than 250 ha (Ribeiro et al. 2009). The destruction of forest in this region has been driven historically by the expansion of cattle ranching and timber extraction, with government subsidies fuelling continued agricultural expansion in recent decades, and additional pressures imposed by the harvesting of firewood, illegal logging, hunting, plant collecting and invasive species (Tabarelli et al. 2005).
Conservation Actions Underway
No targeted conservation actions are known for this species, although some of its habitat is protected by, for example, Sooretama Biological Reserve and Vale Linhares Reserve (Espírito Santo) (del Hoyo et al. 2015).
Conservation Actions Proposed
Carry out surveys to assess the total population size. Clarify the species's habitat requirements and tolerance of forest degradation and fragmentation. Monitor rates of deforestation by using remote sensing techniques. Increase the area of suitable habitat that receives effective protection.
Text account compilers
Butchart, S., Ekstrom, J., Martin, R, Symes, A., Taylor, J., Sharpe, C J
Contributors
Lees, A.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Atlantic Black-breasted Woodpecker Celeus tinnunculus. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/atlantic-black-breasted-woodpecker-celeus-tinnunculus on 29/12/2024.
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 29/12/2024.