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

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.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	B1ab(iii)	B1ab(iii); D1

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2022	Endangered	B1ab(iii)
2016	Endangered	C2a(i)
2015	Endangered	C2a(i)
2012	Critically Endangered	B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v)
2010	Critically Endangered	B1a+b(i,ii,iii,iv,v)
2009	Critically Endangered	B1a+b(i,ii,iii,iv,v)
2008	Critically Endangered
2006	Critically Endangered
2004	Critically Endangered
2000	Critically Endangered
1996	Endangered
1994	Endangered
1988	Not Recognised

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	high
Land-mass type	continent	Average mass	18 g

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	4,185 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	3,324 km2
Number of locations	11-100	-
Severely fragmented?	yes	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	250-999 mature individuals	poor	inferred	2021
Population trend	decreasing	poor	suspected	2016-2026
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Generation length	2.99 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	5-100	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: Birds at Ituberá are rare and patchily distributed (P. C. Lima in litt. 2006). In the Reserva Ecológica da Michelin, where the species is distributed in forests along the watercourses and wetlands as well as in abandoned rubber groves, ten territories could be detected, and a preliminary extrapolation based on available habitat suggests that the reserve could hold more than 20 territories (K. Flesher in litt. 2020). There are no recent estimates for other parts of the range. Even though surveys are finding the species at new localities, it is unlikely that the overall population numbers more than 1,000 mature individuals; it is here tentatively placed in the band 250-999 mature individuals, but an accurate population estimate is required.
The subpopulation structure has not been formally investigated, but based on the localised distribution (per eBird 2021, WikiAves 2021) and the overall low dispersal abilities of tapaculos (Krabbe and Schulenberg 2003), it is assumed that the species forms several extremely small, disconnected subpopulations.

Trend justification: The species has undoubtedly undergone major declines in the past, as the native lowland forest of Bahia on which it relies has been reduced to c.10% of its original extent. Currently, 6% of tree cover is lost over ten years (Global Forest Watch 2021, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein). In the Reserva Ecológica da Michelin landscape, the population is apparently not showing signs of decline (K. Flesher in litt. 2013, 2020). The discovery of new territories in the reserve may however be a sign of increased survey effort and not necessarily reflect a population increase, and much suitable habitat remains unoccupied (K. Flesher in litt. 2020).
While threats to its habitat remain, the impact of logging activities on the population size may be low as the species is found in a variety of forest types as long as dense low vegetation is present (K. Flesher in litt. 2020). Population declines are therefore likely slow, not exceeding 10% over ten years.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Brazil	Baixo-Sul

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Swamp	suitable	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls)	suitable	resident
Altitude	15 - 220 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Bahia Tapaculo Eleoscytalopus psychopompus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/bahia-tapaculo-eleoscytalopus-psychopompus on 24/12/2024.
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 24/12/2024.