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

Taxonomic note
The genus Paradoxornis has been moved from the family Sylviidae to Paradoxornithidae following Cai et al. (2019). Elsewhere has been treated as conspecific with P. guttaticollis by some authors, but is morphometrically quite distinct and differs in vocalizations and, especially, in habitat requirements; ranges overlap (or formerly did) in parts of NE India, but the two are ecologically separated. Monotypic.

Taxonomic source(s)
Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International. 2021. Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 6. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v6_Dec21.zip.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	B2ab(ii,iii,iv,v); C2a(i)

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Vulnerable	B2ab(ii,iii,iv,v); C2a(i)
2016	Vulnerable	A2c+3c+4c
2012	Vulnerable	A2c+3c+4c
2008	Vulnerable	A2c; A3c; A4c
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Threatened

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	95,500 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	500 km2
Number of locations	5-20	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	1500-4000 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2023
Population trend	decreasing	poor	inferred	-
Generation length	2.84 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	4-5	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: Not formally estimated, but given the restricted extent of suitable habitat, very probably numbers in the single thousands. The largest subpopulation is believed to be hosted by D'Ering Wildlife Sanctuary, which is thought to host a few hundred individuals (Rahman et al. 2022). An area further north, 'East Siang' in Choudhury (2021) also has recent records, although the population here is unlikely large. Choudhury (2021) noted that the Lower Dibang Valley also hosts a population that is 'globally important' and the area of suitable habitat is not considerably less than that of D'Ering and this may also host several hundred birds. The area of suitable habitat in Kaziranga National Park is potentially large, although birds are infrequently seen (eBird 2023), and it is improbable that the population here is any larger than D'Ering. At Manas, the area of habitat is also large and birds are frequently observed in numbers comparable to strongholds in Arunachal Pradesh (eBird 2023). The very isolated, and recently discovered, population around Loktak Lake (mostly in Keibul Lamjao National Park) is probably small (<250 individuals), based simply on the very small area of suitable habitat. Combining reports from all parts of its range, the global population size of this species is probably between 1,500-4,000 mature individuals, with no population larger than 500-1,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification: Inferred to be declining, albeit probably slowly, in response to ongoing habitat pressures, principally in parts of its range that are not formally protected, or for which the protection is only ostensible (Choudhury 2021, Krishnan 2023). Populations are greatly fragmented, and while it is evident the species is able to persist short-term in isolated pockets of habitat, the viability of these in the long-term is unknown.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Bangladesh	possibly extinct	native	yes
India	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
India	Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuary
India	Bordoloni - Sampora
India	Buxa Tiger Reserve (National Park)
India	Chirang Reserve Forest
India	D'Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary
India	Dibang Reserve Forest and adjacent areas
India	Dibru - Saikhowa Complex
India	Gorumara National Park
India	Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary
India	Kaziranga National Park
India	Khangchendzonga National Park and Biosphere Reserve
India	Lava - Neora Valley National Park
India	Lowland forests of South Sikkim (Melli-Baguwa-Kitam, Jorethang-Namchi, Sombarey)
India	Maguri and Motapung Beels
India	Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary
India	Majuli
India	Manas National Park
India	Pabho Reserve Forest
India	Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary - Zuluk - Bedang Tso - Natula Complex
India	Pani-Dihing Bird Sanctuary
India	Ripu Reserve Forest
India	The Chapories of Lohit Reserve

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls)	suitable	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Seasonal/Intermittent/Irregular Rivers/Streams/Creeks	suitable	resident
Altitude	0 - 150 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
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, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
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
Agriculture & aquaculture	Wood & pulp plantations - Agro-industry plantations	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Gathering terrestrial plants - Unintentional effects (species is not the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation
Climate change & severe weather	Storms & flooding	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Unknown		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Increase in fire frequency/intensity	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Black-breasted Parrotbill Paradoxornis flavirostris. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/black-breasted-parrotbill-paradoxornis-flavirostris 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.