• 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.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2019	Near Threatened	C2a(ii)
2016	Vulnerable	A2bce+3bce+4bce
2012	Vulnerable	A2bce+3bce+4bce;C1+2a(i)
2008	Vulnerable	A2b,c,e; A3b,c,e; A4b,c,e; C1; C2a(i)
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1996	Endangered
1994	Endangered
1988	Threatened

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	low
Land-mass type	continent	Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	601,000 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	342,000 km2	medium
Number of locations	11-100	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	10000-19999 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2016
Population trend	decreasing	poor	estimated	1998-2008
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	4-18%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	4-18%	-	-	-
Generation length	4.2 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population size is difficult to determine. Rosenberg et al. (2016) estimate the global population size to be 24,000 mature individuals. This number is based on an estimate of c.12,000 mature individuals in U.S.A. (Wilkins et al. 2006) and recent discoveries of high-density breeding populations in Mexico, which could mean that a doubling of the U.S.A. estimate may be appropriate (Rosenberg et al. 2016). It should be noted, though, that while Benson and Benson (1990) estimate c.6,300 ± 3,200 pairs in northern Coahuila, other estimates for Mexican populations have been very low. Wilkins et al. (2006) estimated only 259 males in Mexico, and Morrison and González-Rojas (2014) found only 341 individuals in three states of Mexico. Therefore, the global population size is here tentatively placed in the range 10,000-19,999 mature individuals. All individuals belong to the same subpopulation (Zink et al. 2010).

Trend justification: The species has been undergoing rapid declines in the past (J. Lyons in litt. 1999). However, it is unclear whether the species is still undergoing a decline (T. McFarland in litt. 2016). Following intense management programmes to reduce nest parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater), declines have slowed down and the species is showing signs of recovery (USFWS 2018a). There is no data available to assess the population trend from the North American Breeding Bird Survey (Sauer et al. 2017). As such, Partners in Flight also do not have a clear population trend estimate. Instead, Rosenberg et al. (2016) give a range within which the population reduction between 1970 and 2014 is suspected to fall. They propose that the reduction has been between 15-50% over this time period, which would roughly equate to a reduction of 4.5-18.0% over three generations (12.6 years), assuming a constant rate of decline. However, even though the species was previously thought to be declining rapidly, it is not clear whether it continues to decline (T. McFarland in litt. 2016), and so any population decrease over the past three generations could be even lower. In the absence of further evidence to show a stable population, the species is conservatively retained as declining.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Mexico	Nacimiento Río Sabinas-Sureste de la Sierra de Santa Rosa
Mexico	Sierra del Burro
Mexico	Sierra Maderas del Carmen
Mexico	Vallecitos de Zaragoza
USA	Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge
USA	Balcones Canyonlands Preserve
USA	Fort Hood
USA	Nature Conservancy Dolan Falls Preserve
USA	Nature Conservancy Independence Creek Preserve
USA	Nature Conservancy Love Creek Preserve
USA	Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	suitable	non-breeding
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	suitable	non-breeding
Forest	Temperate	suitable	breeding
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	breeding
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	non-breeding
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Moist	suitable	non-breeding
Shrubland	Temperate	major	breeding
Altitude	0 - 2000 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Energy production & mining	Oil & gas drilling	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Energy production & mining	Renewable energy	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Rapid Declines		High Impact: 8
		Stresses Competition, Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Supression in fire frequency/intensity	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Residential & commercial development	Housing & urban areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Transportation & service corridors	Roads & railroads	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: Black-capped Vireo Vireo atricapilla. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/black-capped-vireo-vireo-atricapilla 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.