Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species has a very large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Population justification
The global population size has not been quantified, but this species is described as 'rare and patchily distributed' (Stotz et al. 1996).
Trend justification
This species is suspected to lose 16.8-17.1% of suitable habitat within its distribution over three generations (11 years) based on a model of Amazonian deforestation (Soares-Filho et al. 2006, Bird et al. 2011). It is therefore suspected to decline by <25% over three generations.
This species has a very patchy distribution in northern South America, occurring locally on the eastern slope of the Andes in Ecuador and eastern Peru (San Martín, Amazonas, Huánuco and Cuzco (Clements and Shany 2001), and very locally in southern Guyana and eastern Amazonian Brazil with sightings from south-east Pará, Serra das Carajás and Maranhão (Ridgely and Tudor 1994).
The species inhabits the canopy and borders of humid forest in hilly areas up to 1,200 m altitude, although in its western range birds are restricted to the foothills of the Andes, above 400 m (Ridgely and Tudor 1994). Birds are generally seen in pairs, along streams or in other openings in tall forest, and when feeding make long aerial sallies, usually returning to the same perch (Ridgely and Tudor 1994).
Deforestation may threaten this species (Stotz et al. 1996).
Text account compilers
Fisher, S., Wheatley, H., Butchart, S., Harding, M., Ekstrom, J.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Blackish Pewee Contopus nigrescens. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/blackish-pewee-contopus-nigrescens on 22/12/2024.
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 22/12/2024.