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

Taxonomic note

Oxypogon guerinii, O. cyanolaemus, O. lindenii and O. stuebelii (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) were previously lumped as O. guerinii following Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993).

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	B1ab(i,ii,iii)	B1ab(i,ii,iii); D1+2

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2023	Endangered	B1ab(i,ii,iii)
2016	Critically Endangered	C2a(ii)
2015	Critically Endangered	C2a(ii)
2014	Critically Endangered	C2a(ii)
2012	Not Recognised
2008	Not Recognised
2004	Not Recognised
2000	Not Recognised
1994	Not Recognised
1988	Not Recognised

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	1,800 km2	medium
Number of locations	2-5	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	250-999 mature individuals	poor	inferred	2015
Population trend	decreasing	medium	suspected	-
Generation length	2.35 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: Already in the early 20th century the species was reported to be scarce. There had been no confirmed records of the species since 1946 despite a number of recent surveys, until three birds were discovered in March 2015 (Rojas and Vasquez 2015). The remaining population is presumed to be very small and is assumed to number "in the hundreds", based on recorded population densities of congeners (Renjifo et al. 2016). Based on this evidence, and based on the fact that the species is only recorded in small numbers, it is inferred that the population numbers less than 1,000 mature individuals. It is tentatively here placed in the band 250-999 mature individuals, though the population may be even smaller (per D. Lebbin in litt. 2023). An accurate quantification is urgently required.

Trend justification: The population trend has not been investigated, but declines are suspected on the basis of the loss and degradation of páramo habitat due to agriculture, overgrazing, burning and cutting of frailejón (Renjifo et al. 2016, del Hoyo et al. 2020).
The rate of decline is difficult to quantify. The species is thought to have lost at least 11% of its original habitat, however this is considered to have occurred over a long period of time (Renjifo et al. 2016). It is consequently suspected that population declines are likely slow.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	marginal	resident
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	major	resident
Altitude	3000 - 4800 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Small-holder 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
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Blue-bearded Helmetcrest Oxypogon cyanolaemus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/blue-bearded-helmetcrest-oxypogon-cyanolaemus on 26/12/2024.
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 26/12/2024.