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

Justification of Red List category
This species has a restricted range where loss and degradation of its forest habitat may be ongoing. It is therefore assessed as Near Threatened.

Population justification
This species is very poorly known and the population size has not been quantified. It is described as rare and very localised, but probably overlooked (Dutson 2011). It is known only from three specimens collected in 1980 (Ripley and Hadden 1982), the last of which is the last documented record (USNM 584972, per Rutt et al. 2024).

Trend justification
As there are so few records of this species and the threats are poorly understood, the population trend is considered unknown.

This species is endemic to Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. It is known only from the type-locality in the Crown Prince Range (Hadden 1981, Ripley and Hadden 1982). As with other Zoothera spp. however, it is a very secretive species and is likely to have been under-recorded.

It has only been recorded from montane forest in the Crown Prince Range (Dutson 2011), and its precise elevational limits are not known. It has been reported to feed in gardens of taro (Araceae crops) within montane forest (Dutson 2011).

The threats to this species are poorly understood. The species has a high dependence on primary forest, and so forest loss and degradation may be a low threat, with remote sensing data detecting slow rates of forest loss within the extant and possibly extant range (Global Forest Watch 2023, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods therein). As a terrestrial species, it may be affected by introduced mammalian predators such as cats and rats, however this may not be be directly applicable following observations of congeners on Makira persisting alongside a large feral cat population (G. Dutson in litt. 2016).

Conservation Actions Underway
No targeted conservation actions are known.

Conservation Actions Proposed
Conduct further surveys to obtain up-to-date data on the species, and quantify the population size and trend.  Survey other high mountains on Bougainville. Assess the threat from forest loss/degradation and introduced species. Protect large areas of suitable habitat.

Text account compilers
Vine, J.

Contributors
Dutson, G.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Bougainville Thrush Zoothera atrigena. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/bougainville-thrush-zoothera-atrigena 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.