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

Taxonomic note
Monotypic.

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
-	-	C2a(ii)

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2022	Vulnerable	C2a(ii)
2016	Vulnerable	C2a(i)
2013	Vulnerable	C2a(i)
2012	Vulnerable	C2a(i)
2008	Vulnerable	C2a(i)
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	3,008 g

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	214,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	6000-10000 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2017
Population trend	decreasing	poor	inferred	-
Generation length	8.9 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1-50	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: Using MaxEnt modelling, Wang et al. (2017) predicted that suitable habitats for this species span an area of c. 2,500 km². However, the model did not account directly for habitat degradation caused by, for example, yak farming (instead relying on proxies such as distance to habitation), thus the total area of suitable habitat may be smaller. Accounting for occupancy, the species' distribution is assumed here to cover 1,500-2,500 km². Densities of c. 6 birds/km² were recorded during the National Wildlife Survey of China (1995-2000). Given these counts were made in the non-breeding season, this density is thought to refer to individuals, not mature individuals. The population is therefore estimated here to number 9,000-15,000 individuals, or c. 6,000-10,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification: Overgrazing by wild yak and the collection of its food plants are degrading the species' habitat and leading to disturbance (He et al. 1986, BirdLife International 2001). This, and localised hunting pressure, is inferred to be driving an ongoing decline in the population size, although the likely rate of decline has not been estimated (Wang et al. 2017). In the future, these impacts may be compounded by climate change. Xu et al. (2020) predicted that the species' occupied range will shift to higher latitudes and altitudes under all predicted climate change scenarios tested and in emission scenarios RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5, to suffer a net loss of 22.0% and 32.6% respectively by the 2050s. How these translate into population size reductions should be closely monitored in the future.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
China (mainland)	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
China (mainland)	Anzihe Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Babso Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Baihe Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Baishui Jiang Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Baishuihe Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Baiyang Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Dazhubao and Dafengding
China (mainland)	Fengtongzhai Qiaoqi
China (mainland)	Gongga Shan Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Gonjo
China (mainland)	Heishuihe Nature Reserve (Dayi)
China (mainland)	Huanglongsi Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Jiuding Shan Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Labahe Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Liziping Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Longxi-Hongkou Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Markam
China (mainland)	Mengbi Shan
China (mainland)	Mengtun
China (mainland)	Min Shan mountains
China (mainland)	Piankou Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Qianfoshan Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Tangjiahe Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Wahuishan Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Wanglang Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Wolong Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Xiaohegou Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Xiaozhaizigou Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Xuebaoding Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Yele Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Yulong Xueshan Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Zoigê (Ruo'ergai) Marshes

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	major	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	major	resident
Altitude	3300 - 4500 m	Occasional altitudinal limits	2800 - 4900 m

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Nomadic grazing	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
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, Reduced reproductive success
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence, national
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Chinese Monal Lophophorus lhuysii. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/chinese-monal-lophophorus-lhuysii on 22/11/2024.
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 22/11/2024.