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

Taxonomic note

Previously treated as Garrulax waddelli (del Hoyo and Collar 2016) but moved to current genus following Cibois et al. (2018). Prior to this change the taxon was listed as Babax waddelli. Proposed subspecies lumsdeni, described from Le La, on south-east Tibet border with Arunachal Pradesh (NE India), merged with nominate. Two subspecies recognized.

Taxonomic source(s)
Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International. 2021. Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 6. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v6_Dec21.zip.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Least Concern
2016	Near Threatened	A2c+3c+4c
2012	Near Threatened	A2c+3c+4c
2008	Near Threatened	C1; C2a(i)
2004	Near Threatened
2000	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1994	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1988	Near Threatened

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	low
Land-mass type	continent	Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	162,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	80000-140000 mature individuals	medium	estimated	-
Population trend	unknown	poor	-	-
Generation length	3.38 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population size of this species was estimated to be 120,000 by Lu (2004). There has not been an updated figure in the intervening two decades, although it is not suspected to be substantially different. Recently, Li et al. (2023) estimated that there remained c.140,000km² of highly suitable habitat within its range, suggesting that the population size remains high. To account for uncertainty, the current population size is estimated at 80,000-140,000.

Trend justification: The population trend of this species is set to unknown. Historically, deforestation and habitat degradation were suspected of causing moderately rapid declines, however there is little evidence to uphold that this is ongoing and there has been testimony to suggest that the species is no longer declining (X. Lu in litt. 2016). While slow and localised declines are possible, remote sensing data indicate very little changes in the majority of this species' vast and remote range. In the future, modelling by Li et al. (2023) found that the area of suitable habitat might slightly increase, or slightly decrease, in response to climate change between now and 2050, depending on the underlying climate scenario used. In any instance, they did not identify a considerable change (<0.5%), such that this is not currently considered a future threat.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
China (mainland)	Gongbo Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Razhêng Temple
China (mainland)	Shongsep Temple
India	Lhonak Valley
India	Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary - Zuluk - Bedang Tso - Natula Complex
India	Tso Lhamo Plateau - Lashar - Sebu La - Yumesamdong Complex

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Temperate	suitable	resident
Shrubland	Temperate	major	resident
Altitude	2700 - 4600 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Unknown		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Unknown		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Unknown		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Giant Babax Pterorhinus waddelli. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/giant-babax-pterorhinus-waddelli 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.