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

Taxonomic note

Schoeniparus variegaticeps  (del Hoyo and Collar 2016) was previously listed as Alcippe variegaticeps.

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Least Concern
2016	Vulnerable	B1ab(ii,iii,iv,v);C2a(i)
2012	Vulnerable	B1ab(ii,iii,iv,v);C2a(i)
2008	Vulnerable	B1a+b(ii,iii,iv,v); C2a(i)
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Threatened

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	378,500 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	-	-	-
Population trend	stable	poor	suspected	-
Generation length	2.54 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	3-50	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: Population size has never been estimated. Appears rather common where found (Shing et al. 2006, eBird 2024) albeit evidence suggests it is tied to a relatively small elevation band, and perhaps a microhabitat within it (BirdLife International 2001). Records span 700-2,000m, within which there is c.25,000 km² of closed-canopy montane forest in its mapped distribution; at 1,300-1,600 m (which appears to be this species' preferred elevation), there is c.5,600 km² of closed-canopy forest (data from Jung et al. 2020, analysed by sRedList [2023]). Consequently while the population size of this species is not estimated, the area of suitable habitat available to it suggests that even if a small percentage is occupied, the global population size of this species is unlikely to be very small.

Trend justification: The main perceived threat to this species is habitat loss and degradation (BirdLife International 2001); however, almost all remaining  forest within its range is totally inaccessible to exploitation, and remote sensing data indicate less than 1% forest cover has been lost within its range over the past 10 years (Global Forest Watch 2024, based on data from Hansen et al. [2013] and methods disclosed therein). In the absence of other threats the population is suspected to be stable.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
China (mainland)	Dayao Shan Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Dazhubao and Dafengding
China (mainland)	Emei Shan
China (mainland)	Labahe Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Mao'er Shan Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Pingshan Wuzhi Shan
China (mainland)	Tianping Shan
China (mainland)	Wawu Shan Nature Reserve

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	major	resident
Altitude	700 - 2000 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Unknown		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation

---

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Golden-fronted Fulvetta Schoeniparus variegaticeps. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/golden-fronted-fulvetta-schoeniparus-variegaticeps 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.