VU
Great Slaty Woodpecker Mulleripicus pulverulentus



Taxonomy

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.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Critically Endangered Endangered Vulnerable
- - A2cd+3cd+4cd

Red List history
Year Category Criteria
2023 Vulnerable A2cd+3cd+4cd
2016 Vulnerable A2bc
2012 Vulnerable A2bc
2010 Vulnerable A2b,c
2009 Least Concern
2008 Least Concern
2004 Least Concern
2000 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988 Lower Risk/Least Concern
Species attributes

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

Estimate Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) 9,650,000 km2 medium
Severely fragmented? no -
Population
Estimate Data quality Derivation Year of estimate
Population size 10000-70000 mature individuals poor estimated 2023
Population trend decreasing poor inferred 2010-2027
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods) 25-49,35-49% - - -
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods) 25-49,35-49% - - -
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods) 25-49,35-49% - - -
Generation length 5.74 years - - -
Number of subpopulations 5-100 - - -
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation 1-89% - - -

Population justification: The global population size of this species was estimated by Lammertink et al. (2009) to lie somewhere in the broad range of 26,000 to 550,000 mature individuals, a figure derived from an initial remote-sensing based analysis which yielded an estimate of 260,000-550,000, but with an adjusted lower bound (reduced by 90%) to reflect occupancy and the insensitivities of the land cover data used. If these numbers were accurate for 2005 as proposed, then the suspected population decline of 25-49% (best estimate 35–49%) since 2005 (see Population Trend text) yields an adjusted total in 2023 of 13,260–412,500 (best estimate 13,260–357,500). A bespoke internal analysis using land cover data from 2010 (with totals adjusted for forest loss rates since) and an approximate density of 0.5–5 birds/km2 (reflecting a range of densities recorded by Lammertink et al. [2009] and by Kumar and Shahabuddin [2012]) suggests a similar global population of 12,750–63,750. This alternative total is congruent with the scenarios provided by Lammertink et al. (2009) but suggests that their more pessimistic scenarios were likely more accurate. Accordingly, but reflecting the great uncertainty in the population size of this species, the total is set here to 10,000-70,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification: Few direct population data exist this species, although it has evidently declined, probably rapidly, in response to the large-scale clearance and degradation of its forest habitat through most of its range (Lammertink et al. 2009). Remote sensing data suggest that forest cover in this species' range has reduced by c.16–21%  over the past three generations (17 years: 2006–2023) (Global Forest Watch 2023, based on data from Hansen et al. [2013] and methods disclosed therein).
Alone therefore, remote sensing data indicate a rate of population decline much lower than that proposed here. However, there are several reasons to believe that population declines in this species are (perhaps substantially) more rapid than satellite data alone suggest. In some parts of its range (especially Lao PDR, and perhaps locally in Myanmar and Viet Nam), gun and projectile hunting is thought to have contributed to (at least historic) declines (Timmins et al. in press); this species is vocal and easy to locate, rendering it particularly vulnerable to local areas where there is a high propensity to hunt larger-bodied species. Likely more impacting, however, is the threat of selective logging and habitat degradation that is undetectable to unsensitive remote sensing analyses. This species is dependent on old growth forests with large diameter trees for nesting (Lammertink et al. 2009). Selective logging for these treesan activity that has increased rapidly with increasing access to even formerly remote forest blocks—is considered to be capable of driving declines possibly greater than outright forest loss. Data to evidence this assumption are few (in part because of its low detectability as a threat), however in Lao PDR, repeat surveys from some sites provides 'strong evidence for serious declines in the species' (Timmins et al. in press, and references therein). This threat is believed to occur across a wide area of this species' range, and is particularly pervasive in lowland dipterocarp deciduous forests of southern Indochina, where densities of this species is high in unaltered habitat (eBird 2023) and large areas of suitable habitat are either not formally protected, or ineffectually so.
The minimum rate of global population decline over the past three generations (17 years: 2005-2023) is set at 25%, representing an optimistic scenario where selective logging is not as serious a threat as suggested by Timmins et al. (in press) and/or it is not as reliant on old growth forests as suspected (Lammertink et al. 2009). The upper bound is set to 49%, representing a scenario where a disproportionate of this species' population occurs in areas most impacted by selective logging. There is high confidence that the true rate of decline lies somewhere between these two scenarios, with a best estimate (given the evidence of localised extirpation/density reduction in Lao PDR: Timmins et al. in press) that a pessimistic scenario (declines of 35-49%) is probably more likely. The same rates of decline are also suspected in the future, with selective logging considered a threat so difficult to control (even in protected areas) that there is a high likelihood that such rapid declines will also occur over the next three generations (17 years: 2023-2040). Whether the rapid declines suspected will ever be reversed is unclear: Timmins et al. (in press) suggest that population recoveries may take decades, if not centuries, to occur.


Country/territory distribution
Country/Territory Presence Origin Resident Breeding visitor Non-breeding visitor Passage migrant
Bangladesh extant native yes
Bhutan extant native yes
Brunei extant native yes
Cambodia extant native yes
China (mainland) extant native yes
India extant native yes
Indonesia extant native yes
Laos extant native yes
Malaysia extant native yes
Myanmar extant native yes
Nepal extant native yes
Philippines extant native yes
Singapore extant vagrant
Thailand extant native yes
Vietnam extant native yes

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Country/Territory IBA Name
India Amangarh Reserve Forest
India Nandhour Wildlife Sanctuary
India Pawalgarh Conservation Reserve

Habitats & altitude
Habitat (level 1) Habitat (level 2) Importance Occurrence
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Mangrove Vegetation Above High Tide Level suitable resident
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland major resident
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane suitable resident
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Swamp major resident
Savanna Moist suitable resident
Altitude 0 - 600 m Occasional altitudinal limits (max) 2000 m

Threats & impact
Threat (level 1) Threat (level 2) Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Slow, Significant Declines Low Impact: 5
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation
Agriculture & aquaculture Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Shifting agriculture Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Slow, Significant Declines Low Impact: 5
Stresses
Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Small-holder farming Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Slow, Significant Declines Low Impact: 5
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation
Agriculture & aquaculture Wood & pulp plantations - Agro-industry plantations Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Rapid Declines Medium Impact: 6
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture Wood & pulp plantations - Small-holder plantations Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Slow, Significant Declines Low Impact: 5
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation
Biological resource use Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target) Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Negligible declines Low Impact: 4
Stresses
Species mortality
Biological resource use Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest] Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Majority (50-90%) Rapid Declines Medium Impact: 7
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%) Rapid Declines Medium Impact: 7
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation
Energy production & mining Renewable energy Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Slow, Significant Declines Low Impact: 5
Stresses
Ecosystem conversion

Utilisation
Purpose Scale
Food - human subsistence

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Great Slaty Woodpecker Mulleripicus pulverulentus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/great-slaty-woodpecker-mulleripicus-pulverulentus 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.