Current view: Data table and detailed info
Taxonomic note
Previously placed in genus Rimator (del Hoyo and Collar 2016) but moved to current genus following Cai et al. (2019). Rimator danjoui and R. naungmungensis (del Hoyo and Collar 2016) were previously lumped as Jabouilleia danjoui following Sibley & Monroe (1990, 1993). The treatment of N. naungmungensis as a subspecies of present species remains plausible, despite subsequent publications in support of species status (Rappole et al. 2008, Renner and Rappole 2011). In Vietnam, birds in NE Tonkin (with stronger black malar area and bold black-and-white feathering on belly) represent an as yet undescribed subspecies, and those in Central Highlands of S part of C Annam (with brown of plumage colder and darker, rufous areas duller and paler, underparts and bill roughly intermediate between those of other subspecies) another such. Two subspecies currently 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.
IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Red List history
| Migratory status |
not a migrant |
Forest dependency |
high |
| Land-mass type |
|
Average mass |
- |
Population justification: The population size of this species has not been determined, but a total of 58,500 km2 of forest remains in its range (per Global Forest Watch 2022, based on data from Hansen et al. [2013] and methods disclosed therein). It is described as 'locally fairly common' in Viet Nam (Craik and Le 2018) and eBird (2023) data suggest that, at least locally, it remains commonly encountered, particularly in protected areas. In Lao PDR, it was discovered only comparatively recently (see Thewlis et al. 1998) and there remain very few records from the country. It is unclear to what extent this reflects lower abundance, or simply a reduced survey effort, but this species is tightly associated with wet evergreen forest (Duckworth et al. 2010) which is less extensive in the rain shadows of the western Annamites (i.e. most of Lao PDR). Recent surveys in areas of suitable habitat in Lao PDR have nonetheless found it (Gray et al. 2013, Berryman 2023) and it is likely that Lao PDR hosts a significant minority of the global population. Overall, although there are no robust data from which to estimate a population size, there is no reason to suspect it is especially small.
Trend justification: This species is strictly forest-dependent and the principal threat to it is considered forest loss. Remote sensing data indicate that over the past ten years, forest cover loss in its range has been reduced by c.15% (Global Forest Watch 2022, based on data from Hansen et al. [2013] and methods disclosed therein) and this is thought to have had a broadly equivalent impact on its population size, with the potential for additive declines caused by habitat degradation and selective logging, which is rife in the Annamites. In the most recent five years (between 2016 and 2021), this rate of loss has accelerated to an equivalent of c.19% over ten years, and therefore it is possible that rates of population decline will exceed 20% between 2016 and 2026, and in the ten years from 2022, if these accelerated rates persist. In the Annamites, even remote and montane forest in protected areas has proven itself at risk, with logging, mining and hydroelectric power projects causing immense local damage (e.g. Berryman 2023). There is therefore no reason to believe these increasing rates of forest loss will not continue.
Country/territory distribution
Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Indochinese Wren-babbler Napothera danjoui. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/indochinese-wren-babbler-napothera-danjoui 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.
