Current view: Data table and detailed info
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.
van Balen, S.; Eaton, J. A.; Rheindt, F. E. 2013. Biology, taxonomy and conservation status of the Short-tailed Green Magpie Cissa [t.] thalassina from Java. Bird Conservation International 23(1): 91-109.
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 species appears to have an extremely small population, which is likely to number fewer than 250 mature individuals, with each subpopulation probably containing 50 mature individuals or fewer (van Balen et al. 2011). It has also been suggested that the total population probably does not exceed 100 individuals, but could number fewer than 50 individuals, as there may be only one or two dozen birds at each site where the species may still be extant (van Balen et al. 2013); however, surveys should be conducted to confirm whether this is the case.
Trend justification: The species underwent an extremely rapid decline during the late 1990s and first part of the 2000s as a result of the cagebird trade (van Balen et al. 2013). Prior to 1990, Javan Green Magpies were observed erratically and in small numbers in trade: none were recorded among 150,000 birds in a market in Jakarta in 1989 (Basuni and Setiyani 1989). By 1992, 25 of 39 market surveys recorded the species and 320 individuals were authorised for export between August and December 1992 (Nash 1993). Many individuals were reported trapped from Halimun in the 1990s, with bird trappers specialising in the species (van Balen et al. 2013). By 2011, numbers in the markets had crashed and prices had rocketed, suggesting that the stock had already depleted. Only one record was moreover observed in surveys conducted in Pramuka market, Jakarta (Nijman et al. 2017).
The rate of decline for the period between 1990 and 2010 is believed to have exceeded 80%, a decline driven almost exclusively by trapping (van Balen et al. 2013, Eaton et al. 2015). Since this point, actual rates of decline are likely lower than at the peak of exploitation, as the population is at such a low base. However, there is no disincentive for trappers not to catch this species should they be fortunate and find some. Trapping pressure remains high on Java, hence declines are believed to be ongoing at a rapid rate, although the rate of such declines is difficult to estimate. Week-long ornithological surveys across 27 sites on nine mountains in West-Central Java between 2018 and 2020 failed to find the species (C. Devenish, A.R. Junaid and S. Marsden in litt. 2020).
Country/territory distribution
Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Javan Green Magpie Cissa thalassina. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/javan-green-magpie-cissa-thalassina on 23/11/2024.
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 23/11/2024.