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

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
-	-	B1ab(ii,iii,iv,v)+2ab(ii,iii,iv,v)

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Vulnerable	B1ab(ii,iii,iv,v)+2ab(ii,iii,iv,v)
2016	Vulnerable	A2c+3c+4c
2012	Vulnerable	A2c+3c+4c
2008	Vulnerable	A2c; A3c; A4c
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Threatened

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type	continent	Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	14,300 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	1,000 km2
Number of locations	7-20	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	2500-9999 mature individuals	poor	suspected	2023
Population trend	decreasing	poor	inferred	-
Generation length	2.86 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	4-5	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: Population size not estimated but described as scarce and local (Rasmussen and Anderton 2012). Historically was probably rather abundant in grasslands along the Brahmaputra floodplains, but habitat loss over the past 150 years has been considerable and population now heavily depleted. Recent records from only a handful of sites (Krishnan 2021, SoIB 2023, eBird 2024) and less than 500 km² of suitable habitat is estimated to remain (data from Jung et al. [2020], via sRedList [2023]). While a population density is not known, citizen science data indicate that even within suitable habitat it is relatively scarce and localised (although this evaluation is undoubtedly hampered by this species' low detectability when not singing). Although there are no robust data from which to estimate a population size, it is here precautionarily suspected to number 2,500-9,999 mature individuals.

Trend justification: Inferred to be declining, albeit probably slowly, in response to ongoing habitat pressures, principally in parts of its range that are not formally protected, or for which the protection is ineffective (Choudhury 2021, Krishnan 2021). Populations are greatly fragmented, and while it is evident the species is able to persist short-term in isolated pockets of habitat, the viability of these in the long-term is unknown.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Bangladesh	possibly extinct	native	yes
India	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Bangladesh	Lawachara / West Bhanugach Reserved Forest
India	Chirang Reserve Forest
India	Dibang Reserve Forest and adjacent areas
India	Dibru - Saikhowa Complex
India	Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary
India	Kaziranga National Park
India	Laokhowa and Burhachapori Sanctuaries
India	Maguri and Motapung Beels
India	Majuli
India	Manas National Park
India	Nameri National Park
India	Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary
India	Pakhui or Pakke Wildlife Sanctuary
India	Ripu Reserve Forest
India	Sessa Orchid Sanctuary

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	resident
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded	major	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Moist	suitable	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands	suitable	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Shrub Dominated Wetlands	suitable	resident
Altitude	0 - 500 m	Occasional altitudinal limits	(max) 800 m

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, 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	Livestock farming & ranching - Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Wood & pulp plantations - Agro-industry plantations	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Gathering terrestrial plants - Unintentional effects (species is not the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Climate change & severe weather	Storms & flooding	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Unknown		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Trend Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Marsh Babbler Pellorneum palustre. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/marsh-babbler-pellorneum-palustre on 22/11/2024.
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 22/11/2024.