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

Taxonomic note

Artisornis moreaui and A. sousae (del Hoyo and Collar 2016) were previously lumped as A. moreaui following Dowsett & Forbes-Watson (1993) and Sibley & Monroe (1990, 1993).

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); D	B1ab(ii,iii)+2ab(ii,iii); D1

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2022	Endangered	B1ab(ii,iii)
2016	Endangered	D
2012	Not Recognised
2008	Not Recognised
2004	Not Recognised
2000	Not Recognised
1994	Not Recognised
1988	Not Recognised

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	high
Land-mass type		Average mass	9 g

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	810 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	652 km2
Number of locations	3-5	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	50-249 mature individuals	poor	suspected	2016
Population trend	decreasing	poor	suspected	2016-2026
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	2-11%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	2-11%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	2-11%	-	-	-
Generation length	2.63 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1-3	-	-	-

Population justification: When the population was rediscovered in 2001, it was suggested that there were likely to be >50 individuals, based on an estimate of suitable habitat in the Njesi Plateau (Ryan and Spottiswoode 2003). A further visit in 2011 found that the population could be of a 'reasonable size' and probably numbered in the hundreds (J. McEntee in litt. 2016). Surveys in 2016 extended the range of the species to Mount Sanga and Mount Chitagel, and additional surveys of unexplored mountains nearby are important to understanding of this species (Jones et al. 2020). Based on this information, the population is placed in the range of 50-249 mature individuals, which is the equivalent of 75-373 individuals, rounded to 75-400 individuals.

Trend justification: The Njesi Plateau is undisturbed by humans and is rarely ever visited, and thus it was assumed the population trend could be stable (Ryan and Spottiswoode 2003). However, tree cover loss within the total known range is currently estimated at 2-11% over ten years (Global Forest Watch 2021, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein). The species is highly forest dependent, inhabiting the forest canopy, and therefore is suspected to be declining at a similar rate to forest cover loss.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Mozambique	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Mozambique	Njesi plateau

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	major	resident
Altitude	1430 - 1850 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion, Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Trend Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Mozambique Forest-warbler Artisornis sousae. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/mozambique-forest-warbler-artisornis-sousae on 28/11/2024.
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 28/11/2024.