Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This newly split species is listed as Near Threatened because it is suspected to be undergoing a moderately rapid population decline owing to on-going habitat loss and degradation.
Population justification
The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is reported to be uncommon to locally fairly common (del Hoyo et al. 2002).
Trend justification
The population is suspected to be in moderately rapid decline owing to the on-going destruction and degradation of forest habitats across its range. The species's tolerance of modified and disturbed habitats suggests that the rate of decline is not higher than this.
M. funebris (incorporating mayri and parkesi) occurs on Catanduanes, Luzon, Marinduque and Polillo in the Philippines, in a variety of forest habitats, and is considered uncommon to locally fairly common in some areas (del Hoyo et al. 2002), for example in Subic Bay and the Sierra Madre (R. Hutchinson in litt. 2013).
The species is usually encountered singly or in pairs, in evergreen or secondary forest, forest edge, and near cultivations as well as in montane oak and pine forests, up to 1,600 m (del Hoyo et al. 2002, R. Hutchinson in litt. 2014). It forages in the upper storeys above 20 m, in both live and partly or fully dead trees and will descend to the understorey on trunks and large limbs. The breeding season is reported as March to May in Luzon and Pollilo (del Hoyo et al. 2002).
Deforestation in the Philippines is reported to have been very rapid in recent decades, and it is estimated that the country lost c.40% of its forest cover in the 20 years between 1970 and 1990 (Uitamo 1999). Data from ESSC (Environmental Science for Social Change) suggest that the area of closed-canopy forest in the Philippines decreased by c.44% between 1987 and 2002 (Walpole 2010). Encroachment affects protected areas, such as Bataan Natural Park, Luzon, where old growth forest is estimated to have declined by 65% between 1987-1993 and 2002 (per A. Jensen in litt. 2013). Forest is being lost principally for timber extraction and agricultural expansion (Suarez and Sajise 2010, Lasco et al. 2011), with other drivers being mining and development.
Conservation Actions Underway
This species occurs in Quezon National Park (del Hoyo et al. 2002) among other protected areas of differing designations.
Conservation Actions Proposed
Carry out surveys to assess the total population size. Use remote sensing methods to monitor habitat trends. Increase the area of suitable habitat that receives effective protection. Carry out habitat restoration.
Text account compilers
Butchart, S., Ekstrom, J., Martin, R, Symes, A. & Taylor, J.
Contributors
Hutchinson, R. & Jensen, A.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Northern Sooty Woodpecker Mulleripicus funebris. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/northern-sooty-woodpecker-mulleripicus-funebris 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.