Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
Rapid deforestation is occurring within the species's range. Although deforestation data from the last decade does not suggest a population reduction that would exceed the threshold for listing the species as Vulnerable under Criterion A, recent higher rates of tree cover loss suggest that the population reduction is likely to be greater over the next decade. Taking into account the potential additional impact of disturbance, the population reduction over the next decade may be greater than 30%. The species is therefore listed as Vulnerable.
Population justification
This species is described as 'fairly common' (Stotz et al. 1996) or rare to locally fairly common (Snow and Sharpe 2016). The nominate was found to be rare in surveys in Paragominas, E Pará, whereas subspecies eucephala was frequently encountered during similar work in Santarém, W Pará, which may indicate different degrees of sensitivity to disturbance (Lees et al. 2012). Based on the first-quartile and median population densities of closely-related species (3.15-11.2 individuals per km2) and the areas of forest with 30% and 50% canopy cover within the species's mapped range in 2010 (344,000 - 367,000 km2), and assuming 40-60% of forest is occupied, the population size is tentatively suspected to fall within the range 433,000-2,466,000 individuals, which roughly equates to 289,000-1,644,000 mature individuals. The population size is here placed in the band 250,000 - 1,500,000 mature individuals. Given that there are two subspecies, there are at least two subpopulations.
Trend justification
According to Global Forest Watch, around 14% of the area of tree cover with at least 30% canopy cover within the species's range was lost over the ten years from 2009 to 2019 (Global Forest Watch 2020). A continuing decline in population size is inferred.
An analysis of the impact of disturbance on forest species in Pará found that in private lands or sustainable-use reserves, the impact of disturbance on biodiversity was equivalent to that of an additional 51% loss of forest (Barlow et al. 2016). There appears to be a difference between the sensitivity to disturbances in the two subspecies, with L. i. iris prefering undisturbed forest areas and L. i eucephala often found in secondary forest (A. Lees, pers. comm. 2013, as cited in Dantas 2018). A study found a 46% reduction in the frequency of capture of the species after selective logging (Henriques et al. 2008). Assuming that the population size is proportional to the area of tree cover, and that the additional impact of disturbance may contribute up to 51% further loss, the population size is suspected to have undergone a reduction 14-24% over the past decade.
The rate of tree cover loss within the species's range was particularly high in 2016-2017 (Global Forest Watch 2020). Over four years from 2016-2019, there was a loss of approximately 8% of tree cover within the species range (Global Forest Watch 2020). Assuming this trend continues, on average, into the future, a loss of 21% of tree cover within the species's range is projected over the next ten years. Assuming that the population size is proportional to tree cover area, and that disturbance may increase the impact of deforestation by up to 51%, a population reduction of 14-31% is suspected over the next decade.
This species occurs in two disjunct populations in Amazonian Brazil. Subspecies L. i. iris occurs in central and eastern Amazonia in the Belém area of east Pará, east to north-west Maranhão and south to the Rio Xingu area, north-east Mato Grosso. Subspecies L. i. eucephala occurs in southwest Amazonia, south of the Amazon river and east of the lower Rio Tapajós, west Pará (Ridgely and Tudor 1994).
The species is found in the lower growth of humid forest and mature secondary woodland, mainly or entirely in terra firme forest (with no flooding), below 200 m (Ridgely and Tudor 1994). It appears to show some tolerance of habitat degradation (A. Lees in litt. 2011). There appears to be a difference between the sensitivity to disturbances in the two subspecies, with L. i. iris prefering undisturbed forest areas and L. i eucephala often found in secondary forest (A. Lees, pers. comm. 2013, as cited in Dantas 2018). A study found a 46% reduction in the frequency of capture of the species after selective logging (Henriques et al. 2008). The species has been recorded feeding on small fruits and insects (Kirwan and Green 2011).
The species is threatened by continuing deforestation as land is cleared for cattle ranching and soy production, facilitated by expansion of the road network (Ridgely and Tudor 1994, Soares-Filho et al. 2006, Tracewski et al. 2016, Global Forest Watch 2020). There have been very high rates of deforestation in Mato Grosso (23.6% of forest cleared by 1988) and Maranhão (19.2%), with large areas also being cleared in Pará (9.6%), due to road building, ranching and land speculation (Cleary 1991). Recent changes to environmental policy in Brazil are seemingly incentivizing farmers to clear more land, and the rate of clear-fell deforestation and wildfire intensity in Brazilian Amazonia have increased since 2018, with a 41% increase estimated for the state of Pará (S. Dantas in litt. 2020). The rate of clear-fell deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon in 2019 was 30% greater than that of 2018 (S. Dantas in litt. 2020, INPE 2019). A study has indicated that the disturbance from fire and logging can double the biodiversity loss caused by deforestation (Barlow 2016).
Conservation Actions Underway
This species is considered Endangered at the national level in Brazil (MMA 2014, Dantas 2018) and is included in the National Action Plan for the Conservation of the Birds of Amazonia (ICMBio 2015). It occurs in Amazonia National Park (Amazonas/Pará), Tapirapé and Gurupi Biological Reserves (Pará and Maranhão) and the National Forests of FLONA de Carajás, Tapajós, Tapirapé-Aquiri and Trairão, all in Pará.
Conservation Actions and Research Proposed
Expand the protected area network, ensuring connectivity between protected areas (A. Lees pers. comm. 2013, as cited in Dantas 2018). Effectively resource and manage existing and new protected areas. Conservation on private lands, through expanding market pressures for sound land management and preventing forest clearance on lands unsuitable for agriculture, is also essential (Soares-Filho et al. 2006). Research the species's ecology, distribution and sensitivity to forest degradation (Dantas 2018).
9 cm. Small, green-and-yellow manakin. Male predominantly bright grass-green, with yellow belly and undertail-coverts, whitish bill, yellow iris, and whitish crown and nape. Pale pinkish legs and yellow thighs. Female similar but with green crown and nape. Voice The male's call is a rapidly repeated chi-wir.
Text account compilers
Wheatley, H.
Contributors
Lees, A., de Melo Dantas, S., Sharpe, C.J., Symes, A., Ekstrom, J., Butchart, S., Fisher, S., Harding, M. & Khwaja, N.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Opal-crowned Manakin Lepidothrix iris. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/opal-crowned-manakin-lepidothrix-iris on 23/12/2024.
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 23/12/2024.