• 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.
SACC. 2005 and updates. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	D	D1+2

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2020	Endangered	D
2016	Endangered	D
2012	Endangered	D
2011	Endangered	D1
2010	Critically Endangered	B1a+b(i,ii,iii); B2a+b(i,ii,iii)
2009	Critically Endangered	B1a+b(i,ii,iii); B2a+b(i,ii,iii)
2008	Critically Endangered
2006	Critically Endangered
2004	Critically Endangered
2000	Critically Endangered
1996	Critically Endangered
1994	Critically Endangered
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)	36 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	36 km2
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	160-226 mature individuals	good	observed	2020
Population trend	stable	good	observed	-
Generation length	3.1 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: Since 2009, 80-113 territories have been recorded in each year (D. Wege in litt. 2009; H. M. Schaefer in litt. 2020). The total population hence numbers 160-226 mature individuals. This is roughly equivalent to 240-340 individuals in total.

Trend justification: The number of occupied territories has been surveyed annually since 1999. 12-22 territories were counted in 1999, 15-27 territories in 2000, 35-37 territories in 2001, 20-35 territories in 2002, 30-34 territories in 2003, 42-45 territories in 2004, 50-52 territories in 2005, 59-61 territories in 2006 and 81-83 territories in 2007 (N. Krabbe in litt. 2007). In 2008, there were an estimated 110-120 occupied territories (M. Juiña in litt. 2008), and in 2009 the number of occupied territories was estimated at 113 (Krabbe et al. 2011). Counts of singing males found 99 in 2011, 107 in 2012 and 112 in 2013 (S. Hartmann in litt. 2014). In 2018 and 2019, 75 and 83 territories were counted respectively, albeit with lower observation effort as compared to previous years, so that the population is currently estimated at c.100 pairs (H. M. Schaefer in litt. 2020). An extremely rapid increase has occurred between 2003 and 2009, but the species has now reached carrying capacity within the Yunguilla Reserve (Hartmann et al. 2017; H. M. Schaefer in litt. 2020). Increases beyond the current population size are limited by habitat availability (H. M. Schaefer in litt. 2020).

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Ecuador	Yunguilla Reserve

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	resident
Altitude	1650 - 2100 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Climate change & severe weather	Droughts	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Molothrus bonariensis	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Whole (>90%)		Rapid Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Increase in fire frequency/intensity	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species mortality

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Pale-headed Brushfinch Atlapetes pallidiceps. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/pale-headed-brushfinch-atlapetes-pallidiceps 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.