• 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. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions 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
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2023	Near Threatened	B1b(iii)+2b(iii)
2016	Endangered	B1ab(i,ii,iii)
2012	Endangered	B1ab(i,ii,iii)
2008	Endangered	B1a+b(i,ii,iii)
2006	Endangered
2004	Endangered
2000	Vulnerable
1994	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1988	Near Threatened

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	medium
Land-mass type	continent	Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	1,460 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	1,200 km2
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	14000-37000 mature individuals	poor	inferred	2022
Population trend	stable	poor	suspected	-
Generation length	2.59 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: The species is described as uncommon to common, though seldom observed (Heindl et al. 2020). For its congener M. tyrianthina, population densities of 50 individuals/km² could be observed in rural areas, of 70 individuals/km² in undisturbed forest, and of 130 individuals/km² in shrubland (Renjifo et al. 2016). Assuming that these densities are representative for this species and that 50% of the mapped range is occupied (i.e., 425 km²), the global population may number 21,250-55,250 individuals. This roughly equates to 14,000-37,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification: The population trend has not been investigated. Within the range, tree cover loss is negligible (<1% over ten years; Global Forest Watch 2022, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein). The species is however not exclusively restricted to forests; it is also found along borders as well as in páramo and shrubland, which are suffering from some degradation in parts of the range (Heindl et al. 2020). Nevertheless, much habitat remains in pristine and inaccessible conditions (Heindl et al. 2020). Therefore, even though habitat degradation may be ongoing locally and slowly, there is currently no evidence that this is driving a population decline. As such, the population is tentatively suspected to be stable.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Colombia	Cerro Pintado (Serranía de Perijá)
Venezuela	Parque Nacional Perijá
Venezuela	Zona Protectora San Rafael de Guasare

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	suitable	resident
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	suitable	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	major	resident
Altitude	2400 - 3200 m	Occasional altitudinal limits	640 - 3390 m

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Small-holder farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Energy production & mining	Mining & quarrying	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Increase in fire frequency/intensity	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Residential & commercial development	Housing & urban areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Perija Metaltail Metallura iracunda. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/perija-metaltail-metallura-iracunda 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.