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

Taxonomic note
Larvivora ruficeps (del Hoyo and Collar 2016) was previously placed in the genus Luscinia following Sibley and 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
-	C2a(ii)	C2a(i,ii)

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2016	Endangered	C2a(ii)
2013	Endangered	C2a(ii)
2012	Vulnerable	C2a(i)
2008	Vulnerable	C2a(i)
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Threatened

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	medium
Land-mass type	continent	Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	101,000 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	2,000 km2	medium
Number of locations	11-100	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	1000-2499 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2013
Population trend	decreasing	poor	inferred	1998-2008
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	10-19%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	10-19%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	10-19%	-	-	-
Generation length	4.2 years	-	-	-

Population justification: This species's population was previously estimated to number 2,500-9,999 mature individuals, based on an analysis of records by BirdLife International (2001), but that the paucity of records suggests that it is probably highly localised in distribution and may have a considerably smaller total population. For the first time in recent years no singing males were recorded at Jiuzhaigou during 2016 (Zhao et al. 2016, Min Zhao in litt. 2016). Three males were present in Jiuzhaigou in 2015, and a single individual was observed at an adjacent site (V. Fu in litt. 2016). The species clearly has a very narrow ecological tolerance, being found only within a specific habitat type occurring in a very narrow elevation range. The alarming paucity of recent sightings suggests that the population estimate should be placed in the band 1,000-2,499 mature individuals, roughly equivalent to 1,500-3,800 individuals in total. All mature individuals are assumed to belong to a single subpopulation.

Trend justification: A moderate and on-going population decline is suspected, owing to habitat loss and degradation within the species's range coupled with the potentially severe impact of capture for the cage bird trade.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
China (mainland)	extant	native		yes
Malaysia	extant	native			yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
China (mainland)	Baiyang Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Taibai Shan Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Wanglang Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Xiaohegou Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Xuebaoding Nature Reserve

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Temperate	major	breeding
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	suitable	non-breeding
Shrubland	Temperate	major	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Seasonal/Intermittent/Irregular Rivers/Streams/Creeks	major	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Seasonal/Intermittent/Irregular Rivers/Streams/Creeks	major	non-breeding
Altitude	2400 - 2800 m	Occasional altitudinal limits	(min) 2030 m

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Unknown		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species disturbance, Species mortality
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
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 Ecosystem degradation
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	Dams & water management/use - Dams (size unknown)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

---

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Rufous-headed Robin Larvivora ruficeps. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/rufous-headed-robin-larvivora-ruficeps on 23/11/2024.
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 23/11/2024.