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

Taxonomic note

Previously listed as Turdinus calcicola (del Hoyo and Collar 2016) but Cai et al. (2019) found it more closely related to Malacocincla and revived the genus Gypsophila for this and allied species. Formerly treated as conspecific with G. crispifrons following Sibley & Monroe (1990, 1993), but differs in its tawny central belly with white shaft streaks vs grey belly with white-and-dark-brown streaks (3); smaller, more organized black arrowheads on white throat (1); paler upperparts, wings and flanks (1); shorter wing (mean of 3 males 73.7 mm vs 15 male nominate 78.6; mean of 2 females 69 vs 15 female nominate 77.5; at least 1); song a short (0.7–1.5 s) phrase of 3–6 notes vs a much more protracted (4–30 s) phrase of at least 16 notes, commonly many more (at least 2) (Boesman 2016). Monotypic.

Taxonomic source(s)
Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International. 2021. Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 6. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v6_Dec21.zip.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	C2a(ii)

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2022	Vulnerable	C2a(ii)
2016	Vulnerable	C2a(ii)
2012	Not Recognised
2008	Not Recognised
2004	Not Recognised
2000	Not Recognised
1994	Not Recognised
1988	Not Recognised

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	5,500 km2
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	2500-6000, 2500-4000 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2020
Population trend	decreasing	-	inferred	-
Generation length	3.9 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: The population density of this species has not been directly estimated, however based on an assessment of known records and inferred densities (eBird 2022) and expert consultation (P. Round in litt. 2021), its density is believed to be no higher than that that of P. capistratum, which has been recorded occurring at c.23 mature individuals/km² (Francis & Wells 2003), and may be substantially lower (P. Round in litt. 2021). Round et al. (2021) identified only 174 km² of suitable habitat. Applying this density gives a total of 4,000 mature individuals. Accounting for uncertainties, the population is therefore estimated to number 2,500-6,000 mature individuals, with a best estimate of 2,500-4,000.

Trend justification: This species is inferred to be undergoing a slow, continuous decline because of quarrying for limestone in parts of its very limited range, a threat that has caused localised extinctions and is projected to do so in the future, with only 1.4% of the species' range formally protected in a national park (Round et al. 2021).

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	major	resident
Altitude	0 - 915 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Shifting agriculture	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Energy production & mining	Mining & quarrying	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Rufous Limestone-babbler Gypsophila calcicola. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/rufous-limestone-babbler-gypsophila-calcicola 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.