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

Taxonomic note
Previously listed as Trichixos pyrropygus (del Hoyo and Collar 2016) but moved to Copsychus on the basis of unpublished genetic data (Per Alström, in litt. via WGAC) that support a broad Copsychus. Genus name is masculine, species name is adjective, so, despite original spelling, species name must be corrected to masculine form. Monotypic.

Taxonomic source(s)
Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International. 2022. Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v7_Dec22.zip.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2022	Near Threatened	A2cd+3cd+4cd
2016	Near Threatened	A2c+3c+4c
2012	Near Threatened	A2c+3c+4c
2008	Near Threatened	A2c; A3c; A4c
2004	Near Threatened
2000	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	high
Land-mass type	continent shelf island	Average mass	41 g

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	2,820,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	-	-	-
Population trend	decreasing	poor	suspected	2016-2026
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-29%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-29%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-29%	-	-	-
Generation length	3.4 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	3-100	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: The population size of this species has not been quantified. However, it is typically described as scarce to uncommon (Wells 2007, Mann 2008, Eaton et al. 2016) and in Sarawak, Borneo, a density of 10 birds/km² was recorded (Fogden 1976). Consequently, although the population size has not been estimated, it is not considered likely to meet or approach the threshold for assessment as Threatened (<10,000 mature individuals).

Trend justification: Suspected to be declining because of forest loss throughout its range. Over the past 10 years, forest loss in this species' range has been equivalent to 18–20% (Global Forest Watch 2022, using data from Hansen et al. [2013] and methods disclosed therein). Because this rate was similar between 2016 and 2020, with little indication this will slow in the future, the same rate is projected over the next three generations. As a forest-dependent species, the population is suspected to be declining at a rate broadly similar to the that of forest loss, although it can tolerate some degradation. In addition, this species is prized for the bird trade. Symes et al. (2018) assigned probability curves according to expert opinion on trade desirability in conjunction with accessibility (based on a distance to forest edge from remote sensed forest data) to determine likely rates of population loss over the next three generation or ten-year period: across the species' range, the estimated loss was 27% because of hunting alone, although this analysis had no term to account for reproduction, used a slightly longer three-generation time period (11.4 years) than that used here, and analysed only Indonesia where trapping pressure is at its highest; consequently, this figure may be overly pessimistic. Combining these data, the species is suspected of declining at an ongoing rate of 20-29%.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Malaysia	Belum-Temenggor
Malaysia	Bintang Range
Malaysia	Danum Valley Conservation Area
Malaysia	Endau-Rompin
Malaysia	Gunung Pueh
Malaysia	Kabili-Sepilok
Malaysia	Kinabatangan floodplain
Malaysia	Krau Wildlife Reserve
Malaysia	Lambir Hills National Park
Malaysia	Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary
Malaysia	Maliau Basin Conservation Area
Malaysia	Mulu - Buda Protected Area
Malaysia	Nakawan Range
Malaysia	Niah National Park
Malaysia	Panti forest
Malaysia	Pondok Tanjung Forest Reserve
Malaysia	Selangor Heritage Park
Malaysia	Similajau National Park
Malaysia	South-east Pahang peat swamp forest
Malaysia	Tabin Wildlife Reserve
Malaysia	Taman Negara National Park
Malaysia	Tanjung Datu-Samunsam Protected Area
Malaysia	Tawau Hills Park
Thailand	Bala Sector, Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary
Thailand	Hala Sector, Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary and Bang Lang National Park

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Plantations	marginal	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	major	resident
Altitude	0 - 900 m	Occasional altitudinal limits	(max) 1200 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	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Small-holder 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		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses 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		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Rufous-tailed Shama Copsychus pyrropygus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/rufous-tailed-shama-copsychus-pyrropygus 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.