• 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
-	A2acde+3cde+4acde	A2acde+3cde+4acde

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2019	Endangered	A2acde+3cde+4acde
2018	Vulnerable	A2cde+3cde; C2a(i)
2016	Vulnerable	A2cde+3cde;C2a(i)
2012	Vulnerable	A2cde+3cde;C2a(i)
2008	Vulnerable	A2c,d,e; A3c,d,e; A4c,d,e; C2a(i)
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1996	Endangered
1994	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)	828,000 km2	medium
Number of locations	11-100	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	1500-7000 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2000
Population trend	decreasing	poor	suspected	1998-2008
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-79%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-79%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-79%	-	-	-
Generation length	4.6 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	2-100	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: The population is placed in the band 2,500-9,999 individuals, equating to 1,667-6,666 mature individuals, rounded here to 1,500-7,000 mature individuals. The population in Argentina was estimated in 2015 at c.500-600 individuals (A. Di Giacomo in litt. 2015). In Uruguay, the population is probably <1,000 individuals (Azpiroz et al. 2012). The population in Paraguay consists of 2,000-3,000 individuals, and in Brazil of < 10,000 individuals (Fraga and Sharpe 2019).

Trend justification: A rapid decline in the global population is suspected, as a number of factors continue to threaten all subpopulations. Recent extensive fieldwork in Argentina revealed a sharp decline in numbers of all known populations, increased fragmentation and isolation of subpopulations, and confirmed the loss of all known breeding colonies in the IBAs. Extensive fieldwork during 2013-2014 in Argentina showed a rapid increase in known threats. As a result of the analysis of this new data, a reduction in the species’s population size was estimated at 80.4% over three generations in Argentina (A. Di Giacomo in litt. 2015). In Uruguay, the species is listed as Vulnerable at the national level (A. Azpiroz in litt. 2017), and hence the population there is assumed to decline at 30-49% over three generations. The trend in Paraguay has not been quantified and is difficult to estimate; while the species colonizes new areas (R. M. Fraga in litt. 2018), it is feared that in the worst case the population may mirror the overall trend in Argentina and decline at up to 80.4% over three generations (R. P. Clay pers. comm.). In Brazil, the species is listed as Vulnerable under Criterion C at the national level, suggesting a rate of decline of 10-49% over three generations (MMA 2014). Taking the different population sizes in the respective countries into account, on the global scale the species would decline at a rate of roughly 30-79% over three generations. Considering the high number of threats that the species is facing, we can assume that the true rate of decline is closer to the higher end of the estimate.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Argentina	extant	native		yes
Brazil	extant	native		yes
Paraguay	extant	native		yes
Uruguay	extant	native		yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Argentina	Azara
Argentina	Ceibas
Argentina	Cuenca del arroyo Garupá
Argentina	Cuenca del río Aguapey
Argentina	Estancia Mora Cué y alrededores
Argentina	Estancia Puerto Valle
Argentina	Extremo noreste de Corrientes
Argentina	Nandubaysal-El Potrero
Argentina	Pastizales de Ibicuy
Argentina	Perdices
Paraguay	Arroyo Tymaca
Paraguay	Arrozal Codas
Paraguay	Estero Cabacuá
Paraguay	Estero de San Mauricio
Paraguay	Estero Kuruñai
Paraguay	Estero San José
Paraguay	Estero Ypyta
Paraguay	Parque Nacional San Rafael
Paraguay	San Miguel Potrero
Paraguay	Tapyta
Uruguay	Castillos Lagoon
Uruguay	Eastern Wetlands
Uruguay	Grassland and wetlands of Negro River down basin
Uruguay	North "Quebradas" and grasslands
Uruguay	Quebradas de Treinta y Tres
Uruguay	Serranias del Este
Uruguay	Sierra de los Ríos

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	resident
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	resident
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded	suitable	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands	suitable	resident
Altitude	0 - 1100 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

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
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, Reduced reproductive success
Agriculture & aquaculture	Wood & pulp plantations - Agro-industry plantations	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses 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
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Molothrus bonariensis	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Natural system modifications	Dams & water management/use - Small dams	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Trend Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Species mortality
Pollution	Agricultural & forestry effluents - Type Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Residential & commercial development	Housing & urban areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	subsistence, national

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Saffron-cowled Blackbird Xanthopsar flavus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/saffron-cowled-blackbird-xanthopsar-flavus 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.