• 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.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	C2a(i)

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Vulnerable	C2a(i)
2016	Endangered	C2a(i)
2012	Endangered	C2a(i)
2008	Endangered	C2a(i)
2006	Endangered
2004	Endangered
2000	Endangered
1996	Critically Endangered
1994	Critically Endangered
1988	Threatened

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	15,550 km2	medium
Number of locations	11-100	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	2500-9999 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2023
Population trend	decreasing	poor	inferred	-
Generation length	4.93 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	6-15	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: This species is evidently very scarce throughout its range, despite its low detectability. Surveys in 1996 and 1997 estimated densities of 0.48 and 0.24 calling males per km², respectively. The total area of suitable habitat within its known range was then estimated at 1,793 km², and on the basis of densities recorded, and the assumption that each calling male represents one pair (which may be an underestimate, given birds may move in groups, and it relies on high detectability), the total population was estimated at 860-1,722 birds (BirdLife International 2001). However, it has since been recorded at more sites, and surveys between 1998 and 2002 at Laojunshan Nature Reserve found higher densities of 4.24 ±1.77 individuals/km². Laojunshan has more recently been estimated to support at least 300-400 mature individuals (Fu and Chen 2017). Revising the area of suitable habitat to incorporate these records finds approximately c.2,000-2,500 km² of suitable habitat (data from Jung et al. [2020], analysed using sRedList [2023]). Accounting for the fact that not all of this will be occupied, the population size is placed in the band 2,500-9,999 mature individuals.

Trend justification: The main threat to this species is forest loss and degradation, which are mostly occurring at a small scale due to illegal logging, as well as bamboo and medicinal plant collectors. Localised hunting may provide additive rates of decline. Rates of overall decline have not been estimated, although are likely to be small. Recent rates of forest canopy cover loss have been slow, equivalent to 2-3% in three generations (Global Forest Watch 2024, based on data from Hansen et al. [2013] and methods therein), but the method used to generate these values is insensitive to habitat degradation which may be having compounding impacts, as might the threat of hunting. Rates of decline are highly uncertain, but while habitat loss has shown trends of slowing (in large part due to China's successful protected area network), climate change has been postulated to reduce the area of suitable habitat of this elevation-restricted species (see Lei et al. 2014).

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
China (mainland)	Cizhu
China (mainland)	Daqiao
China (mainland)	Dazhubao and Dafengding
China (mainland)	Heizhugou Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Mamize Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Pingshan Wuzhi Shan
China (mainland)	Wulianfeng
China (mainland)	Yarlung Zangbo Daxiagu Nature Reserve

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	major	resident
Altitude	1100 - 2250 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

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%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Gathering terrestrial plants - Unintentional effects (species is not the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species disturbance
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Unknown		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
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, Ecosystem conversion
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Unknown		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Sichuan Partridge Arborophila rufipectus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/sichuan-partridge-arborophila-rufipectus 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.