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

Taxonomic note

Ceyx argentatus and C. flumenicola (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) were previously placed in the genus Alcedo and lumped as A. argentata following Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993).

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
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2022	Near Threatened	C2a(ii)
2016	Near Threatened	A2c+3c+4c
2014	Near Threatened	A2c+3c+4c
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)	180,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	1300-13000, 2500-9999 mature individuals	poor	inferred	2020
Population trend	decreasing	poor	suspected	2016-2026
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	5-15%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	5-15%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	5-15%	-	-	-
Generation length	2.7 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: No species-specific population estimate has been generated for the species. Other Ceyx species have been recorded at densities of 2–10 birds/km² (Bell 1982, Vernon 1985). In 2020, there was approximately 20,000 km² of forest (excluding plantations) left in the species' range (Global Forest Watch 2022, based on data from Hansen et al. [2013] and methods disclosed therein). Assuming C. argentatus  occurs at similar densities to other Ceyx and that approximately 5–10% of suitable habitat is occupied (a reflection of its status as uncommon [Allen 2020] and the fact large parts of forest will not have available water courses), the population likely numbers 2,000–20,000, or 1,300–13,000 mature individuals, with a best estimate of 2,500–9,999.

Trend justification: Forest loss in this species' range is equivalent to 5–10% over ten years (Global Forest Watch 2022, based on data from Hansen et al. [2013] and methods disclosed therein). Despite being somewhat tolerant of forest degradation, it is also likely impacted by riverine pollution. Consequently, the population is suspected of declining at an ongoing rate of 5–15% per decade.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Philippines	Agusan marsh
Philippines	Basilan Natural Biotic Area
Philippines	Bislig
Philippines	Liguasan marsh
Philippines	Mount Apo
Philippines	Mount Dapiak-Mount Paraya
Philippines	Mount Diwata Range
Philippines	Mount Hamiguitan (Tumadgo peak)
Philippines	Mount Hilong-hilong
Philippines	Mount Kaluayan - Mount Kinabalian Complex
Philippines	Mount Kambinlio and Mount Redondo
Philippines	Mount Kampalili-Puting Bato
Philippines	Mount Latian complex
Philippines	Mount Piagayungan
Philippines	Mount Sugarloaf
Philippines	Pasonanca watershed
Philippines	Siargao island

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Plantations	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha)	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls)	major	resident
Altitude	0 - 1000 m	Occasional altitudinal limits	(max) 1350 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%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Small-holder farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Wood & pulp plantations - Agro-industry plantations	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
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, Ecosystem conversion
Pollution	Agricultural & forestry effluents - Soil erosion, sedimentation	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Southern Silvery Kingfisher Ceyx argentatus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/southern-silvery-kingfisher-ceyx-argentatus 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.