Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size may be small, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Population justification
The population is estimated to number 1,000-10,000 individuals, roughly equating to 670-6,700 mature individuals.
Trend justification
The population is suspected to be in decline owing to ongoing habitat destruction (del Hoyo et al. 1996).
Behaviour This species is an intra-African migrant (del Hoyo et al. 1996) whose movements are imperfectly known (Taylor and van Perlo 1998). It breeds during the rains in the southern tropics (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Taylor and van Perlo 1998) in solitary, territorial pairs (Taylor and van Perlo 1998) after which it migrates towards the equator during the dry season when much of its breeding habitat dries out and is burnt or grazed (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Taylor and van Perlo 1998). Habitat It is chiefly a grassland species and breeds in temporarily inundated short grassland at the edges of rivers, dambos, marshes, grassy flats and pans (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Taylor and van Perlo 1998). It shows a preference for nesting in seasonally moist to flooded grassland (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Taylor and van Perlo 1998) characterised by grasses such as Setaria anceps, Sporobolus pyramidalis, Eulalia geniculata, Eragrostis spp. and Bothriochloa insculpta (Taylor and van Perlo 1998) between 30 and 70 cm tall (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Taylor and van Perlo 1998) and flooded to maximum depth of 10 cm (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Taylor and van Perlo 1998) or surrounded by pools of shallow water (Taylor and van Perlo 1998). Diet Its diet is poorly known but appears to consist of small seeds (e.g. of grasses) and small insects (del Hoyo et al. 1996). Breeding site The nest is a pad or shallow bowl of grass (del Hoyo et al. 1996) placed in a tuft of sedge or perennial grass (often built in the crown of a burned tuft of Sporobolus pyramidalis, Setaria sphacelata or Aristida spp. when new blades around the perimeter are 20-35 cm tall [Taylor and van Perlo 1998]), usually above wet (though not flooded) ground (del Hoyo et al. 1996). Management information The species may tolerate light grazing of domestic stock on grasslands but does not occur in heavily grazed areas (heavy grazing and trampling by cattle may cause breeding pairs to depart prematurely from otherwise suitable breeding habitats [Taylor and van Perlo 1998]).
The species may be threatened in East and southern Africa by habitat loss as a result of overgrazing and the damming, drainage and cultivation of seasonal wetlands (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Taylor and van Perlo 1998).
Text account compilers
Butchart, S., Malpas, L., Ekstrom, J.
Contributors
Dowsett, R.J.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Streaky-breasted Flufftail Sarothrura boehmi. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/streaky-breasted-flufftail-sarothrura-boehmi on 22/11/2024.
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 22/11/2024.