Current view: Data table and detailed info
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.
IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Red List history
| Migratory status |
full migrant |
Forest dependency |
high |
| Land-mass type |
continent
|
Average mass |
- |
Population justification: In 2004, the population was thought to number 3,000-6,000 individuals, although more recent systematic counts gave a potential global population of 2,097 individuals (Cruz-Nieto et al. 2012). According to Ortiz-Maciel and Cruz-Nieto (2004), an estimate of up to 140 nests in the Bisaloachic-Cebadillas region represented c.10% of the total known breeding population then, which equates to 2,800 mature individuals. However, these figures may represent an over-estimate, as not all of the nest cavities surveyed are used every year (M. A. Cruz-Nieto et al. in litt. 2007). Surveys in 2011 found 177 breeding pairs, estimated to be potentially 42% of the breeding population (Cruz-Nieto et al. 2011), which equates to roughly 840 mature individuals. Systematic counts in 2012 gave a potential global population of 2,097 individuals (Cruz-Nieto et al. 2012). The total population is here therefore placed in the band 840-2,800 mature individuals. A more recent estimate of the population size is however required.
Due to its migratory behaviour, the species is assumed to function as one subpopulation.
Trend justification: The species is undergoing a large, significant decline (Partners in Flight 2019). Anecdotal evidence suggest a continued general decline in flock sizes and the frequency of sightings throughout its range, including local extinctions at formerly occupied sites (Ortiz-Maciel and Cruz-Nieto 2004; Snyder et al. 2020). The main drivers of the decline are thought to be the clearance and degradation of its habitat, in particular the loss of breeding sites, as well as illegal capture for the bird trade (Snyder et al. 2020).
In 1995, the population was estimated at between 1,000-4,000 mature individuals (Lammertink et al. 1996). In 2004, the population was thought to number 3,000-6,000 individuals, including c.2,800 mature individuals (Ortiz-Maciel and Cruz-Nieto 2004). This may however have been an overestimation (M. A. Cruz-Nieto et al. in litt. 2007), and survey data from 2011 suggest a population of roughly 840 mature individuals (Cruz-Nieto et al. 2011). Assuming that declines are exponential, the species has declined by >30% over the past three generations (31.5 years). To account for the uncertainty around the population estimates, the rate of past decline is here tentatively placed in the band 30-49% over the last three generations.
Climate change may additionally impact on habitat availability for this species, particularly during the breeding season: depending on the climate change scenario, the climatically suitable area for the species may shrink to only 25-70% of the current extent by 2090 (Monterrubio-Rico et al. 2015). Under the assumption that population declines are roughly equivalent to habitat loss, this would equate to a decline of 13-44% over three generations, starting from 2015. Declines may however be exacerbated by the impacts of trapping, and it is therefore inferred that the population declines at 30-49% over the next three generations.
Country/territory distribution
Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Thick-billed Parrot Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/thick-billed-parrot-rhynchopsitta-pachyrhyncha 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.
