• 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.
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
-	C2a(ii)	B1ab(iii,v); C2a(i,ii)

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2023	Vulnerable	B1ab(iii,v)
2016	Endangered	B1ab(i,ii,iii,v)
2012	Endangered	B1ab(i,ii,iii,v)
2008	Endangered	B1a+b(i,ii,iii,v)
2004	Endangered
2000	Endangered
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Threatened

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	high
Land-mass type	continent	Average mass	4 g

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	3,370 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	2,680 km2
Number of locations	6-10	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	1000-2499 mature individuals	medium	suspected	2022
Population trend	decreasing	poor	inferred	-
Generation length	3.35 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: The species can be locally common (Heindl et al. 2020). In 1992 the population was suspected to number more than 2,000 mature individuals and to be declining. As there are no recent estimates, the population is tentatively placed in the band 1,000-2,499 mature individuals.

Trend justification: The population trend has not been directly quantified. Páramo grassland and high-altitude forests are burned and cleared for conversion into livestock pastures and agricultural fields, lowering the treeline and causing habitat loss and fragmentation (Tinoco et al. 2009). The species is not found in pastures and agricultural land (Tinoco et al. 2009), and as such the ongoing conversion of its habitat is inferred to cause a slow continuing decline.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Ecuador	Bosque Protector Dudas-Mazar
Ecuador	Cajas-Mazán
Ecuador	Yanuncay-Yanasacha

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	major	resident
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	suitable	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	suitable	resident
Altitude	3040 - 4040 m	Occasional altitudinal limits	(min) 1900 m

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Increase in fire frequency/intensity	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Transportation & service corridors	Roads & railroads	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		No decline		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

---

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Violet-throated Metaltail Metallura baroni. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/violet-throated-metaltail-metallura-baroni on 25/11/2024.
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 25/11/2024.