Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species has its stronghold in north-east India and adjacent Myanmar, throughout which it is thought to be declining because of habitat loss and degradation, and to a lesser extent, hunting. However, these declines are not thought to be rapid enough to meet or approach the thresholds for listing as threatened. Its population size has not been estimated but is suspected to be moderately large given the large extent of remaining suitable habitat. Moreover, a reasonable proportion of its range now lies in protected areas. Accordingly, its extinction risk is evaluated as being low and it is listed as Least Concern.
Population justification
The global population size has not been quantified, but the species has a large range, within which it is locally common (Madge and McGowan 2002, eBird 2023), such that its population size is unlikely to be especially small.
Trend justification
The population is precautionarily suspected to be slowly declining in response to forest cover loss and localised hunting, although even when combined, these threats are not believed to have been rapid over the past three generations (13 years: 2010-2023). Remote sensing data (Global Forest Watch 2023, based on data from Hansen et al. [2013] and methods disclosed therein) indicate that forest cover loss in this species' mapped range was equivalent to 4-7% over the past three generations (depending on the assumptions used). This rate of loss is broadly similar to that reported in Savini et al. (2021), who calculated a reduction of forest extent of 7.5% between 2000 and 2018, equivalent to approximately 5.5% over three generations. However, these authors used a different range map to that used here, and set the species' elevational limits at 600-1,200 m (here it includes lowland forest, from which there are records, especially in India: eBird 2023).
These calculations do not account for habitat degradation, although this species appears tolerant of habitat modifications, and even occurs in tea plantations, provided there is sufficient canopy cover. Consequently, habitat loss along is thought to have caused a reduction of 1-9% in population size over the past three generations. Hunting may be a localised threat (particularly in Myanmar, and away from protected areas), but this is unlikely to be driving substantial population declines. Considering both threats, the rate of population decline is set to 1-12% over the past three generations. There is no evidence to suggest that this rate will accelerate in the future, with an increasing percentage of the species' range now occurring in protected areas (Savini et al. 2021, UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2023). Given this species' tolerance of forest regrowth, declines are thought to be reversible.
Arborophila atrogularis is resident in north-eastern India (locally common in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura) (Birand and Pawar 2004), Bangladesh (very local in the north-east and the Chittagong Hill Tracts [eBird 2023]), Myanmar (widespread, uncommon to common resident in the north) and China (local in westernmost Yunnan) (BirdLife International 2001). Although not formally known from Bhutan (Spierenburg 2005), it is here mapped as occurring there very narrowly, given some suitable habitat in the Himalayan foothills, and its occurrence in immediately adjacent India.
It inhabits dense undergrowth in broadleaved primary and secondary evergreen forest, and sometimes adjacent scrub, bamboo, grassland and cultivation, most frequently below 750 m in India, but usually at 610-1,220 m in neighbouring South-East Asia.
It is principally threatened by habitat loss. Within its range, hill forests are diminishing slowly in extent and becoming fragmented because of shifting agriculture and logging, although this species is tolerant of habitat modifications, and this is thought to be causing only a slow rate of decline. Hunting and snaring of galliformes is presumably ongoing within its range, although much suitable habitat lies either in protected areas, or is very remote; this is therefore thought to be causing only negligible declines.
Conservation Actions Underway
None specific to this species is known, although it occurs in a large number of protected areas throughout its range (Savini et al. 2021), within which it is evidently quite common (eBird 2023).
Text account compilers
Berryman, A.
Contributors
Benstead, P., Mahood, S. & Taylor, J.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: White-cheeked Partridge Arborophila atrogularis. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/white-cheeked-partridge-arborophila-atrogularis on 26/11/2024.
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 26/11/2024.