Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species is suspected to have a small population size, with small subpopulations that are isolated due to the destruction and fragmentation of its forest habitat. It appears to have disappeared from some localities and so the population size is inferred to be declining. It is likely to have a small area of occupancy that is declining owing to deforestation. The number of locations is likely to be small, but greater than ten, and the species's population is fragmented, but not severely so. For these reasons, the species is listed as Near Threatened.
Population justification
No direct estimates of the species's population size or population density are available. The species has been recorded at few localities in recent decades. It was listed as uncommon in Sooretama Biological Reserve during fieldwork in 1981 (Scott and Brooke 1985), but there have been no records since 2003 (GBIF.org 2021). It is apparently quite local within Augusto Ruschi Biological Reserve (Whitney et al. 1995). A study at Rio Doce State Park found that the species was more than twice as abundant in primary forest than in secondary forest (Loures-Riberio et al. 2011).
Based on the minimum and first quartile density estimates for three species of Neopelma and Tyranneutes (2.1-8.0 individuals/km2), the estimated area of tree cover with at least 75% canopy cover within the species's mapped extant range in 2020 (c. 700 km2; Global Forest Watch 2021), and assuming that tree cover to be 75-100% occupied, the population size is here tentatively suspected to fall within the range 1,000 - 6,000 individuals, roughly equating to 700-4,000 mature individuals. Since this figure is based on the area of tree cover in forest fragments with recent records, and there are likely to be further occupied forest patches without records, the true population size is likely to be larger.
The species is restricted to small and isolated remnants of forest, which are likely to hold isolated subpopulations. Based on the distribution of forest fragments where the species has been recently recorded, the number of subpopulations is suspected to fall in the range 5-12, although this may also be an underestimate.
The largest contiguous intact block of forest with recent records is Rio Doce State Park. This site is estimated to hold approximately 323 km2of tree cover with at least 75% canopy cover in 2020 (Global Forest Watch 2021), which may equate to a population size of 300-1,800 mature individuals, representing approximately 45% of the total population. The second largest contiguous intact block of forest with recent records is Augusto Ruschi Biological Reserve, together with nearby forest fragments around Santa Teresa. This site is estimated to hold approximately 145 km2 of tree cover with at least 75% canopy cover in 2020 (Global Forest Watch 2021), which may equate to a population size of 150-780 mature individuals. These two subpopulations are suspected to be viable and to collectively hold more than 60% of the total population, suggesting that the species's population is not severely fragmented.
Trend justification
It was formerly more widespread, but its range has contracted as a result of the extensive deforestation of the Atlantic forest. Local extinctions have occurred in coastal Bahia and in Rio de Janeiro state (Marques et al. 2018). The population size is therefore inferred to be declining. According to remote sensing data on tree cover loss, approximately 4% of tree cover with at least 75% canopy cover was lost from the species's mapped extant range over the past decade to 2020 (Global Forest Watch 2021). The species is projected to lose over 70% of its current distribution by the middle of the 21st century due to climate change (which may equate to a reduction of c.14% per decade if at a constant rate; Anciães and Peterson 2006). Based on the above information, the rate of decline is placed in the band 1-19% per decade.
Neopelma aurifrons is found in the Atlantic forest of south-east Brazil, in the states of Bahia, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo and possibly Rio de Janeiro. In Bahia, it has been recorded historically at six sites (Kirwan and Green 2011), including the Chapada Diamantina National Park, where it was last recorded in 1990 (B. Forrester in litt. 1990). All recent records from the state have been made in and around the Serra do Arrepio in Poções municipality (Marques et al. 2018, WikiAves 2020). In Minas Gerais, there are historical records from seven localities (Kirwan and Green 2011) and recent records from few localities, including Divisópolis, Acauã Ecological Station and an adjacent forest fragment (de Vasconcelos et al. 2004), Setubinha, Rio Doce State Park (de Vasconcelos et al. 2004, Loures-Ribeiro et al. 2011) and Peti Environmental Research and Development Station, Santa Bárbara (Faria et al. 2006). In Espírito Santo there are recent records from Augusto Ruschi Biological Reserve and nearby forest fragments adjoining eucaplypt plantations around Santa Teresa (Carrara et al. 2009), Duas Bocas Biological Reserve, RPPN Fazenda Boa Esperança (Bencke et al. 2006), Pacotuba National Forest (Marques et al. 2018), and from forest fragments close to the towns of Monte Verdes (GBIF.org 2021), Venda Nova do Imigrante (GBIF.org 2021), and São Francisco Xavier do Guandu (Pimenta 2014). There are historic records from Sooretama Biological Reserve (Whitney et al. 1995), where it was uncommon in 1981 (Snow and Sharpe 2015), but there have been no records since 2003 (GBIF.org 2021), despite many searches. In Rio de Janeiro it has been recorded near Anil, northeast of Rio de Janeiro city, where it was last recorded in 1995 (Snow and Sharpe 2015). Reports from other localities in Rio de Janeiro State are likely to relate to the very similar N. chrysolophum.
It inhabits the interior of primary and old, well-developed secondary lowland forest (usually numerous trees greater than 50 cm diameter at breast height nearby), sometimes foraging near forest edges, at elevations below 1,000 m. A study found that the species was more than twice as abundant in primary forest than in secondary forest (Loures-Riberio et al. 2011). Singing individuals perch on thin, horizontal branches in relatively open shaded areas in the understorey, usually 3.5-7 m above ground. Its diet is primarily comprised of fruit, but an individual has been seen to take a stick insect (suborder Phasmodea). It may nest beneath banks and under hanging roots, but this has yet to be confirmed (Whitney et al. 1995). It avoids moving through non-forest habitats between fragments of forest (Marques et al. 2018).
Its lowland forest habitat has been historically threatened by agricultural conversion, deforestation for mining and plantation production (Fearnside 1996). Current key threats to these forests are urbanisation, agricultural expansion, selective logging, dam construction, colonisation and associated road building (Dinerstein et al. 1995, de Vasconcelos in litt. 2007, Marques et al. 2018). The species may also be threatened by habitat changes caused by climate change; an analysis estimated that 73% of the species's potential habitat will be lost by c.2050 (Anciāes and Peterson 2006).
Conservation Actions Underway
It has been recorded in Augusto Ruschi, Sooretama and Duas Bocas Biological Reserves and Pacotuba National Forest in Espírito Santo (Whitney et al. 1995, Marques et al. 2018), Rio Doce State Park and Acauã Ecological Station in Minas Gerais (de Vasconcelos et al. 2004), and Chapada da Diamantina National Park in Bahia (B. Forrester in litt. 1990). The Divisópolis population is close to the 50,000 ha Mata Escura Biological Reserve. The species is considered Endangered at the national level in Brazil (MMA 2014). It is included in the National Action Plan for the Conservation of the Birds of the Atlantic Forest (ICMBio 2017).
13 cm. Dull greenish bird. Greyish-olive face and throat, grading to olive wash on chest, and pale lemon-yellow belly and vent. Crown and even nape generally slaty, contrasting with dull pale olive of upperparts, but sometimes shows yellow on centre of crown. Dusky wings and tail, fringed paler olive. Pale iris. Similar spp. Serra do Mar Tyrant-manakin N. chrysolophum is longer tailed, shorter billed and shows conspicuous yellow centre of crown. Voice Simple, four-syllable phrase, kiú kí-chru-chrrí, repeated regularly.
Text account compilers
Martin, R., Wheatley, H.
Contributors
Forrester, B., de Vasconcelos, M.F., Capper, D., Sharpe, C.J., Clay, R.P., Harding, M., Benstead, P., Symes, A. & Mendes Lima, D.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Wied's Tyrant-manakin Neopelma aurifrons. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/wieds-tyrant-manakin-neopelma-aurifrons on 26/12/2024.
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 26/12/2024.