Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species is restricted to a small range, in which logging is reducing the area of suitable habitat and leading to a population decline. The population is however not considered to be severely fragmented or occurring at a limited number of locations. The population size is unknown, but suspected to be small. The species is therefore listed as Near Threatened.
Population justification
There is no information on the population size. In view of its small range, it is suspected that the population may be small, numbering between 250 and 999 mature individuals. Surveys to confirm these numbers are urgently required.
The subpopulation structure has not been investigated. Based on observational records (per eBird 2021) it is suspected that the species forms at least four, but likely not more than ten, disjunct subpopulations.
Trend justification
At previously occupied sites, the species has declined or disappeared following the logging of mangroves and humid forests (Lebbin et al. 2020).
Over three generations (14.7 years; Bird et al. 2020), around 4% of tree cover is lost within the range (Global Forest Watch 2020, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein). Given that this species is strictly forest-dependent, the degradation and fragmentation of forests may exacerbate the rate of decline. The rate of population decline is therefore precautionarily placed in the band 1-19% over three generations.
Carpodectes antoniae occurs on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and westernmost Panama. The northernmost records are from the mouth of the río Tárcoles, and the nearby Carara Biological Reserve and La Cangreja National Park, Puriscal inland (Jiménez and Carrillo 2016). About 40 km to the south, it has been recorded at Parrita and the nearby estuary of the río Palo Seco. The stronghold is probably the area of the Golfo Dulce and the Osa peninsula (see eBird 2021). The río Sierpe and its estuaries are probably the principal nesting areas, and it also occurs at Golfito, Rincón, Puerto Jimenez, and in small number at ríos Esquinas and Coto and possibly at Carara (E. Jones in litt. 2012). There are only few recent records in Panama: it has been recorded infrequently on the Burica Peninsula, but these non-coastal records are thought to refer to wandering individuals (Angehr 2000, 2003). In 1997, resident populations were discovered at Cerro Batipa and the adjacent David Mangroves, and Playa de la Barqueta Agrícola Wildlife Refuge, Chiriquí (Angehr 2000, 2003), where it continues to be seen regularly (Jones et al. 2009). In the early 2000s, there was a sighting from the Golfo de Montijo to the east (G. R. Angehr in litt. 2007) but the species has not been recorded there since. In the 1920s, a (now lost) specimen was apparently taken near Aguadulce, Panama, c.200 km east of the currently known range.
It primarily occurs in extensive mangroves, but also lowland forest or scrub adjacent to mangroves and occasionally isolated trees in nearby clearings or pastures, evidencing its use of the mangrove-forest ecotone (Jones et al. 2009, Leavelle et al. 2015). Post-breeding wanderers have been found in foothill forest, and there is one record of displaying males at 760 m. It may require both mangroves and lowland and foothill forest for survival (Jones et al. 2014, Lebbin et al. 2020), although it persists in mangrove areas in Panama where there is little or no adjacent lowland forest. The breeding season is probably January-June (Leavelle et al. 2015, Lebbin et al. 2020). It feeds on a variety of fruits, including those of Ocotea rivularis and pava tree Schefflera morototoni (Angehr 2000, 2003; Jones et al. 2014).
Mangroves are being cut down and converted to shrimp nurseries, salt ponds, rice cultivation and ranching, and are used for charcoal production and as poles for light construction. Currently, tree cover within the range is lost at a rate of 4% over three generations (Global Forest Watch 2021, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein). Dyke and road construction have affected the hydrology at several sites. Lowland and foothill forests inland from mangroves have largely been removed, especially in Panama (Ridgely and Gwynne 1989, G. R. Angehr in litt. 1998). Currently occupied sites may be lost in the future to infrastructure developments. Though rates of mangrove deforestation seem to have slowed in recent years, protection of the habitat is still minimal and ineffective (G. R. Angehr in litt. 2007).
Conservation Actions Underway
The species occurs in several protected areas throughout its range, including in Piedras Blancas, Carara, Corcovado and La Cangreja National ParkNational Parks, Golfito Wildlife Refuge and Térraba-Sierpe National Wetland in Costa Rica (Jiménez and Carrillo 2016, Lebbin et al. 2020), and in the private Cerro Batipa Reserve and Playa de la Barqueta Agrícola Wildlife Refuge in Panama (Angehr 2000, 2003). Based on historical sightings, the species also almost certainly has occurred in the Golfo de Montijo Wetland of International Importance protected area, although there are no recent sightings from this area (G. R. Angehr in litt. 2007, 2020). Cutting mangroves is illegal in Costa Rica and Panama, but this law is widely ignored.
21.5 cm. Striking white cotinga. Male has slight grey tinge to upperparts, and slightly bluish-grey crown. Bright yellow bill with black line along culmen. Female ashy-grey, but darker on forehead and crown. Blackish wings and tail, with broadly edged white wing-coverts and secondaries. Pale grey throat and breast becoming paler in vent. White eye-ring. Black bill with yellow base. Voice Dove-like cah or cow.
Text account compilers
Hermes, C., Everest, J.
Contributors
Angehr, G., Capper, D., Jones, E., Leavelle, K., Mahood, S., Pople, R., Sharpe, C.J. & Stiles, F.G.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Yellow-billed Cotinga Carpodectes antoniae. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/yellow-billed-cotinga-carpodectes-antoniae on 23/12/2024.
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 23/12/2024.