• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Justification of Red List category
This species has a relatively small and patchy range, and is scarce or local in most areas. It is therefore suspected to have a moderately small global population size. It is likely to be declining in some areas owing to habitat loss, and is therefore considered Near Threatened.

Population justification
The global population size has not been quantified. Anecdotal accounts suggest it is not as rare as previously thought in north-west Vietnam, it may be rather common on the Da Lat Plateau, and it is not uncommon in good forest on Hainan. Its status on the Kon Tum Plateau is uncertain (del Hoyo et al. 2008).

Trend justification
A slow and on-going population decline is suspected owing to on-going forest loss throughout the species's range. The magnitude of these declines may be relatively slight as this species is tolerant of logged forests.

This species is known from three or four widely disjunct areas: the Hoang Lien Son mountains in north-west Tonkin, the Da Lat plateau in southern Annam, Vietnam, the Kon Tum plateau of Vietnam and south-east Laos, and Hainan island, south-east China. There are recent records from Hainan, several localities on the Da Lat plateau, where surveys since 1990 have recorded small numbers, and the Xe Sap region in Laos.

This species occurs in primary and logged evergreen forest at 900-2,500 m.

The major threat throughout the range of this species is deforestation. Forest cover on Hainan fell from an estimated 8,630 km² (25.7%) in 1949 to c.2,420 km² (7.2%) in 1991, and much of the Da Lat plateau is being cleared by shifting cultivation, charcoal burning and fuelwood collection, factors that are intensifying after government re-settlement programmes.

Conservation Actions Underway
It occurs in several protected areas such as Bawangling and Jiangfengling nature reserves in Hainan, Chu Yang Sin and Ngoc Linh nature reserves in Vietnam, and Xe Sap National Biodiversity Conservation Area in Laos.

Conservation Actions Proposed
Conduct repeated surveys within the range to determine current distribution and abundance, as well as assess population trends and rates of habitat loss. Conduct ecological studies to improve understanding of its precise habitat requirements, particularly tolerance of secondary habitats and response to fragmentation. Effectively protect forest within the protected area network.

Text account compilers
Khwaja, N., Calvert, R., Mahood, S., Gilroy, J., Benstead, P.

Contributors
Pilgrim, J.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Yellow-billed Nuthatch Sitta solangiae. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/yellow-billed-nuthatch-sitta-solangiae 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.