• 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., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	C2a(ii)

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2022	Near Threatened	C2a(ii)
2018	Near Threatened	C2a(ii)
2017	Near Threatened	C2a(ii)
2016	Vulnerable	C2a(ii)
2012	Vulnerable	C2a(ii)
2008	Vulnerable	C2a(ii)
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Threatened

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	medium
Land-mass type	continent	Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	150,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	6000-24000 mature individuals	poor	suspected	2022
Population trend	decreasing	poor	inferred	2016-2028
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-19%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-19%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-19%	-	-	-
Generation length	4 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: Based on density data from the Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Arabia (Jennings 2010) applied to the predicted area of suitable habitat, a revised population size is suspected to the fall into the band of 6,000-24,000 mature individuals. Jennings (2010) suggested a population size of 10,000 pairs. With evidence of some some altitudinal or latitudinal movements (Stagg 1984, Collar and Sharpe 2020) it is tentatively assumed that all mature individuals occur in one subpopulation.

Trend justification: Studies in Asir, Saudi Arabia have shown that the population has undergone a decline, perhaps due to temporary factors such as a recent drought in the region (M. Jennings in litt. 2016); this decline seems to be continuing across key habitats in upper elevational ranges of Saudi Arabia, with the species most threatened by loss of primary juniper forests, urban development, hunting and increases in natural predators (J. Judas in litt. 2022, M. Shobrak in litt. 2022). In Yemen, lopping and cutting of trees and shrubs, for fuel, fodder and building material were thought to be proceeding at unsustainable levels in many parts of Yemen in previous years (Bowden 1987, Scholte et al. 1991, O. Al Saghier via R. Porter in litt. 2022), causing a net loss of dense wooded cover. And although previously considered not to be targeted for food due to its inconspicuous nature (R. Porter in litt. 2017), the species may now be killed for food due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Yemen (R. Porter in litt. 2022), though this is uncertain. The species does however readily occur in urban habitats and may occupy fragmented woodlands (J. Babbington and P. Roberts in litt. 2016). Population declines are therefore not considered to exceed 20% over three generations and as such, the species is suspected to be undergoing a decline of 1-19%.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Saudi Arabia	Raydah escarpment
Saudi Arabia	Taif escarpment
Saudi Arabia	Wadi Turabah and Jabal Ibrahim
Yemen	Haraz mountains
Yemen	High mountains of Ibb
Yemen	Jabal al-Nabi Shu'ayb
Yemen	Jabal Sumarah
Yemen	Kawkaban - Shibam
Yemen	Mahwit
Yemen	Wadi al-Birayn

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Plantations	suitable	resident
Artificial/Terrestrial	Rural Gardens	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	resident
Altitude	1200 - 3100 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Small-holder farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Species mortality
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Climate change & severe weather	Temperature extremes	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Causing/Could cause fluctuations		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects
Energy production & mining	Renewable energy	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Unknown		Causing/Could cause fluctuations		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Unspecified species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Causing/Could cause fluctuations		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem conversion
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Papio hamadryas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Causing/Could cause fluctuations		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species disturbance, Reduced reproductive success
Natural system modifications	Dams & water management/use - Dams (size unknown)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Unknown		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Residential & commercial development	Housing & urban areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Residential & commercial development	Tourism & recreation areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation, Species mortality
Transportation & service corridors	Roads & railroads	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

---

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Yemen Thrush Turdus menachensis. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/yemen-thrush-turdus-menachensis on 23/11/2024.
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 23/11/2024.