Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush Garrulax rufifrons is restricted to the mountains of west and central Java, Indonesia. It is currently classified as Near Threatened on the basis that it approaches the thresholds for Vulnerable under criteria A2cd+3cd; B1ab(i,ii,iii,v). It has a very small range, which is not severely fragmented, but within which it has become scarce as a result of exploitation for the cage-bird trade, as well as habitat loss in some areas. The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is described as uncommon (del Hoyo et al. 2007). Adequate data are lacking on the precise magnitude of declines, but the population is suspected to be in moderately rapid decline overall.
Recent information suggests that the threats faced by this species are greater than previously thought. The species is heavily trapped for trade, but published data on this are lacking (D. Yong in litt. 2012). It is also threatened by habitat loss and disturbance, and is likely to be impacted by climate change in the future (D. Yong in litt. 2012). As a result, this species may qualify for uplisting to Vulnerable under criteria A, B and/or C of the IUCN Red List. If there is evidence to suggest that the population is declining at a rate of at least 30% over three generations (estimated at c.14 years in this species [BirdLife International, unpubl. data]), it would qualify as Vulnerable under criteria A2cd+3cd+4cd. If the species’s range has become severely fragmented owing to on-going habitat loss, or it is found at ≤10 locations, this species would qualify as Vulnerable under criterion B1ab(i,ii,iii,v). If population estimates show that the population is <10,000 mature individuals, and it is continuing to decline by ≥10% over the past 14 years, it would qualify as Vulnerable under criterion C1, or if all subpopulations are ≤1,000 mature individuals, it would warrant uplisting under criterion C2a(i).
Very little is known from the majority of sites within this species’s range (D. Yong in litt. 2012); more details are required in order to determine its threat status. Further information is particularly welcome on this species’s population size, trends, distribution and the severity of threats.
del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. and Christie, D. (2007) Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions.
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