Estrilda rufibarba

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	PASSERIFORMES	ESTRILDIDAE

Scientific Name:

Estrilda rufibarba

Species Authority:

(Cabanis, 1851)

Common Name/s:

English	–	Arabian Waxbill
French	–	Astrild d'Arabie

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Published:

2012

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Butchart, S. & Symes, A.

Contributor/s:

Justification:
This species has a very large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

History:

2009	–	Least Concern
2008	–	Least Concern
2004	–	Least Concern

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species is endemic to Saudi Arabia and Yemen. It occurs in the mesic uplands of the Tihamah foothills (occasionally straying onto the lowland Tihamah proper (Jennings 1995)), including the eastern fringe of the montane plateau in Yemen (Christensen and Porter 1987). It is most frequently recorded in the southern Tihamah foothills and the lower slopes and Wadis of the western escarpments in Yemen. It is also found locally along the south coast of Yemen east to Wadi al-Jahr and, apparently disjunctly, in the extensively irrigated intensive agricultural areas of Wadi Hadramawt between Shibam and Tarim (Martins et al. 1996).
Countries:	Native: Saudi Arabia; Yemen
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is described as rare in southern Saudi Arabia and southern Yemen and slightly commoner in North Yemen (Clement 1999).
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	This species is highly social, and occurs from 250-2,500 m in fertile cultivated Wadis, plains, rocky hillsides and terraced slopes, usually with a dense cover of trees and bushes (Meinertzhagen 1954). The species roosts communally in this dense vegetation, and recently fledged juveniles have been recorded in May (Martins et al. 1996). It has become closely associated with regularly irrigated agricultural areas (especially cereal cultivation) which provide accessible drinking water. In a survey between July and September 1982-85, 73.5% of observations were in areas with flowing water. Modern irrigation techniques (increasing farmed areas adjacent to surface water) are beneficial to the species.
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater

Habitat and Ecology:

This species is highly social, and occurs from 250-2,500 m in fertile cultivated Wadis, plains, rocky hillsides and terraced slopes, usually with a dense cover of trees and bushes (Meinertzhagen 1954). The species roosts communally in this dense vegetation, and recently fledged juveniles have been recorded in May (Martins et al. 1996). It has become closely associated with regularly irrigated agricultural areas (especially cereal cultivation) which provide accessible drinking water. In a survey between July and September 1982-85, 73.5% of observations were in areas with flowing water. Modern irrigation techniques (increasing farmed areas adjacent to surface water) are beneficial to the species.

Systems:

Terrestrial; Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Recent use of imported agricultural machinery in Yemen has destroyed some traditional sites (Christensen and Porter 1987), particularly those in the Tihamah foothills (an area characterised by seasonally heavy precipitation and with a water table close to ground level for short periods annually) where local environmental factors used to maintain localised small marshes and damp areas with Typha stands until c.1985 when agricultural techniques began to change. Regular roost sites are being destroyed through burning and land-use change.

Major Threat(s):

Recent use of imported agricultural machinery in Yemen has destroyed some traditional sites (Christensen and Porter 1987), particularly those in the Tihamah foothills (an area characterised by seasonally heavy precipitation and with a water table close to ground level for short periods annually) where local environmental factors used to maintain localised small marshes and damp areas with Typha stands until c.1985 when agricultural techniques began to change. Regular roost sites are being destroyed through burning and land-use change.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2012. Estrilda rufibarba. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 24 May 2013.
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