Based on a model of future deforestation, it is suspected that the population of this species will decline rapidly over the next three generations, and it has therefore been uplisted to Vulnerable.
SACC. 2006. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: #http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.html#.
Use of the genus Asthenes follows SACC (2010).
Schizoeaca helleri Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993), Schizoeaca helleri Stotz et al. (1996), Schizoeaca helleri BirdLife International (2004, 2008)
17-18 cm. Smallish, brown-and-grey ovenbird. Typical thistletail. Crown and upperparts, including wings, are a dull rufescent brown. The tail is paler, long and deeply forked. The underparts, including throat, are greyish. Voice A series of spluttering notes, first increasing in volume then fading at the end.
The primary threat to this species is accelerating deforestation; it is thought likely to be particularly susceptible to fragmentation and edge effects (Soares-Filho et al. 2006, Bird et al. 2011, A. Lees in litt. 2011). It has probably always had a small population, and has also been declining as a result of grazing and burning in its Andean timberline habitat (del Hoyo et al. 2003).
Conservation Actions Underway
None is known.
Conservation Actions ProposedExpand the protected area network to effectively protect IBAs. Effectively resource and manage existing and new protected areas, utilising emerging opportunities to finance protected area management with the joint aims of reducing carbon emissions and maximizing biodiversity conservation. Conservation on private lands, through expanding market pressures for sound land management and preventing forest clearance on lands unsuitable for agriculture, is also essential (Soares-Filho et al. 2006).
Bird, J. P.; Buchanan, J. M.; Lees, A. C.; Clay, R. P.; Develey, P. F.; YÃ©pez, I.; Butchart, S. H. M. 2011. Integrating spatially explicit habitat projections into extinction risk assessments: a reassessment of Amazonian avifauna incorporating projected deforestation. Diversity and Distributions: doi: 10.1111/j.1472-4642.2011.00843.x.
del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Christie, D. 2003. Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 8: Broadbills to Tapaculos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.
Soares-Filho, B.S.; Nepstad, D.C.; Curran, L.M.; Cerqueira, G.C.; Garcia, R. A.; Ramos, C. A.; Voll, E.; McDonald, A.; Lefebvre, P.; Schlesinger, P. 2006. Modelling conservation in the Amazon basin. Nature 440(7083): 520-523.
Stotz, D. F.; Fitzpatrick, J. W.; Parker, T. A.; Moskovits, D. K. 1996. Neotropical birds: ecology and conservation. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Further web sources of information
Explore HBW Alive for further information on this species
Text account compilers
Butchart, S., Ekstrom, J., Khwaja, N., Symes, A.
IUCN Red List evaluators
Butchart, S., Taylor, J.
BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Asthenes helleri. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 27/02/2015. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2015) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 27/02/2015.
This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.
To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife
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|Current IUCN Red List category||Vulnerable|
|Species name author||(Chapman, 1923)|
|Population size||Unknown mature individuals|
|Distribution size (breeding/resident)||43,400 km2|
|Links to further information|
|- Additional Information on this species|