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Blossomcrown (
Anthocephala floriceps) is being split: assessment of newly recognised taxa.
Posted on May 23, 2019 by Red List Team (BirdLife International)
Following a taxonomic reassessment, Blossomcrown (Anthocephala floriceps) has been split into Santa Marta Blossomcrown (A. floriceps) and Tolima Blossomcrown (A. berlepschi). Both species are endemic to Colombia. The newly defined Santa Marta Blossomcrown occurs on the northern and possibly southeastern slope of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta at altitudes of between 600 and 1,700 m. Tolima Blossomcrown is found in the Central Andes at altitudes of 1,200-2,300 m in the departments Huila, Tolima and Quindío. Both species inhabit humid premontane forests, but are also found in old secondary growth and occasionally even in coffee plantations and along roads or field edges (Hilty and Brown 1986, Renjifo et al. 2016).
The pre-split taxon was estimated to number 1,500-7,000 mature individuals. The population sizes of the newly defined taxa have not been estimated, but Santa Marta Blossomcrown is described as common to uncommon, while Tolima Blossomcrown is rare (Renjifo et al. 2016, Züchner et al. 2019). Considering the range sizes of the newly split species and the relatively higher rarity of Tolima Blossomcrown, we can tentatively assume that the population size of Santa Marta Blossomcrown is 1/3 of the pre-split size (i.e., 500-2,500 mature individuals), while that of Tolima Blossomcrown is 2/3 of the pre-split size (i.e., 1,000-4,500 mature individuals). These estimates are highly preliminary and may be corrected if more detailed data becomes available.
Both of the newly recognised taxa are under threat from forest loss, as they do not tolerate converted habitats (Züchner et al. 2019). Forests in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta have been heavily logged in the past, with only around 15% of the original vegetation remaining (Renjifo et al. 2016). However, an analysis of the rate of forest loss between 2000 and 2012 found that deforestation in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta was only minor (per Tracewski et al. 2016), indicating that the area of remaining forests is relatively stable, albeit small and fragmented. Similarly, forests in the Central Andes have been logged for agriculture since the 18th century (Stiles et al. 1999). Mature secondary forest patches are scattered and natural vegetation cover has been reduced by c. 85% between 1,900 and 3,200 m altitude (B. López-Lanús et al. in litt., P. G. W. Salaman in litt. 1998, 1999). Recent rates of deforestation in the area are very low (per Tracewski et al. 2016).
The pre-split species was listed as Vulnerable under Criterion C2a(i) due to its small and declining population, which was thought to consist of many small subpopulations (BirdLife International 2019). However following the taxonomic split, new estimates of range extent and population size suggest that both species warrant a thorough assessment, which is provided below.
