Is there any suitable habitat left for the Critically Endangered Gurney’s Pitta’s in Thailand? Implications for species management

Abstract

Summary Severe habitat loss has been widely suggested as the main cause for the near disappearance of Gurney’s Pitta across its range, with the species having been functionally extirpated from Thailand, and heavily reduced in Myanmar. Here we provide an overview of the decline in available habitat in the Thai portion of the range and the species prospects for reintroduction anywhere in Thailand. Little suitable habitat for the species has remained in the Thai part of its range since 1986, when the species was rediscovered and it has since declined to a level where viable populations cannot be found. Lowland forest (<150 m asl) has been heavily fragmented with most remaining habitat found in patches smaller than 1 km2 and only 13 ranging between 1 and 5 km2. Under current conditions, viable populations of the species cannot be reintroduced into the wild. However, maintaining a free-ranging, captive population may be possible as several of the remaining small habitat patches are legally protected, although they would require substantial management.