Summary Green Peafowl Pavo muticus , a dry forest specialist, has experienced declines across its range in mainland South-East Asia due to habitat degradation, habitat loss, and hunting. In Thailand, the species’ remaining habitats have been grouped into four strongholds where long-term viable populations are thought to persist. For two of these strongholds, extensive population estimates are available, but for the other two (north-western and eastern Thailand), only a single site-based estimate currently exists. To address the gap, additional density estimates were derived from distance sampling in OpLuang National Park (north-western stronghold) and the Phnom Dangrek Range (north-eastern stronghold). Remaining suitable habitats were identified using a Generalised Linear Model (GLM) and the threats these populations face were assessed. In the north-western stronghold, density was estimated at 0.51 calling birds/km 2 in OpLuang National Park, with suitable habitat covering 7,197 km 2 (2,657 km 2 within protected areas) and deforestation totalling 1,374 km 2 (963 km 2 consecutive hotspots, 377 km 2 sporadic hotspots, and 34 km 2 new hotspots). In the north-eastern stronghold, density was estimated at 0.93 calling birds/km 2 in three of six protected areas across the Phnom Dangrek Range, with suitable habitat covering 9,917 km 2 (3,518 km 2 within protected areas) and deforestation totalling 3,407 km 2 (1,954 km 2 consecutive hotspots, 1,142 km 2 sporadic hotspots, 309 km 2 new hotspots, and 2 km 2 persistent hotspots). Our results confirm the importance of both strongholds for the long-term survival of the species. However, they also highlight the need for improved management to systematically monitor larger portions of suitable habitat, enhance population growth, and mitigate threats from deforestation, fire, and hunting by feral dogs.
Sukumal et al. (Thu,) studied this question.