This endemic species is uncommon. It inhabits coastal forests of the Nicobar Islands in India, elevating up to 600m asl. This species has gone extinct in Myanmar (BirdLife International 2016).

Conservation Status:

This species is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (https://www.iucnredlist.org/).


According to the IUCN Red List Assessment, the population of this species is declining, with the current population size estimated at 750-1,500 individuals. The threat to its persistence comes from habitat degradation due to large-scale agriculture and other human encroachments. The majority of loss of this species might have happened after the 2004 Tsunami occurrence (BirdLife International 2016).