Hainan partridge  (Arborophila ardens)

The Hainan partridge is threatened by the rapid and extensive deforestation on the island in the past 50 years, severely reducing and fragmenting its range (3) (4). Forest clearance is mainly the result of excessive timber extraction, the replacement of forest by rubber plantations, shifting agriculture and the unrestricted cutting of wood for fuel and other uses (3). Although a logging ban has been enforced since 1994, helping to reduce the rate of forest loss on Hainan in recent years, illegal logging has been recorded. Illegal hunting for food also poses a threat to the Hainan partridge, even in protected areas (4). The island also has a rapidly growing human population in support of an expanding tourist industry, which may lead to additional future threats from development (5).

This bird is nationally protected in China and hunting is therefore illegal (4). The ban on logging primary forest has also lessened, though not eradicated, the pressure on this bird's habitat (3) (4). Populations have been recorded in Fanjia, Bawangling, Bangxi, Jianfengling, Jianling, Wuzhishan, Liulianling, Shangxi, Baishuiling, Nanwan, Diaoluoshan Limushan and Nanweiling Nature Reserves (3). The South China Institute of Endangered Animals started a successful Hainan Partridge captive-breeding programme in 1991, but for any future conservation programmes to succeed, habitat protection must remain a priority (4) (5).