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Oriental Magpie-Robin Had the Highest Cumulative Count in Hong Kong Bird-Market Surveys

Female Oriental Magpie-Robin in Kowloon Park, Hong Kong
Conservation · Trade & poaching

Oriental magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis) had the highest cumulative count of any species in a year-long survey of Hong Kong’s Yuen Po Street Bird Garden. Across 13 market visits between March 2018 and May 2019, researchers recorded 1,805 magpie-robin observations, with a maximum of 211 birds on a single visit.

The study documented 14,414 bird observations representing 210 species at Hong Kong’s only remaining legal bird market. Because the same birds could remain in shops between surveys, the authors treated the summed counts as a measure of market abundance rather than a count of unique individuals. Their minimum turnover estimate for oriental magpie-robin was 440 birds across the survey period.

Government import records showed that 4,305 oriental magpie-robins were officially imported into Hong Kong between 2017 and 2019, making the species the fifth most commonly imported bird in those records. The researchers also note that oriental magpie-robins have been among the most heavily imported and traded species in Hong Kong for decades.

Although the species is currently listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, the authors argue that the continuing volume of international and domestic trade warrants closer scrutiny. They support an earlier recommendation that the species should be assessed for possible inclusion in CITES.

Sources and image credit

  1. Dingle, C., Allcock, J. A., Tilley, H. B., Ng, S. O., Eaton, J., Shepherd, C. R., & Leupen, B. (2026). An assessment of the ongoing live bird trade in Hong Kong, an Asian wildlife trade hub. Global Ecology and Conservation, 67, e04144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2026.e04144Primary research article first available online 3 March 2026. Thirteen surveys of Yuen Po Street Bird Garden recorded 14,414 bird observations from 210 species. Oriental magpie-robin had the highest cumulative count at 1,805 observations, a single-visit maximum of 211 and a turnover estimate of 440. Official import records listed 4,305 oriental magpie-robins imported during 2017–2019. The article is CC BY-NC 4.0.

Image: j g — wild female oriental magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis) in Kowloon Park, Hong Kong, photographed 6 February 2009; Wikimedia Commons / Flickr; representative species image, not from the Yuen Po Street Bird Garden market surveys · CC BY 2.0 · Source

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