Conservation

The Gray-bellied Comet is currently listed as Endangered by BirdLife International (2008) and ‘High Conservation Priority’ by Parker et al. (1996). The comet has a very small range, is currently known from only a few sites and appears to have been lost from parts of its former range, suggesting that the population and possibly the area of occupancy are declining (BirdLife International 2008). In this context, the species' inexplicable rarity (Schulenberg et al. 2007) indicates that the global population may well be very small (currently estimated at 250-999 individuals) and comprised of small but highly fragmented subpopulations across fragmented landscapes (BirdLife International 2008). See also Distribution.

The primary effect of human activity on the Gray-bellied Comet is to reduce habitat area or quality, through clearing of habitat. There has been major habitat loss throughout both the Maranon Valley Endemic Bird Area 048 and Peruvian High Andes Endemic Bird Area 051 due to cultivation, unsustainable burning and grazing regimes and various firewood/logging practises (Stattersfield et al. 1998). The effects of these disturbance regimes have not been quantitatively studied, but overall, the species appears tolerant, to a degree, of cultivated areas (Schuchmann 1999). See also Priorities for Future Research.