Conservation and Management

Considered Least Concern by BirdLife International, but the latter organization treats this species as conspecific with the much more geographically widespread Clicking Shrike-Babbler (Pteruthius intermedius) (9 del Hoyo, J., and N. J. Collar (2016). HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ).

A restricted-range species: confined to the Java and Bali forest Endemic Bird Area (24 Stattersfield, A. J., M. J. Crosby, A. J. Long, and D. C. Wege (1998). Endemic Bird Areas of the World: Priorities for Biodiversity Conservation. BirdLife Conservation Series 7. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ). Forest on Java has been much depleted, however the majority of this damage was done prior to the 1980s, with rates of forest loss on the island now considered to be minimal (25 Global Forest Watch (2021). Global Forest Watch remote sensing tool. Global Forest Watch, Washington D. C., USA. Close ). Moreover, the Trilling Shrike-Babbler occurs in montane forests, at 1,000–3,000 m (perhaps historically also lower) that are now largely free from any ongoing loss, and many are protected within national parks including Gunung Gede, Gunung Ciremai, Gunung Halimun, and Gunung Merapi.

Although the songbird trade has and continues to devastate other bird populations on Java, there is no evidence that this species is in demand, although this should continue to be monitored.