It is listed as endangered as it is undergoing a rapid population decline due to rampant poaching for the cage-bird trade. For the past ten years, the rate of its decline has exceeded 50%. Male birds have black mask from lores to throat, while female ones lack mask.

This species is facing a rapid decline in the wild due to the exceptionally high rate of trapping to supply the cage-bird trade. This species is overly exploited and has become rare on the sites where it used to be found abundant.

Even though this species is distributed in a vast area, Irena puella turcossa only occurs in Java. By occurring exclusively in Java, this subspecies is facing imminent threats, such as poaching for cage bird trade and habitat loss due to human activities.

Kangean shama is distributed around Kangean Islands