Data Zone
Justification of Red List Category
This recently-split hawk-owl is known from just a single small island, on which habitat loss and degradation have been extensive, owing primarily to clearance for agriculture. Remaining habitat is severely fragmented and in continuing decline, and the species is therefore classified as Vulnerable.
Population justification
The species is known from an island of 9,900 km2 but the amount of remaining habitat within this range is small and severely fragmented. The population size is preliminarily estimated to fall into the band 2,500-9,999 mature individuals, which equates to 3,750-14,999 individuals in total, rounded here to 3,500-15,000 individuals.
Trend justification
This species's population is suspected to be in decline owing to continued deforestation, driven by the expansion of agriculture, clearance for livestock, logging and mining.
Ninox mindorensis is endemic to the island of Mindoro, Philippines, where Siburan Forest/Sablayan Penal Colony holds the largest remaining area of lowland forest and may be critically important for populations of this and other endemic lowland birds (Brooks et al. 1995, Mallari et al. 2001, Rasmussen et al. 2012).
In the absence of specific information,the species is assumed to be similar to N. philippensis, which inhabits primary and tall secondary forest (König and Weick 2008). This species has been reported up to at least 1,400 m on Mount Halcon (R. Hutchinson in litt. 2016), and it is assumed to occur down into lowland forest too like N. philippensis (see König and Weick 2008).
Lowland forest destruction has eradicated almost all of this bird's habitat. In 1988, just 120 km2 of forest remained on Mindoro, only 25% of which was closed-canopy, and the island was predicted to lose all primary forest below 900 m within a few years. The forests at Siburan and Mt Iglit-Baco National Park are threatened by encroaching shifting cultivation and occasional selective logging. Dynamite-blasting for marble is a threat to forest at Puerto Galera.
Conservation and research actions underway
This species has been recorded from forest in Mts Iglit-Baco and Naujan Lake National Parks (Rasmussen et al. 2012).
Conservation and research actions proposed
Carry out surveys to assess the population size. Study the species's ecology and life history. Monitor population trends. Monitor the extent and condition of suitable habitat. Increase the area of remaining forest that is afforded protection. Initiate education and awareness campaigns to raise the species's profile and instil pride in local people.
Text account compilers
Symes, A., Butchart, S., Westrip, J., Ekstrom, J., Taylor, J.
Contributors
Hutchinson, R.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2023) Species factsheet: Ninox mindorensis. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 02/04/2023.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2023) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 02/04/2023.
