VU
New Britain Sparrowhawk Accipiter brachyurus



Taxonomy

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN Red list criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Critically Endangered Endangered Vulnerable
- - C2a(ii)

Red List history
Year Category Criteria
2021 Vulnerable C2a(ii)
2018 Vulnerable C2a(i)
2016 Vulnerable C2a(i)
2012 Vulnerable C2a(i)
2008 Vulnerable C1; C2a(i)
2004 Vulnerable
2000 Vulnerable
1996 Vulnerable
1994 Vulnerable
1988 Threatened
Species attributes

Migratory status not a migrant Forest dependency high
Land mass type Average mass -
Distribution

Estimate Data quality
Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2) 69,200 medium
Number of locations -
Severely Fragmented -
Population and trend
Value Data quality Derivation Year of estimate
No. of mature individuals 2500-9999 medium estimated 2010
Population trend decreasing poor inferred -
Decline (3 years/1 generation past) - - -
Decline (5 years/1 generation past) - - -
Decline (10 years/1 generation past) - - -
Decline (10 years/3 generation future) 1-9 - - -
Decline (10 years/3 generation past and future) 1-9 - - -
Number of subpopulations 1 - - -
Percentage in largest subpopulation 100 - - -
Generation length (yrs) 4.48 - - -

Population justification: There have been few records, despite several surveys taking place in New Britain (Lecroy & Peckover 1983, Bishop & Jones 2001, Davis et al. 2018), suggesting that the species is localised and occurs at low population densities. From 415 hours of survey effort in New Britain in 1997-1998 and in 2010, the species was only observed once (Davis et al. 2018). However, it was recorded on four out of 13 days of surveys in forest on New Ireland (Beehler et al. 2001), so it may be more common in montane forest there, although the area of habitat is much smaller than on New Britain. Based on the area of habitat, the population has been estimated as 2,500-10,000 mature individuals (Buchanan et al. 2008, Davis et al. 2018), although it may be smaller (Davis et al. 2018).

Since congeners have been recorded crossing between islands (Mayr and Diamon 2001), the species is expected to be able to cross the 25 km between New Britain and New Ireland, and so is considered to have a single subpopulation (Davis et al. 2018).

Trend justification: Remote-sensed data on tree cover indicates that approximately 7% of tree cover with at least 50% canopy cover was lost within the species's mapped range over three generations (13 years) from 2006-2019 (Global Forest Watch 2020). Since the species is thought to have a high level of forest dependency (Buchanan et al. 2008), it is inferred that the population size is undergoing a continuing decline. The impact on the species's population size is not known, but based on the rate of deforestation, the species is suspected to have undergone a reduction of 1-9% over the past three generations. Assuming deforestation continues at a similar rate into the future, the species is suspected to undergo a similar reduction in population size over the next three generations.


Country/territory distribution
Country/Territory Presence Origin Resident Breeding Non-breeding Passage
Papua New Guinea extant native yes

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Country/Territory IBA Name

Habitats & altitude
Habitat (level 1) Habitat (level 2) Importance Occurrence
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland major resident
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane major resident
Altitude 0 - 1800 m Occasional altitudinal limits  

Threats & impact
Threat (level 1) Threat (level 2) Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Rapid Declines Medium Impact: 6
Stresses
Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest] Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Majority (50-90%) Slow, Significant Declines Medium Impact: 6
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest] Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Majority (50-90%) Slow, Significant Declines Medium Impact: 6
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation

Utilisation
Purpose Primary form used Life stage used Source Scale Level Timing
Pets/display animals, horticulture - - international non-trivial recent

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2023) Species factsheet: Accipiter brachyurus. Downloaded from http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/new-britain-sparrowhawk-accipiter-brachyurus on 08/06/2023. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2023) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://datazone.birdlife.org on 08/06/2023.