• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

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.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	A2cd+3cd+4cd; B1ab(i,ii,iii,v)

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2021	Vulnerable	A2cd+3cd+4cd; B1ab(i,ii,iii,v)
2016	Vulnerable	A3cd
2012	Vulnerable	A3cd
2008	Vulnerable	A3c,d
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Threatened

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2)	13,400	medium
Number of locations	10-20	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Value	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Number of mature individuals	65000-110000	good	estimated	2002
Population trend	decreasing	medium	inferred	2016-2031
Decline % (10 years/3 generations future)	30-49	-	-	-
Decline % (10 years/3 generations past and future)	30-49	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage in largest subpopulation	100	-	-	-
Generation length (years)	4.9	-	-	-

Population justification: Tobias and Seddon (2002) provided estimates of the species's population size using five methods, the most reliable of which yielded an estimate of 115,000 individuals. The other methods gave estimates ranging from 98,000-152,000 individuals, and these figures are taken as the species's population range. This is likely equivalent to 65,000-110,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification: This species is inferred to be declining owing to continuing habitat loss (Global Forest Watch, 2021), the likely rate of which is placed in the band of 30-49%.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding	Non-breeding	Passage
Madagascar	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Madagascar	Mikea

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	resident
Altitude	0 - 100 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Shifting agriculture	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Causing/Could cause fluctuations		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Climate change & severe weather	Other impacts	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Canis familiaris	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality

Purpose	Primary form used	Life stage used	Source	Scale	Level	Timing
Food - human	-	-			non-trivial	recent

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2023) Species factsheet: Monias benschi. Downloaded from http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/subdesert-mesite-monias-benschi on 02/10/2023. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2023) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://datazone.birdlife.org on 02/10/2023.