Banggai Scops-owl (Otus mendeni) - BirdLife species factsheet

Banggai Scops-owl Otus mendeni

Current view: Data table and detailed info

Taxonomy

Taxonomic note
Otus manadensis, O. mendeni and O. sulaensis (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) were previously lumped as O. manadensis following Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993).

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
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2023	Near Threatened	B1b(iii)
2016	Vulnerable	C2a(ii)
2014	Vulnerable	C2a(ii)
2012	Not Recognised
2008	Not Recognised
2004	Not Recognised
2000	Not Recognised
1994	Not Recognised
1988	Not Recognised

Species attributes

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

Range

	Estimate	Data quality
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	3,000 km²
Severely fragmented?	no	-

Population

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	10000-40000 mature individuals	poor	suspected	2023
Population trend	decreasing	-	suspected	2016-2026
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Generation length	2.7 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1-5,2	-	-	-

Population justification: This species is confined to the island of Peleng (and Labobo) where it is described as 'fairly common'. Surveys conducted by Burung Indonesia (BirdLife in Indonesia) on Peleng found Otus mendeni at all 11 sites surveyed, including forest, plantations, palm thickets and woodlands (J. S. Udin in litt. 2023). In its range, approximately 1,800 km² of suitable habitat remains (Global Forest Watch 2023, based on data from Hansen et al. [2013] and methods disclosed therein). No precise density estimate for this species, or others closely related to it, are available, however densities of Otus are often relatively high on small islands (König and Weick 2008). Accordingly, a population size of roughly 10,000-40,000 mature individuals is suspected, equivalent to a combined density/occupancy of c.5-20 mature individuals/km², which is considered accurate, if not precise.

Trend justification: The population is suspected to be declining in response to ongoing habitat loss and degradation, although the rate of decline is difficult to determine. Remote sensing data (Global Forest Watch 2023, using data from Hansen et al. [2013] and methods disclosed therein) indicate that c.12% of forest cover has been lost from this species' range in the ten years to 2022. However, the species is tolerant of habitat degradation and has been recorded in plantations and thinly wooded habitats (Rheindt et al. 2010, 2014; Eaton et al. 2021, eBird 2023, J. S. Udin in litt. 2023), suggesting that forest cover loss may not be proportionate with population declines. Nonetheless, some forest losses are thought to amount to total clearance for agricultural land, and the species is therefore suspected of declining at an ongoing rate of c.1-9% over ten years.

Country/territory distribution

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Indonesia	extant	native	yes

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitats & altitude

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Plantations	suitable	resident
Artificial/Terrestrial	Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	major	resident
Altitude	0 - 1100 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threats & impact

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

Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]