Data Zone
Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
Cramp, S. and Simmons, K.E.L. (eds). 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
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.
| Critically Endangered | Endangered | Vulnerable |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | - |
| Year | Category | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Least Concern | |
| 2016 | Least Concern | |
| 2012 | Least Concern | |
| 2009 | Least Concern | |
| 2008 | Least Concern | |
| 2004 | Least Concern | |
| 2000 | Lower Risk/Least Concern | |
| 1994 | Lower Risk/Least Concern | |
| 1988 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
| Migratory status | nomadic | Forest dependency | high |
| Land-mass type | Average mass | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) | 73,800,000 km2 | |
| Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding) | 16,700,000 km2 | |
| Severely fragmented? | no | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population size | 730000-1810000 mature individuals | poor | suspected | 2021 |
| Population trend | stable | - | suspected | - |
| Generation length | 4.13 years | - | - | - |
Population justification: Rich et al. (2004) estimated the global population to number > c.1,700,000 individuals which equates to 1,130,000 mature individuals. Partners in Flight (2020) estimate the population in the USA and Canada to be 500,000 individuals and the global population to be 1,540,000 individuals, which equates to approximately 1,030,000 mature individuals. The European population is estimated at 94,600-236,000 pairs, which equates to 189,000-471,000 mature individuals (BirdLife International in prep.). Europe forms approximately 26% of the global range, so a very preliminary estimate of the global population size is 730,000-1,810,000 mature individuals, although further validation of this estimate is needed. The population is placed in the band 730,000-1,810,000 mature individuals.
Trend justification: Long-term trends are difficult to assess due to nomadism and yearly population fluctuations corresponding with rodent abundance and snow cover (Hayward & Hayward 2020; Korpimäki 2020). The population in some European countries has declined significantly since the early 1990s as a result of loss of primary habitat through clear-felling of boreal forest (Korpimäki 2020). However, recent data suggest that the European population is fluctuating, but is stable in the long-term (BirdLife International in prep.), with local range expansions/ contractions and population increases/ declines tending to balance each other out (BirdLife International in prep.; Keller et al. 2020). The population in the North Caucasus is considered to be stable (Belik & Akkiev 2019). There is very little data on North American populations, but trends are likely to be similar to those in Europe.
| Country/Territory | Presence | Origin | Resident | Breeding visitor | Non-breeding visitor | Passage migrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andorra | extant | native | yes | |||
| Armenia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Austria | extant | native | yes | |||
| Azerbaijan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Belarus | extant | native | yes | |||
| Belgium | extant | native | yes | |||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | extant | native | yes | |||
| Bulgaria | extant | native | yes | |||
| Canada | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| China (mainland) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Croatia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Czechia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Denmark | extant | native | yes | yes | yes | |
| Estonia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Finland | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| France | extant | native | yes | |||
| Georgia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Germany | extant | native | yes | |||
| Greece | extant | native | yes | |||
| Hungary | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| India | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Italy | extant | native | yes | |||
| Japan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Kazakhstan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Kyrgyzstan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Latvia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Liechtenstein | extant | native | yes | |||
| Lithuania | extant | native | yes | |||
| Luxembourg | extant | native | yes | |||
| Mongolia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Montenegro | extant | native | yes | |||
| Netherlands | extant | native | yes | |||
| North Macedonia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Norway | extant | native | yes | |||
| Poland | extant | native | yes | |||
| Romania | extant | native | yes | |||
| Russia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Russia (Asian) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Russia (Central Asian) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Russia (European) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Serbia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Slovakia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Slovenia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Spain | extant | native | yes | |||
| St Pierre and Miquelon (to France) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Sweden | extant | native | yes | |||
| Switzerland | extant | native | yes | |||
| Tajikistan | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Türkiye | extant | native | yes | |||
| Ukraine | extant | native | yes | |||
| United Kingdom | extant | vagrant | ||||
| USA | extant | native | yes |
| Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forest | Boreal | major | resident |
| Forest | Subarctic | suitable | resident |
| Forest | Temperate | suitable | resident |
| Altitude | Occasional altitudinal limits |
| Threat (level 1) | Threat (level 2) | Impact and Stresses | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biological resource use | Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest] | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
|||||||||
| Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases | Problematic species/disease of unknown origin - Named species | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 4 | ||||||
|
|||||||||
| Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases | Problematic species/disease of unknown origin - Sitta europaea_old | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 4 | ||||||
|
|||||||||
| Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases | Problematic species/disease of unknown origin - Strix aluco | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 4 | ||||||
|
|||||||||
| Pollution | Agricultural & forestry effluents - Herbicides and pesticides | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
|||||||||
| Purpose | Scale |
|---|---|
| Pets/display animals, horticulture | international |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Boreal Owl Aegolius funereus. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/boreal-owl-aegolius-funereus on 23/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/11/2024.