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Taxonomic note

Ninox philippensis, N. spilocephala, N. leventisi, N. reyi, N. rumseyi, N. spilonotus and N. mindorensis (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) were previously lumped as N. philippensis 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.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	D1

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2022	Vulnerable	D1
2016	Endangered	B1ab(ii,iii,v); C2a(ii)
2014	Endangered	B1ab(ii,iii,v); C2a(ii)
2012	Not Recognised
2008	Not Recognised
2004	Not Recognised
2000	Not Recognised
1994	Not Recognised
1988	Not Recognised

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	6,600 km2
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	250-999 mature individuals	-	estimated	2011
Population trend	stable	-	suspected	-
Generation length	5.2 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: Using a combination of playback surveys and radio telemetry covering an area of 16.7 km², Jakosalem et al. (2013) estimated that in 2011 the population of N. rumseyi numbered c.200 pairs (400 mature individuals) based on estimated home ranges of one pair every 0.1 km² and an estimated total suitable habitat area of just 19.2 km². Jakosalem et al. (2013) acknowledged however that their estimated territory size value may be an underestimate given their short periods of following birds, and it is unlikely that all suitable habitat is occupied - consequently, the density value of this species may fall (perhaps substantially) below this. Deforestation rates on Cebu have been low: less than 5% over the past three generations (Global Forest Watch [2021], using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein) and the species' population is thought to have remained unchanged since 2011. It is therefore placed in the band 250-999 mature individuals and may be at the lower end of this estimate.

Trend justification: This species would no doubt formerly have been widespread across Cebu with a substantial contraction of both range and population size occurring in response to pervasive deforestation that has likely caused the extinction of other bird taxa on the island. Even by the earliest ornithological explorations (in 1872), the forest on Cebu had been reduced to patches in only a few isolated areas on the island and by the turn of the 20th century collectors already had difficulty in locating forest (Rabor 1959). However, recent remote sensing data indicate that over the last three generations (15.6 years; Bird et al. 2020) forest loss on the island has been less than 5% (Global Forest Watch [2021], using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein). Given this species' tolerance of some degradation (occurring occasionally near clearings and farms [Allen 2020]) it cannot be inferred to be declining. In the absence of other threats, the population trend is therefore suspected to be stable.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	major	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	suitable	resident
Altitude	0 - 700 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Small-holder farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Likely to Return		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Likely to Return		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Residential & commercial development	Housing & urban areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Likely to Return		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Species factsheet: Cebu Boobook Ninox rumseyi. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/cebu-boobook-ninox-rumseyi on 15/01/2025.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2025) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 15/01/2025.