Family: Cacatuidae (Cockatoos)

Authority: (Fraser, 1844)

Red List Category

Criteria: A2bcd+4bcd

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Justification of Red List category
This species is recognised as separate from C. sulphurea and is assessed here for the first time. Despite an apparent recent stabilisation of this long-lived species's population, it remains unrecovered from its 1980s population size, when the species was being exported in its thousands annually from Sumba for the pet trade. The overall population reduction over the past three generations (43 years) is suspected to have been well over 80%. Even if the apparent mean stability of the population since 1992 continues, the scale of the reduction is sufficient that the rate of reduction will continue to meet thresholds for listing as Critically Endangered for several years to come. Recent information suggests that trapping is continuing and since 2017 has once again been increasing in intensity, with an associated increase in price per bird. Although the future rate of reduction is suspected to be at a lower rate, the resumption of trapping at a high intensity (from a much lower total population size) will be potentially severely impact the species in the near future.

Population size: 800-1320,1320 mature individuals

Population trend: decreasing

Extent of occurrence (breeding/resident): 13,100 km²

Country endemic: yes