Current view: Data table and detailed info
Taxonomic source(s)
Christidis, L. and Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Australia.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Red List history
| Migratory status |
not a migrant |
Forest dependency |
low |
| Land-mass type |
|
Average mass |
- |
Population justification: The population of the nominate subspecies is the product of the three measures of AOO used by Newman et al. (2021) where the minimum AOO is the number of 2x2 km squares (3,700 km2) encompassing all records from Birdata (Birdlife Australia 2020), the best estimate is 20% higher (4,400 km2) due to incomplete surveying, and the maximum value is double that (7,400 km2). An average density of 9.7 birds/km² (range 3–18 birds/km²) was applied to these AOO calculations, based on consultation with experts (G.B. Baker unpublished data, in Newman et al. 2021).
Subspecies kingi occurs on King Island, which has a land area c.1.2% that of the nominate subspecies’ range. The same density of this taxon (given an identical ecology in the same habitat) is assumed and hence the population size values of the nominate subspecies are increased by 1.2% to give a global total of 36,000-73,000, with a best estimate of 43,000 mature individuals.
Trend justification:
Reporting rates from several sites across Tasmania (where >95% of the global population is) indicate rapid declines over the past 10 years.
The reporting rates that are available from systematically collected 2-ha 20-min surveys, 500-m radius and 5-km area searches (BirdLife Australia 2020) declined by 65% (500-m) and 35% (5-km) in north-western Tasmania; by 94% (500-m) at Pyengana in north-eastern Tasmania; and, in south-eastern Tasmania, by 51% (2-ha) at Meehan Range, 64% (5-km) on Tasman Peninsula, and 62% (2-ha) at North Bruny Island.
Elsewhere, the trends are less consistent. Trends in the reporting rate across the entire range are inconsistent (+19% 2-ha, -48% 500-m; BirdLife Australia 2020) but these are subject to more inter-annual variations in effort compared to the more robust systematic surveys, thus are considered a less robust trend measure. Population trends were positive at one site: 43% (500-m) at South Arm and a separate analysis of 72 sites in the Midlands, Tasmania, found no significant difference between 1996–1998 and 2016 (Bain et al. 2020), but there was no monitoring in the intervening period. In north-west Tasmania, declines from 2000–2019 were 86% (500-m) and 94% (5-km). Given that similar trends are apparent at widely dispersed locations, but that there is some inconsistency, it is concluded (following Newman et al. 2021) that the population as a whole has declined by 30%–49% in the last decade. The trend of the King Island population (subspecies kingi) is unknown, however with a land area 1.5% of that of Tasmania, it is unlikely to disrupt the global trends presented herein. Given the uncertainty over what has caused these declines, the rate of decline over the next 10 years is not estimated.
Country/territory distribution
Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Dusky Robin Melanodryas vittata. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/dusky-robin-melanodryas-vittata 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.
