• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

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
-	C2a(i)	C2a(i); D1+2

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2018	Endangered	C2a(i)
2017	Endangered	C2a(i)
2016	Critically Endangered	C2a(i)
2015	Critically Endangered	C2a(i)
2013	Critically Endangered	C2a(i)
2012	Critically Endangered	C2a(i)
2010	Critically Endangered	C2a(i)
2009	Critically Endangered	C2a(i)
2008	Critically Endangered
2004	Critically Endangered
2000	Critically Endangered
1996	Critically Endangered
1994	Critically Endangered
1988	Threatened

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	55,300 km2	medium
Number of locations	7	-
Severely fragmented?	yes	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	250-999 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2016
Population trend	decreasing	poor	inferred	2000-2010
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	10-19%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	10-19%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	10-19%	-	-	-
Generation length	5.4 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	2-100	-	-	-

Population justification: The population size was previously listed as 50-249 mature individuals based on the number of records from known sites. However, as more surveys are conducted more individuals are being found at more sites, e.g. its recent reporting from Gujarat (Patel et al. 2015) and there were 53 sightings from new localities during surveys in Melghat Tiger Reserve, although only 19 were found from known localities there (Kasambe et al. 2015). More than 100 individuals have been recorded at Melghat Tiger Reserve (Kasambe et al. 2005), at least 82 individuals have now been recorded in Dang District, Gujarat (Patel et al. 2017), and 42 individuals were recorded in Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary during surveys between 2014-2016 (Laad et al. 2016). Given the increasing number of reports of this species it is likely that the global population size is likely to be >250 mature individuals, and so it is now placed in the range of 250-999 mature individuals.

Trend justification: The species faces a number of threats, the most serious of which are believed to be forest loss and degradation as a result of illegal logging and human encroachment, as well as forest fires and minor irrigation dams. In combination these threats are suspected to be causing a slow ongoing population decline over three generations (c.16 years).

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
India	Mahendri Reserve Forest
India	Melghat Tiger Reserve
India	Taloda Reserve Forest
India	Toranmal Reserve Forest

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	suitable	resident
Altitude	200 - 700 m	Occasional altitudinal limits	(max) 920 m

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Small-holder farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Unspecified species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Negligible declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Competition, Species mortality
Natural system modifications	Dams & water management/use - Large dams	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 3
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Natural system modifications	Dams & water management/use - Small dams	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Increase in fire frequency/intensity	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Pollution	Agricultural & forestry effluents - Herbicides and pesticides	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Residential & commercial development	Housing & urban areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

Purpose	Scale
Other household goods	subsistence, national
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Forest Owlet Athene blewitti. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/forest-owlet-athene-blewitti 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.