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

Taxonomic note
Monotypic.

Taxonomic source(s)
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.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
B1ab(iii)	B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii)	B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii); D2

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Critically Endangered	B1ab(iii)
2016	Critically Endangered	B1ab(ii,iii,v)
2015	Critically Endangered	B1ab(ii,iii,v)
2012	Critically Endangered	B1ab(ii,iii,v)
2010	Critically Endangered	B1a+b(iii,v)
2009	Critically Endangered	B1a+b(iii,v)
2008	Critically Endangered
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Threatened

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	96 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	96 km2	medium
Number of locations	1	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	1118-2030,1440 mature individuals	good	estimated	2020
Population trend	stable	medium	estimated	-
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	0%	-	-	-
Generation length	4.8 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: The total number of birds in 2020 was estimated at 1,917 individuals (95% CI: 1,550–2,500), derived from habitat specific density estimates from line transect distance sampling surveys around the island from 2018 to 2020 (Jones et al. 2020). Adults comprised 74.5 % of individuals observed in February and 81.2 % observed in September (Jones et al. 2020), hence the minimum population size is calculated at between 1,118 to 2,030 mature individuals. Jones et al. (2020) also estimated 720 breeding pairs, and a value of 1,440 mature individuals is taken as a best single estimate.

Ahead of the attempted mouse eradication in 2021, an insurance population of 100 Gough Island Finches was brought into captivity in case of adverse impacts on wild populations due to the deployment of poisoned bait (Chilvers and McClelland 2023). After the completion of the bait application 103 birds were released back into the wild and follow-up surveys showed there was still a significant wild population of birds present (Chilvers and McClelland 2023). Continuing surveys recorded a c. 60% reduction in density in both 2021 and 2022 versus pre-eradication but densities recovered to levels similar to those pre-eradication in 2023 (A. Steinfurth, H. Marshall and S. Oppel in litt. 2024). Accordingly, the current population size is considered to be similar to that estimated in 2020 by Jones et al. (2020).

An early estimate was of around 2,000 birds in 1956 (Holdgate 1957), while 1,500 pairs or 3,000 mature individuals was estimated based on density of pairs in surveyed areas in 1990-91 (Ryan and Cuthbert 2008). Densities were found to be considerably lower in 2007 at 20 pairs/km² in the southern highlands and likely 5 pairs/km² in the northern highlands versus 40 pairs/km² assumed present across this whole area in 1990-91, which translated to a revised population estimate of 400-500 pairs in 2007 (Ryan and Cuthbert 2008). In re-analysing densities while accounting for habitat use more precisely Jones et al. (2020) indicate that densities in the highlands do not appear to have changed much in 30 years (1990-2020). However, this analysis does not account for differences in densities geographically within habitat types, which appears likely with fewer individuals recorded in the northern part of the highlands echoing the assumption made for the 2007 data (Ryan and Cuthbert 2008). This is unlikely to affect the finding of apparent stability of the highland population, only the precision of the population estimate (Jones et al. 2020). There has been a considerable reduction in the population in the lowlands that is evident in the earlier density data, and is strongly indicated to have been driven by the impact of mice (Cuthbert and Hilton 2004, Ryan and Cuthbert 2008, Jones et al. 2020), and this will have caused a significant historical population reduction. There are no barriers to mice accessing the finch populations in the highlands, but mouse densities have been lower to date which may be related to the abundance of alternative prey, largely seabirds. The eradication attempt will have temporarily reduced mouse populations, however their continued presence is a concern. It is hoped that in the short term the finch population may rebound in the lowlands but unless the mouse population is further controlled this would be a temporary situation.

Trend justification: Jones et al. (2020) found no discernible trends in the density of the species and that the population has remained stable in upland areas since 1990, however a rapid decline occurred prior to 2008 in lowland areas (Ryan and Cuthbert 2008), where densities remain very low likely due to mouse predation (Jones et al. 2020). It is hoped that following the mouse eradication attempt the reduction in the mouse population will allow some recovery of the finch population in the lowlands, where mouse predation is suspected to have been keeping finch densities exceptionally low after historical declines. However, such a recovery will like be reversed in the future with the expectation that mouse density will quickly return to levels found prior to the eradication attempt.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
St Helena (to UK)	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
St Helena (to UK)	Gough Island

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Grassland	Subantarctic	major	resident
Shrubland	Temperate	major	resident
Altitude	0 - 910 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Mus musculus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Very Rapid Declines		High Impact: 9
		Stresses Competition, Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Rattus rattus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Whole (>90%)		Very Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Gough Island Finch Rowettia goughensis. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/gough-island-finch-rowettia-goughensis on 27/11/2024.
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 27/11/2024.