• 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
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2021	Least Concern
2016	Least Concern
2013	Least Concern
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	medium
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	3,280,000 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	14,300,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	poor	suspected	2009
Population trend	decreasing	-	suspected	-
Generation length	5.05 years	-	-	-

Population justification: There is very little data available on population size or trends for this species. Based on migratory concentrations and the size of the breeding range, Ferguson-Lees & Christie (2001) estimated the population to exceed 100,000 individuals. Large numbers have been counted on migration, including 53,575 at the Miyako islands, Japan in 1980 (Unpublished data, cited in DeCandido et al. 2004); c.32,000 in Japan in 1999 (Nitani 2000); and 14,962 in Thailand in 2003 (DeCandido 2004).

Trend justification: The population is suspected to be declining locally owing to ongoing persecution and loss and degradation of breeding and foraging habitats (Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001). Declines have been recorded in Japan - the species was found on 28 survey units in the 1970s but none in the 1990s (Ueta et al. 2006). These declines have been linked to habitat loss as a result of abandonment or development of traditional paddy fields (Ueta et al. 2006), and a loss of prey due to modernisation of drainage systems (Fujita et al. 2015). The Russian population is also suspected to be undergoing a significant decline due to persecution along migration routes (Orta & Marks 2020). Declines in Northeast China have been linked to habitat loss caused by forest management for timber production and farmland reclamation (Deng et al. 2003).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Brunei	extant	native			yes
Cambodia	extant	native			yes
China (mainland)	extant	native		yes	yes
Hong Kong (China)	extant	native			yes
Indonesia	extant	native			yes
Japan	extant	native		yes
Laos	extant	native			yes
Malaysia	extant	native			yes
Mongolia	extant	vagrant
Myanmar	extant	native			yes
North Korea	extant	native		yes
Philippines	extant	native			yes
Russia	extant	native		yes
Russia (Asian)	extant	native		yes
Singapore	extant	native			yes
South Korea	extant	native		yes
Taiwan, China	extant	native			yes
Thailand	extant	native			yes
Timor-Leste	extant	native			yes	yes
Vietnam	extant	native			yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Japan	Hachirogata
Japan	Mounts Zao and Funagata
North Korea	Mount Chilbo
North Korea	Mount Kuwol
North Korea	Mount Myohyang
Russia (Asian)	Kievka and Chernaya river basins
Russia (Asian)	Middle reaches of the Iman river

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Irrigated Land (includes irrigation channels)	suitable	resident
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	resident
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	resident
Artificial/Terrestrial	Plantations	suitable	resident
Forest	Temperate	suitable	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands	suitable	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls)	suitable	resident
Altitude	0 - 2000 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry 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 - Motivation Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Natural system modifications	Dams & water management/use - Abstraction of surface water (unknown use)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion, Other
Residential & commercial development	Commercial & industrial areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem conversion
Residential & commercial development	Housing & urban areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem conversion

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Grey-faced Buzzard Butastur indicus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/grey-faced-buzzard-butastur-indicus on 23/12/2024.
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 23/12/2024.