NT
Guadalcanal Owl Athene granti



Taxonomy

Taxonomic note
Ninox jacquinoti, N. granti, N. malaitae and N. roseoaxillaris (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) were previously lumped as N. jacquinoti following Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993).

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.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Critically Endangered Endangered Vulnerable
- - -

Red List history
Year Category Criteria
2017 Near Threatened C2a(ii)
2016 Vulnerable B1b(v)c(iv); C2a(ii)b
2014 Vulnerable C2a(ii)b
2012 Not Recognised
2008 Not Recognised
2004 Not Recognised
2000 Not Recognised
1994 Not Recognised
1988 Not Recognised
Species attributes

Migratory status not a migrant Forest dependency high
Land-mass type Average mass 156 g
Range

Estimate Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) 6,600 km2
Severely fragmented? no -
Population
Estimate Data quality Derivation Year of estimate
Population size 10000-19999 mature individuals poor estimated 2016
Population trend decreasing - suspected -
Generation length 4.1 years - - -
Number of subpopulations 1 - - -
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation 100% - - -

Population justification:

The species is only known from a single island of c.5,300 km2, on which its forest habitat is still relatively intact but suffering some losses and degradation. The known home ranges of the intensively-studied Morepork N. novaeseelandiae in New Zealand varies between 3.5 ha (Imboden 1975) and 307 ha (Pryde and Green 2016) depending on habitat productivity, with a representative home range of about 40 ha (M. Pryde in litt. 2016 per G. Dutson in litt. 2016); and similarly Southern Boobook N. boobook in Australia varies from 18 - 206 ha (Olsen et al. 2011). N. granti is heard calling at approximately similar frequencies to these two species in more productive forests (G. Dutson in litt. 2016), suggesting that there might be a handful of pairs per km2 of forest. Assuming that over half of Guadalcanal is suitable habitat (see e.g. Katovai et al. 2015, G. Dutson in litt. 2016), the population size of N. granti is precautionarily estimated to be 10,000-19,999 mature individuals (G. Dutson in litt. 2016).

Trend justification: Much of the lowland and hill forests of Guadalcanal have been logged or are under logging concessions. Although the species shows some tolerance of habitat degradation and fragmentation, it is undoubtedly undergoing slow ongoing declines owing to habitat conversion and degradation.


Country/territory distribution
Country/Territory Presence Origin Resident Breeding visitor Non-breeding visitor Passage migrant
Solomon Islands extant native yes

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Country/Territory IBA Name

Habitats & altitude
Habitat (level 1) Habitat (level 2) Importance Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest suitable resident
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland major resident
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane suitable resident
Altitude 0 - 1500 m Occasional altitudinal limits  

Threats & impact
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
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, Ecosystem conversion

Utilisation
Purpose Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture international

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Guadalcanal Owl Athene granti. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/guadalcanal-owl-athene-granti 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.