NT
Gurney's Eagle Aquila gurneyi



Taxonomy

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. 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
2021 Near Threatened C1
2016 Near Threatened C1
2012 Near Threatened C1
2008 Near Threatened C1
2004 Near Threatened
2000 Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1994 Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1988 Lower Risk/Least Concern
Species attributes

Migratory status not a migrant Forest dependency high
Land-mass type shelf island
Average mass -
Range

Estimate Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) 1,690,000 km2 medium
Severely fragmented? no -
Population
Estimate Data quality Derivation Year of estimate
Population size 2500-9999 mature individuals poor estimated 2016
Population trend decreasing poor suspected 2000-2040
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods) 1-10% - - -
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods) 1-10% - - -
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods) 1-10% - - -
Generation length 13.4 years - - -
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation 100% - - -

Population justification: The global population of Gurney's Eagles was suspected to be between 1,000 and 10,000 individuals (Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001, 2005) however, there are an estimated 800-900 pairs of Gurney's Eagles in the North Moluccas alone (Røv and Gjershaug 2000) so the higher end of the global estimate may be more realistic (S. Debus in litt. 2016). The number of mature individuals is therefore placed in the band 2,500-9,999. The species is estimated to occur at a density of one pair per 33 km2 of land area in the North Moluccas (Røv and Gjershaug 2000).

Trend justification: The species is suspected to be in decline owing to habitat loss and degradation. For example, across mainland Papua New Guinea, 1.2% of forest was lost, and 2.4% of forest logged between 2002-2014 (Bryan and Shearman 2015). This translates to approximately 3.9% forest loss and 7.8% forest logging over the course of three generations (40 years) (Bird et al. 2020). Based on a long generation length and marginal forest loss and logging estimates therefore, the population is suspected to be undergoing a likely reduction of <10%.


Country/territory distribution
Country/Territory Presence Origin Resident Breeding visitor Non-breeding visitor Passage migrant
Australia extant vagrant yes
Indonesia extant native yes
Papua New Guinea 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 Arable Land marginal resident
Artificial/Terrestrial Plantations suitable resident
Artificial/Terrestrial Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest suitable resident
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland major resident
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane suitable resident
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Swamp suitable resident
Altitude 0 - 1000 m Occasional altitudinal limits (max) 3000 m

Threats & impact
Threat (level 1) Threat (level 2) Impact and Stresses
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

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Gurney's Eagle Aquila gurneyi. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/gurneys-eagle-aquila-gurneyi on 09/12/2024.
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 09/12/2024.