• 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
-	-	D1

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2022	Near Threatened	C2a(i)
2016	Vulnerable	C2a(i); D1
2012	Vulnerable	C2a(i);D1
2008	Vulnerable	C2a(i); D1
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1996	Endangered
1994	Endangered
1988	Threatened

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	45,100 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	700-5000, 1001-2000 mature individuals	poor	inferred	2020
Population trend	decreasing	poor	suspected	2009-2023
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Generation length	4.75 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	3	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: Population numbers and trends are difficult to assess from so few recent records, but the species has been considered to be rare (K. D. Bishop in litt. 1994, D. Gibbs in litt. 1994, G. Dutson pers. obs. 1998). Ferguson-Lees and Christie (2001) estimated the global population to be in "the low hundreds". However, a visit to Bougainville led Hadden (2008) to suspect that the species may be reasonably common in the forest interior throughout the island, given the mist-net capture of two individuals in relatively few net-hours. Based on density estimates of congeners (first quartile and median: 0.5 and 2 individuals per km², the area of tree cover with at least 50% canopy cover within the species's mapped range (c.8,850 km²; Global Forest Watch 2022, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein) and assuming 25-40% of forest within the species's range is occupied, the population size is tentatively inferred to fall within the range 1,100-7,080 individuals, roughly equating to c.725-4,700 mature individuals and placed in the band 700-5,000 mature individuals. Assuming a separate subpopulation on each island, Bougainville, which contains approximately 55% of the total forest cover within the species's range (Global Forest Watch 2020), is inferred to comprise 385-2,750 mature individuals. Given the paucity of records despite extensive effort by ornithologists and birdwatchers (see, for example, eBird [2021]), and the suspicion from Ferguson-Lees and Christie (2001) that the total population of this species was in the low hundreds, it is precautionarily accepted that there are likely to be a best estimate of 1,001-2,000 mature individuals, with a best estimate of 500-1,000 mature individuals in the largest subpopulation. Generating accurate population data on this species should be considered a priority.

Trend justification: The species appears to have declined in the past, on Choiseul at least (K. D. Bishop in litt. 1994, D. Gibbs in litt. 1994, G. Dutson pers. obs. 1998). Based on remote sensing data showing a small amount of deforestation within the species's range from 2006-2020 (Global Forest Watch 2022, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein), the species is suspected to be declining. Five percent of forest with at least 50% canopy cover was lost within the species's range over three generations (14 years; Bird et al. 2020) between 2006 and 2020. The species is highly forest dependent and known to be rare in degraded forest and is consequently suspected to have declined over a similar rate over the past three generations, here placed in the band 1-9%. Assuming a constant rate of ongoing deforestation, the species is tentatively suspected to undergo a decline of 1-9% over the next three generations (14 years).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Papua New Guinea	extant	native	yes
Solomon Islands	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Solomon Islands	Mount Maetambe - Kolombangara River

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	major	resident
Altitude	0 - 1100 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Shifting agriculture	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		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Imitator Goshawk Accipiter imitator. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/imitator-goshawk-accipiter-imitator on 21/12/2024.
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 21/12/2024.