• 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
-	C2a(ii)	C2a(i,ii)

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2018	Endangered	C2a(ii)
2016	Vulnerable	A3ce; C2a(ii)
2012	Vulnerable	A3ce+4ce;C2a(ii)
2010	Vulnerable	A3c,e; C2a(ii)
2008	Vulnerable	A3c,e; C2a(ii)
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	shelf island	Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	689,000 km2	medium
Number of locations	11-100	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	1000-2499 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2018
Population trend	decreasing	medium	inferred	-
Generation length	5.4 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: The population has been estimated to be only 2,000 individuals (A. Bamford in litt. 2018) (roughly equating to c.1,300 mature individuals), although it has been suggested that the species may have been difficult to find for some time (A. Konter in litt. 2018). Indeed there has been suspicion that the population may have been very low for a while (e.g. potentially 1,500-2,500 individuals; M. Rabenandrasana in litt. 2007). Given there is some uncertainty, and that these are only rough estimates, the population size has been placed here in the range 1,000-2,499 mature individuals.

Trend justification: The species is considered to be in decline owing to habitat loss, introduced species and bycatch. This decline is expected to accelerate over the next 16 years (three generations) as wetlands are increasingly targeted for cultivation and the species becomes more restricted to small wetlands that are unused by humans (O. Langrand in litt. 2007, M. Rabenandrasana in litt. 2007, H. G. Young in litt. 2007), but the rate of decline has not been accurately quantified.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Madagascar	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Madagascar	Andringitra National Park
Madagascar	Ankaizina wetlands
Madagascar	Ankarafantsika National Park and Ampijoroa
Madagascar	Baly Bay National Park
Madagascar	Bezavona Classified Forest
Madagascar	Bombetoka Bay - Marovoay NPA
Madagascar	Cap Saint André forest and wetlands
Madagascar	Didy and Ivondro wetlands
Madagascar	Lake Alaotra NPA
Madagascar	Lake Ihotry - Mangoky Delta Complex NPA
Madagascar	Lake Itasy
Madagascar	Lakes Anony and Erombo
Madagascar	Maevatanana - Ambato-Boeny wetlands
Madagascar	Mananara-North Biosphere Reserve
Madagascar	Mangoky-Ankazoabo Complex NPA
Madagascar	Menabe forest complex
Madagascar	Mikea
Madagascar	Montagne d'Ambre National Park and Special Reserve
Madagascar	Parc National d'Isalo
Madagascar	Sihanaka Forest
Madagascar	Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park and Strict Nature Reserve
Madagascar	Tsingy de Namoroka National Park
Madagascar	Zombitse-Vohibasia National Park and extension

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes	suitable	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha)	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls)	suitable	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	suitable	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha)	suitable	breeding
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		Majority (50-90%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Coptodon zillii	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Eichhornia crassipes	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Tachybaptus ruficollis	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Hybridisation
Pollution	Agricultural & forestry effluents - Herbicides and pesticides	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Madagascar Grebe Tachybaptus pelzelnii. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/madagascar-grebe-tachybaptus-pelzelnii on 25/11/2024.
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 25/11/2024.