• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

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.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	C2a(ii)

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2023	Vulnerable	C2a(ii)
2016	Vulnerable	C2a(ii)
2014	Vulnerable	C2a(ii)
2012	Not Recognised
2008	Not Recognised
2004	Not Recognised
2000	Not Recognised
1994	Not Recognised
1988	Not Recognised

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	6,000 km2
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	2500-9999 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2021
Population trend	decreasing	-	inferred	2016-2032
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	5-10%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	5-10%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	5-10%	-	-	-
Generation length	5.2 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: Two similar-sized and intensively studied congeners - Morepork N. novaeseelandiae in New Zealand and Southern Boobook N. boobook in Australia - have territory sizes that typically range 59-307 ha (Olsen et al. 2011, Pryde & Green 2016), equivalent to densities of 0.3-1.5 mature individuals/km². Experts familiar with these species have indicated that in old-growth forest, N. malaitae is heard at similar frequencies to N. novaeseelandiae and N. boobook such that these territory sizes are considered a suitable estimation of density for the present species (G. Dutson pers. comm. 2016). If all of the island's remaining forest (c.3,610 km²; Global Forest Watch 2021, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein) was occupied, these densities would yield a population size of c.2,400-12,000 mature individuals. However, it appears to be scarce (a 3-day visit to the island in 2019 failed to conclusively record it [J. Bergmark pers. comm. 2021]) and is considered to be absent from logged or heavily disturbed areas. For these reasons, the species is estimated to have a population size of 2,500-9,999 mature individuals and is probably at the lower end of this range.

Trend justification: Remote sensing data (Global Forest Watch 2021, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein) indicate that over the last three generations (15.6 years; Bird et al. 2020) forest loss in this species' range has been equivalent to c.5-7% and moreover forest on the island appears to be becoming increasingly fragmented. The species is seemingly absent from degraded forest (G. Dutson pers. comm. 2016, J. Bergmark pers. comm. 2016) such that a decline is inferred and forest losses are considered to be causing declines at a rate at least equal to that of forest loss. The overall trend in this species' range is of increased forest loss since c.2010 (Global Forest Watch 2021, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein) and in some years (e.g. 2016 and 2019) has reached as high as 0.6% in a single year. These losses are not expected to slow or cease, with extensive areas of Malaita under logging concessions (Katovai et al. 2015).

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	major	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	suitable	resident
Altitude	0 - 1200 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

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

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Malaita Owl Athene malaitae. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/malaita-owl-athene-malaitae on 22/12/2024.
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 22/12/2024.