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

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.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	A2bce+3ce+4bce

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2022	Vulnerable	A2bce+3ce+4bce
2016	Vulnerable	A2bce+3ce+4bce
2012	Vulnerable	A2bce+3ce+4bce
2008	Vulnerable	A2b,c,e; A3c,e; A4b,c,e
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Threatened

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	2,900,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	yes	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	20000-30000, 25000 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2020
Population trend	decreasing	medium	estimated	2008-2035
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-49%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-49%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-49%	-	-	-
Generation length	9.13 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	20-100	-	-	-

Population justification: The current population of Malleefowl is estimated to be about 25,000 mature individuals based on densities in eight regions in New South Wales (2,800), 19 regions in South Australia (4,900), 14 regions in Victoria (6,000) and 13 regions in Western Australia (11,300; J. Benshemesh unpublished). The global population is therefore placed in the band of 20,000-30,000 mature individuals, with a best estimate of 25,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification:

Analyses of monitoring data from about 140 sites across the continent between 1989 to 2017 suggest a continuing national decline of about 2% p.a. (42% in three generations), but with trends varying regionally. Breeding activity declined by 4.8% annually in South Australia and by 2.1% annually in Western Australia, was stable in Victoria and increased by 4.8% annually in New South Wales although the New South Wales result was uncertain due to a patchy monitoring record and was not representative of that state (Benshemesh et al. 2020). Therefore, overall the population is thought to have declined by 30–50% in three generations (28 years) and a similar rate of decline is predicted in the next three generations (Benshemesh et al. 2021).

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Australia	Billiatt
Australia	Central NSW Mallee
Australia	Dragon Rocks
Australia	Dunn Rock and Lake King
Australia	Fitzgerald River
Australia	Gawler Ranges
Australia	Goonoo
Australia	Gum Lagoon
Australia	Holleton
Australia	Karara and Lochada
Australia	Karroun Hill
Australia	Lake Magenta
Australia	Little Desert
Australia	Mount Gibson and Charles Darwin
Australia	Murray-Sunset, Hattah and Annuello
Australia	Peebinga
Australia	Riverland Mallee
Australia	Southern NSW Mallee
Australia	Southern Yorke Peninsula
Australia	Wandown
Australia	Wyperfeld, Big Desert and Ngarkat

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	resident
Forest	Temperate	suitable	resident
Savanna	Dry	suitable	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	resident
Shrubland	Temperate	suitable	resident
Altitude	0 - 530 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Climate change & severe weather	Droughts	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation
Climate change & severe weather	Temperature extremes	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Canis familiaris	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Capra hircus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Competition
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Dama dama	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Felis catus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Oryctolagus cuniculus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Competition
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Ovis aries	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 - Unspecified species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Vulpes vulpes	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Unknown		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Competition
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Increase in fire frequency/intensity	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Pollution	Agricultural & forestry effluents - Herbicides and pesticides	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Transportation & service corridors	Roads & railroads	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Malleefowl Leipoa ocellata. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/malleefowl-leipoa-ocellata 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.