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

Taxonomic note
Cacomantis aeruginosus (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) was previously listed as C. heinrichi; the name aeruginosus has priority.

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
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2017	Least Concern
2016	Near Threatened	C2a(ii)
2013	Near Threatened	C2a(ii)
2012	Near Threatened	C2a(ii)
2008	Near Threatened	C2a(ii)
2004	Near Threatened
2000	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1996	Data Deficient
1994	Data Deficient
1988	Near Threatened

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	217,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	-	-	-
Population trend	decreasing	-	suspected	2010-2023
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	4.2 years	-	-	-

Population justification: Due to the apparent rarity of C. aeruginosus heinrichi on Halmahera and Bacan, when considered separately this subspecies was placed in the band 6,000-15,000 mature individuals. The species as now defined contains additional subpopulations on Obi, Buru and Seram where the species has been encountered in a wider range of habitats and across a greater elevational range (Thibault et al. 2013, Mittermeier et al. 2013). On Obi was it was described as reasonably common and tolerant of moderate habitat disturbance (Mittermeier et al. 2013) while on Seram it was uncommon to fairly common with around 2 birds per day encountered in montane primary forest (A. Reeve in litt. 2016). Despite the fact that the overall population size has not been quantified the species is therefore not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion.

Trend justification: The population is inferred to be undergoing a continued decline owing to forest clearance and degradation. Vetter (2009) used remote sensing techniques to track the rate and spatial pattern of forest loss in the North Maluku Endemic Bird Area (EBA) between 1990 and 2003, and project rates of deforestation over the next three generations for restricted range bird species found in this region, with consequent recommendations for category changes on the IUCN Red List. This study estimated the rate of forest loss within the elevation range of Moluccan Cuckoo in the EBA to be c.5.7% between 1990 and 2003, and projected the loss of c.6% of forest in its range in the EBA over the next three generations (estimated to be 12.6 years, based on an estimated generation length of c.4.2 years). The species, however, appears to show greater tolerance for degraded habitat away from the North Maluku EBA and there is uncertainty over deforestation rates in parts of the species's range not covered by Vetter's (2009) study, such as Buru and Seram. Given this uncertainty, it is suspected that the species has been declining at a rate between 5-10% over the past 12 years. It is suspected that this decline is ongoing based on the assumption that degradation and loss of forested habitat throughout the range of the species continues.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Indonesia	Gamkonora
Indonesia	Tanah Putih

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	major	resident
Altitude	0 - 1500 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		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
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
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Small-holder farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		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
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Moluccan Cuckoo Cacomantis aeruginosus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/moluccan-cuckoo-cacomantis-aeruginosus on 22/11/2024.
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 22/11/2024.