• 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., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	B1ab(v)+2ab(v); C2a(i,ii)	B1ab(v)+2ab(v); C2a(i,ii); D1+2

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2017	Endangered	B1ab(v)+2ab(v); C2a(i,ii)
2016	Vulnerable	D1+2
2012	Vulnerable	D1+2
2009	Vulnerable	D1; D2
2008	Vulnerable
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Threatened

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	450 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	21 km2
Number of locations	2-5	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	250-999 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2000
Population trend	decreasing	poor	suspected	1997-2009
Generation length	4.1 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: Recorded in ones and twos, and reported as 'locally common, not rare' on Santo Pic in August-October 2010 (S. Totterman per G. Dutson in litt. 2016). The population is estimated to number 250-999 mature individuals based on an assessment of known records, descriptions of abundance and range size. This is consistent with recorded population density estimates for congeners or close relatives with a similar body size, and the fact that only a proportion of the estimated Extent of Occurrence is likely to be occupied. This estimate is equivalent to 375-1,499 individuals in total, rounded here to 350-1,500 individuals. However, the population may in fact be smaller given the paucity of recent records and its restriction to an extremely small area of mountain tops (G. Dutson in litt. 2016).

Trend justification: The few records of this species mean it is not possible to assess its recent population trend, but it has clearly declined since historical records and probably since the last record in 1991 (G. Dutson in litt. 2016). There are also plausible threats to the species, with the Man Hill people reportedly eating this species (S. Maturin in litt. 1994). Additionally, a number of other Pacific montane starling species have become extinct, presumably through the introduction of predatory mammals or disease (Pratt et al. 1987), and while Santo has no native land mammals, introduced species such as cats, dogs and rats are now widespread. Therefore, the species may be undergoing a continuous decline, and is precautionarily listed as such, though further work is required to get a better estimate of population trends.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Vanuatu	Santo Mountain Chain

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	major	resident
Altitude	1200 - 1900 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%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Canis familiaris	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		No decline		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Felis catus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		No decline		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%)		No decline		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Unspecified species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		No decline		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence, national

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Mountain Starling Aplonis santovestris. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/mountain-starling-aplonis-santovestris on 23/11/2024.
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 23/11/2024.