• 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.
Turbott, E.G. 1990. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand. Ornithological Society of New Zealand, Wellington.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2022	Least Concern
2016	Near Threatened	C2a(i)
2012	Near Threatened	C2a(i)
2010	Near Threatened	C2a(i)
2008	Near Threatened	C2a(i)
2004	Near Threatened
2000	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1994	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1988	Near Threatened

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	530,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	5000-15000 mature individuals	poor	suspected	2021
Population trend	stable	-	suspected	-
Generation length	4.5 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: The species is often divided into three forms (although it is taxonomically considered monotypic herein): 'Bush', 'Southern' and 'Eastern' (Marchant and Higgins 1993). Population estimates by Fox (1978) are as follows: 'Bush' form (North Island and north-west South Island) 450-850 pairs; 'Southern' form (south-west coast of South Island and Auckland Islands) 140-270 pairs; and 'Eastern' form (of the remainder of South Island) 3,100-3,200. Thus the population was then estimated at 7,400-8,800 mature individuals. No more recent estimate has been made and since this time some populations have declined and/or recovered in ways that introduce considerable uncertainty to data more than 40 years on. For these reasons, the population is now suspected to number 5,000-15,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification: F. novaeseelandiae formerly declined because of habitat destruction, persecution and the effects of DDT. However, it has been comparatively tolerant of pervasive habitat modification throughout New Zealand, breeding successfully in plantations and feeding principally on non-native birds and mammals (Marchant and Higgins 1993, Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001, Seaton 2009). Some populations have been recorded declining (Gaze and Hutzler 2004) and the species has apparently become extinct on Stewart Island (Bell 2017). The 'Bush' form is listed nationally as 'Nationally Increasing' (Robertson et al. 2021; according to criteria established by Townsend et al. 2008), indicating that the species has formerly declined (within the last 1,000 years) but now has an ongoing or predicted increase of >10% (in population size or area of occupancy) over the next three generations. The 'Eastern' form, which was previously thought to be increasing, is now listed as 'Nationally Vulnerable' due to its small, stable population which is predicted to remain stable over the next three generations. The 'Southern' form (comprising <5% of the global population) is thought to number less than 1,000 mature individuals and is therefore listed as 'Nationally Endangered,' however under criteria (sensu Townsend et al. 2008) that indicate that the small population is stable and predicted to remain stable over the next three generations. The quality of these data are however poor (Robertson et al. 2021) and require confirmation. The global population of F. novaeseelandiae is precautionarily therefore suspected to be stable, however may be increasing.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	resident
Artificial/Terrestrial	Plantations	major	resident
Forest	Temperate	major	resident
Grassland	Temperate	suitable	resident
Shrubland	Temperate	suitable	resident
Altitude	0 - 1500 m	Occasional altitudinal limits	(max) 2100 m

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Persecution/control	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Trichosurus vulpecula	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Negligible declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species mortality
Transportation & service corridors	Utility & service lines	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species mortality

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: New Zealand Falcon Falco novaeseelandiae. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/new-zealand-falcon-falco-novaeseelandiae 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.