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

Taxonomic note

Gracula religiosa, G. venerata, G. robusta and G. indica (del Hoyo and Collar 2016) were previously lumped as G. religiosa following AOU (1998 and supplements) and Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993).

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
A2bd+3d+4bd; C2a(ii)	A2bd+3d+4bd; B2ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v); C2a(i); D	A2bd+3d+4bd; B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v)+2ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v); C2a(i); D1

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2020	Critically Endangered	A2bd+3d+4bd; C2a(ii)
2018	Critically Endangered	A2bd+3d+4bd; C2a(i)
2016	Critically Endangered	A2bd+3d+4bd; C2a(i)
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	medium
Land-mass type		Average mass	192 g

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	12,100 km2	medium
Number of locations	3	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	160-265 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2020
Population trend	decreasing	-	estimated	2010-2022
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	80-90%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	80-100%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	80-100%	-	-	-
Generation length	5.1 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	2	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: There are potentially two populations, though there are only two recent records of wild individuals on one island and the situation there may be complicated by possible releases that may have taken place. Any wild population on this island numbers fewer than 50 mature individuals. The species has recently been found to still occur at one other island, where the species is currently well-protected and estimated at at least 250 individuals (F. Rheindt in litt. 2020). Overall the population is estimated at between 250-400 individuals, roughly equivalent to 160-270 mature individuals. Concern over poaching from this island is very high, although rangers have been in place supported by a regional NGO to reduce the risk (F. Rheindt in litt. 2020). However on another island within the former range, the species is apparently now extinct, having disappeared following a period of intense trapping on the island, which principally targeted White-rumped Shama (Eaton et al. 2016).

Trend justification: This species is seriously impacted by capture for the domestic cage bird trade. On one island it was reported to have become extinct within a very short period of time after 'hundreds' of trappers came to the island targeting White-rumped Shama Kittacinlca malabarica at some time in 2010 (Eaton et al. 2015). As such, the species is considered to be undergoing an extremely rapid decline. Further reports of confiscations of apparently wild-caught individuals (KSDAE 2018) indicate that this is likely to be continuing.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Plantations	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Mangrove Vegetation Above High Tide Level	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	major	resident
Altitude	0 - 100 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Very Rapid Declines		High Impact: 9
		Stresses Species disturbance, Hybridisation, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Gracula religiosa	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Hybridisation, Reduced reproductive success

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	national, international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Nias Hill Myna Gracula robusta. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/nias-hill-myna-gracula-robusta 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.