• 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
B1ac(iv)	B1ac(iv)	B1ac(iv); D2

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2018	Critically Endangered	B1ac(iv)
2016	Critically Endangered	B1ac(iv)
2013	Critically Endangered	B1ac(iv)
2012	Critically Endangered	B1ac(iv)
2009	Critically Endangered	B1a+c(iv)
2008	Critically Endangered
2004	Critically Endangered
2000	Critically Endangered
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Threatened

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	24 g

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	2 km2	medium
Number of locations	1	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	2400-3600 mature individuals	good	estimated	2012
Population trend	stable	medium	suspected	1999-2009
Generation length	4.9 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: VanderWerf (2012) estimated 4,475 ±909 birds, which very roughly equates to 3,000 (2,400-3,600) mature individuals. This is larger than the previous estimate of 1,400-2,400 mature individuals, which was based on an estimate of 2,807 ±744 (95% CI) individuals in March 2007.

Trend justification: The species's numbers are believed to have declined over the period 1967-1996 but fluctuated markedly during that time (Morin and Conant 2002). The population size appeared to be fairly stable from 2009-2011 at 2,400-2,900 birds (VanderWerf et al. 2011), but the 2012 estimate was substantially higher (VanderWerf 2012). Fluctuating numbers and large errors associated with estimates have made it difficult to determine the population trend.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
USA	Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Marine Intertidal	Rocky Shoreline	major	resident
Marine Intertidal	Tidepools	major	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Moist	major	resident
Altitude		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
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Whole (>90%)		Very Rapid Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Climate change & severe weather	Droughts	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Likely to Return		Whole (>90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation
Climate change & severe weather	Storms & flooding	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Causing/Could cause fluctuations		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Cenchrus echinatus	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 - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Whole (>90%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Plasmodium relictum	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Whole (>90%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Schistocerca nitens	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	Viral/prion-induced diseases - Avipoxvirus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Whole (>90%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species mortality
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Trend Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Likely to Return		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation

---

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Nihoa Finch Telespiza ultima. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/nihoa-finch-telespiza-ultima on 26/12/2024.
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 26/12/2024.