• 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.
SACC. 2005 and updates. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	C2a(ii)

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2023	Vulnerable	C2a(ii)
2016	Vulnerable	A2c+3c+4c
2012	Vulnerable	A2c+3c+4c
2008	Vulnerable	A2c; A3c; A4c
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1996	Endangered
1994	Endangered
1988	Threatened

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	42,800 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	3600-5000 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2023
Population trend	decreasing	poor	inferred	2015-2033
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	10-19%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	10-19%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	10-19%	-	-	-
Generation length	6.07 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: The species is described as rare and local. Assuming that densities observed in Colombia (1 individual/km²; Renjifo et al. 2014 and references therein) are representative for the entire range, and further assuming that 50% of forests in the range are occupied to account for the species' strict requirements for undisturbed forest interior (i.e., 5,500-7,500 km²; Global Forest Watch 2023), the total population may number 5,500-7,500 individuals. This equates to 3,600-5,000 mature individuals. However, given that the species is described as easily overlooked (Bierregaard et al. 2020), the population size may be larger and an accurate quantification is urgently required.

Trend justification: Population declines are believed to be ongoing because of accelerating habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, and may be further aggravated by the impacts of agrochemicals and pesticides (Renjifo et al. 2014, Bierregaard et al. 2020). Observational records appear to have become rarer over the past ten years, particularly in the southern part of the range in Ecuador (per eBird 2023).
Over three generations (18.2 years), up to 7% of tree cover are lost within the range (Global Forest Watch 2023, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein). This value however does not account for the impacts of habitat degradation nor of pesticide use. Total population declines are therefore here tentatively placed in the band 10-19% over three generations. This is confirmed by an analysis of overall habitat loss in the Colombian part of the range, which predict a rate of decline of 13% over the three generations from 2015 onward (Negret et al. 2021).

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Colombia	Munchique Natural National Park and southern extension
Colombia	Reserva Natural El Pangán
Colombia	Reserva Natural Río Ñambí
Ecuador	Cayapas-Santiago-Wimbí
Ecuador	Corredor Awacachi
Ecuador	Los Bancos - Milpe
Ecuador	Mache Chindul Ecological Reserve and surrouding areas (Reserva Ecológica Mache-Chindul IBA)
Ecuador	Mashpi-Pachijal
Ecuador	Reserva Ecológica Cotacachi-Cayapas
Ecuador	Territorio Étnico Awá y alrededores
Ecuador	Verde-Ónzole-Cayapas-Canandé

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	major	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	major	resident
Altitude	0 - 1780 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%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Wood & pulp plantations - Agro-industry plantations	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Wood & pulp plantations - Small-holder plantations	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		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
Energy production & mining	Mining & quarrying	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Pollution	Agricultural & forestry effluents - Herbicides and pesticides	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Species mortality
Transportation & service corridors	Roads & railroads	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Plumbeous Forest-falcon Micrastur plumbeus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/plumbeous-forest-falcon-micrastur-plumbeus on 23/12/2024.
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 23/12/2024.