• 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.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2021	Near Threatened	B1a+2a; D1+2
2016	Vulnerable	D1+2
2012	Vulnerable	D1+2
2008	Vulnerable	D1; D2
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1994	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	1,900 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	152 km2
Number of locations	2-5	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	1000-2499 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2021
Population trend	stable	poor	suspected	-
Generation length	4.02 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	2	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: The species is common throughout the makatea (limestone forest) and inland of Atiu (McCormack 2007). On Rarotonga, it is restricted to the inland mountains (M. O'Brien pers. comm. 2021).

The population on Rarotonga is considered likely to exceed 500 individuals, with perhaps twice that number present on Atiu (McCormack 1997, J. Pilgrim in litt. 2002, G. McCormack in litt. 2007), which implies a total population size of at least c. 1,000 mature individuals. Based on a range area of 75 km², the first and third quartile recorded population densities of congeners (10 and 47 individuals per km², respectively), and assuming the range to be 75-95% occupied, the population size may be suspected to fall in the range 560-3,400 individuals, roughly equating to 370-2,300 mature individuals. The population size is therefore here placed in the band 250-2,499 mature individuals, with a best estimate in the band 1,000 - 2,499 mature individuals.

There is no evidence of inter-island movements (Baptista et al. 1997), so there are assumed to be two isolated subpopulations. The largest subpopulation is found on Atiu (McCormack 1997, J. Pilgrim in litt. 2002, G. McCormack in litt. 2007).

Trend justification: In 1973, the species was common on both range islands, with an estimated Rarotonga population of 2,000 - 3,000 individuals (Holyoak and Thibault 1984). In 1987, the population on Rarotonga was estimated at fewer than 100 individuals, and the total population was estimated at 350-1,500 individuals (Pratt et al. 1987). The species is now common in the inland mountains of Rarotonga and throughout the makatea (limestone forest) and inland of Atiu (McCormack 2007), and the population on Rarotonga probably exceeds 500 individuals, and with perhaps twice that number present on Atiu (McCormack 1997, J. Pilgrim in litt. 2002, G. McCormack in litt. 2007).

There is no evidence for any population decline (G. McCormack in litt. 2007), so the species's population size is assumed to be stable.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Cook Islands	Atiu
Cook Islands	Takitumu Conservation Area, Rarotonga

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	major	resident
Altitude	0 - 652 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Climate change & severe weather	Storms & flooding	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Acridotheres tristis	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		No decline		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Competition
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Rattus rattus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Negligible declines		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
		Future		Majority (50-90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species mortality

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Rarotonga Fruit-dove Ptilinopus rarotongensis. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/rarotonga-fruit-dove-ptilinopus-rarotongensis 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.