Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species formerly occurred on the island of Réunion. As a presumably forest dependent species, it was probably driven Extinct after the island was colonised in the early 17th century as a result of severe deforestation.
Population justification
None remain.
Trend justification
The species is known only from subfossil remains, and there are no historical accounts of the species (Hume 2017). It is very likely that the species disappeared sometime in the 1700s from severe deforestation which accelerated on Réunion during the 18th century (Cheke and Hume 2008).
Mascarenotus grucheti is only known from subfossil remains (Cowles 1987) found on Réunion (to France) (Mourer-Chauviré et al. 1994).
There are no accounts of this species in life, but it was likely a secretive inhabitant of dense and remote forests, and was likely adapted to hunt in such habitats (Hume 2017).
Accelerated deforestation on Réunion through the 18th century was likely the primary cause of decline for this species (Hume 2017).
Text account compilers
Brooks, T., Richardson, L., Khwaja, N., Martin, R., Mahood, S.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Reunion Owl Mascarenotus grucheti. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/reunion-owl-mascarenotus-grucheti 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.