• 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
-	B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii)	B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii); D1+2

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2023	Endangered	B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii)
2016	Endangered	B1ab(iii,v)
2013	Endangered	B1ab(v)
2012	Endangered	B1ab(v)
2008	Endangered	B1a+b(v)
2004	Endangered
2000	Endangered
1996	Endangered
1994	Endangered
1988	Threatened

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	3,100 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	68 km2
Number of locations	2	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	800 mature individuals	good	estimated	2016
Population trend	stable	poor	suspected	-
Generation length	3.77 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	2	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: This species is restricted to Rimatara, its last remaining native island, and Atiu, where it was reintroduced in 2007. The first breeding on Atiu was reported in 2008, with more than 92 birds in 2011 (R. Malcolm in litt. 2010, 2012). The latest population estimate is 835 individuals on Rimatara (Blanvillain et al. 2015a), and with a daily average of 0.35 birds/ha detected within 50 m of eight road-transects, the population on Atiu was estimated to number 385 individuals in 2016 (Lieberman et al. 2018). The total population is therefore estimated to number 1,220 individuals, and assuming two thirds are mature, is roughly equivalent to 800 mature individuals.
Some birds have reached Mitiaro from Atiu, though the presence of Black Rats on this island is believed to have prevented the species from establishing there (McCormack 2017). Introduced populations of  >1,000 on Teraina, 50 on Tabuaeran and small numbers on Kiritimati (Thibault and Cibois 2017) are not included in the assessment since the introductions occurred outside the taxon's natural range and the intent was not to reduce extinction risk. As such, they do not meet the required conditions to be included in the categorisation process sensu IUCN guidelines.

Trend justification: On Rimatara, the population was estimated at >905 birds in 1992 (McCormack and Künzle 1996), c.750 in 2000 (G. McCormack in litt. 2001), 650 in 2002 (Raust and Sanford 2002), 610 in 2004, 1,079 in 2009 (Albar et al. 2009) and 835 in 2015 (Blanvillain et al. 2015a). Differences in timing, methodology and potential double-counting of individuals may have contributed to the increase in 2009, though using the same methodology as Albar et al. (2009), the 2015 estimate is indicative of a population decline (Blanvillain et al. 2015a, C. Blanvillain in litt. 2016). In April 2007, twenty-seven birds were re-introduced to Atiu in the Cook Islands from Rimatara. The introduction was successful, with the population estimated at c.40 birds in 2009, 90 ± 19 birds in 2010 and more than 92 birds in 2011 (R. Malcolm in litt. 2010, 2012). The population is now estimated at 385 individuals (Lieberman et al. 2018) and likely still increasing. There has been no more recent population estimate on Rimatara although recent records do not suggest the species is declining substantially (eBird 2023), and with the increasing population on Atiu, the overall trend is tentatively suspected to be stable.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Cook Islands	extant	reintroduced	yes
French Polynesia	extant	native	yes
Kiribati	extant	introduced	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Cook Islands	Atiu
Cook Islands	Miti'aro Island
French Polynesia	Rimatara
Kiribati	Tabuaeran (Fanning Island)
Kiribati	Teraina (Washington Island)

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Plantations	major	resident
Artificial/Terrestrial	Rural Gardens	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	major	resident
Altitude	0 - 80 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%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Acridotheres tristis	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Past Impact
		Stresses Competition, Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Felis catus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Rattus exulans	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 - Rattus norvegicus	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 - Rattus rattus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Phaethon lepturus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Residential & commercial development	Housing & urban areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Residential & commercial development	Tourism & recreation areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

Purpose	Scale
Handicrafts, jewellery, etc.	subsistence, national

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Rimatara Lorikeet Vini kuhlii. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/rimatara-lorikeet-vini-kuhlii on 22/11/2024.
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 22/11/2024.