• 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
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2023	Least Concern
2016	Near Threatened	C2a(i)
2012	Near Threatened	C2a(i)
2009	Near Threatened	C2a(i)
2008	Near Threatened
2004	Near Threatened
2000	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
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)	90,700 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	2500-9999 mature individuals	-	estimated	2023
Population trend	decreasing	poor	suspected	-
Generation length	3.93 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	3-100	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: The population is poorly known, but the species is described as uncommon to rare and occurs at very low population densities (Hadley and Parker 1965, G. Dutson pers. obs. 1998, Dutson 2011, G. Dutson in litt. 2023). Assuming an effective detection distance of 10 m in closed forest, densities of around 5 individuals/km² in the mountains of Santo (likely covering less than 1,000 km²), 30 individuals/km² on Nendo (500 km²), and <1 individual/km² on Vanikoro (170 km²) have been suggested (G. Dutson in litt. 2023). Assuming that only a proportion of the range is occupied to account for this species' rarity, the total population is estimated to fall within the range 2,500-10,000 mature individuals (with more than 1,000 mature individuals in the largest subpopulation).

Trend justification: The species occurs at very low population densities, though there is no direct evidence of a decline. Remote sensing data (Global Forest Watch 2022, using data from Hansen et al. [2013] and methods disclosed therein) indicate slow but ongoing tree cover loss in this species range (<2% within three generations). Although there are records of the species from degraded forest and gardens, overall its tolerance of forest loss and degradation is little known; it therefore remains a possibility that ongoing forest loss and associated impacts of degradation are affecting the population (G. Dutson in litt. 2023). Considering this along with the potential impacts of invasive rats within the range that have caused rapid declines in congeners, a decline is precautionarily suspected.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Solomon Islands	Vanikoro
Vanuatu	Ambae
Vanuatu	Santo Mountain Chain

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	major	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	major	resident
Altitude	0 - 1200 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
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
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Unknown		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Rusty-winged Starling Aplonis zelandica. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/rusty-winged-starling-aplonis-zelandica on 24/12/2024.
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 24/12/2024.