• 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
-	C2a(ii)	C2a(i,ii); D1

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2020	Endangered	C2a(ii)
2016	Endangered	C2a(ii)
2012	Endangered	C2a(ii)
2008	Endangered	C2a(ii)
2004	Endangered
2000	Endangered
1994	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1988	Threatened

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	medium
Land-mass type	continent	Average mass	21 g

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	380 km2	medium
Number of locations	11-100	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	250-999 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2000
Population trend	decreasing	poor	inferred	2014-2024
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Generation length	3.04 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: The population is estimated to number 250-999 mature individuals based on an assessment of known records, descriptions of abundance and range size. This is consistent with recorded population density estimates for close relatives with a similar body size, and the fact that only a proportion of the estimated Extent of Occurrence is likely to be occupied. This estimate is equivalent to 375-1,499 individuals in total, rounded here to 350-1,500 individuals.

Trend justification: There are no new data on population trends, but the species can be tentatively assumed to be undergoing an ongoing decline due to the combined impacts of habitat loss and degradation, as well as predation by introduced species (Keith 1997, M. Morton in litt. 2016). Further assessments are required to confirm this trend.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
St Lucia	Castries and Dennery Waterworks Reserve and Marquis
St Lucia	Iyanola and Grande Anses, Esperance and Fond D'ors
St Lucia	Mandelé Protected Landscape
St Lucia	Pitons (Qualibou and Canaries)
St Lucia	Point Sables

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Plantations	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	major	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	resident
Altitude	0 - 800 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Wood & pulp plantations - Scale Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Herpestes javanicus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Sus scrofa	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Unknown		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Saint Lucia Black Finch Melanospiza richardsoni. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/saint-lucia-black-finch-melanospiza-richardsoni 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.