• 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
-	-	D1

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2023	Vulnerable	D1
2016	Vulnerable	D1
2012	Vulnerable	D1
2008	Vulnerable	C2a(i); D1
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Threatened

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	172,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	400-999 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2022
Population trend	decreasing	poor	suspected	2016-2052
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	15-29%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-29%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-29%	-	-	-
Generation length	12 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1-20	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: This species is described as fairly common to rare (Dutson 2011) and sparsely distributed (Woxvold and Novera 2021). Highest numbers appear to be in the New Georgia group where a minimum territory size of 10 km² was estimated in relatively undisturbed coastal habitat on Kolombangara (Buckingham et al. 1995), and at least two pairs are thought to be resident on Tetepare (Read 2013). Four pairs were reported on the Three Sisters (12 km²) off Makira in the 1950s (French 1957). Birds are less common inland and on larger islands, e.g. Guadalcanal and Malaita (Cain and Galbraith 1956, Buckingham et al. 1995, G. Dutson pers. obs. 1997-1998), where numbers have declined within living memory (Buckingham et al. 1995, G. Dutson pers. obs. 1997-1998). On the basis of known records, descriptions of abundance and range size, the population is likely to number less than 1,000 mature individuals. Tentatively assuming a pair occurs approximately every 20-30km² of coastal habitat, the population size is estimated at 455-683 mature individuals, placed here in the range 400-999 mature individuals.

Trend justification: A moderate and ongoing population decline is suspected on the basis of rates of habitat destruction and additional impacts of hunting. In the period 2000-2021, remote sensing data indicate that 7-9% of forest was lost in this species' range (Global Forest Watch 2022, using data from Hansen et al. [2013] and methods disclosed therein), equivalent to 13-15% in three generations (36 years; Bird et al. 2020). This is likely to accelerate (to an equivalent rate of 21-23%) in the future based on steeper losses in 2016-2021. Although this species hunts over open habitats including deforested areas, given its significant use and dependence on forest habitat for nesting (Buckingham et al. 1995, Dutson 2011), the reduction in forest cover extent is thought broadly to be causing an equivalent loss in the population size. This species is additionally impacted by hunting which is likely to compound declines.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Solomon Islands	East Makira
Solomon Islands	Gizo
Solomon Islands	Kolombangara Upland Forest
Solomon Islands	Mount Maetambe - Kolombangara River

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Mangrove Vegetation Above High Tide Level	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	major	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	suitable	resident
Marine Intertidal	Rocky Shoreline	suitable	resident
Marine Intertidal	Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc	suitable	resident
Marine Intertidal	Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches	suitable	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	suitable	resident
Altitude	0 - 1500 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Shifting agriculture	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Persecution/control	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Pollution	Agricultural & forestry effluents - Herbicides and pesticides	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Unknown		Unknown		Past Impact
		Stresses Species mortality

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	national
Sport hunting/specimen collecting	national

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Sanford's Sea-eagle Haliaeetus sanfordi. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/sanfords-sea-eagle-haliaeetus-sanfordi 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.