Current view: Data table and detailed info
Taxonomic note
Previously listed as Clytoceyx rex (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) but molecular phylogenies of Moyle (2006) and Anderson et al. (2018) found that Clytoceyx is firmly embedded within Dacelo. N population described as subspecies septentrionalis, but plumage variation is not constant. Two subspecies recognized.
Taxonomic source(s)
Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International. 2022. Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v7_Dec22.zip.
IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Red List history
| Migratory status |
not a migrant |
Forest dependency |
high |
| Land-mass type |
|
Average mass |
- |
Population justification: The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is reported to be widely distributed and uncommon (del Hoyo et al. 2001). This species is considered to have a high dependency on forest habitat, and tree cover is estimated to have declined by 2.4% within its mapped range over the past three generations (Global Forest Watch 2022, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein). It is therefore tentatively suspected that this rate of cover loss may have led to a decline of between 1-19% in the species' population size over the same time frame, with a best estimate of reduction being less than 5%.
Trend justification: .
Country/territory distribution
Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Species factsheet: Shovel-billed Kookaburra Dacelo rex. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/shovel-billed-kookaburra-dacelo-rex on 07/01/2025.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2025) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 07/01/2025.
