• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
Christidis, L. and Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Australia.
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
-	-	A2bc+3c+4bc

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2022	Vulnerable	A2bc+3c+4bc
2016	Least Concern
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	129,000 km2
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	135000-270000, 165000 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2020
Population trend	decreasing	-	inferred	2016-2026
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-49%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-49%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-49%	-	-	-
Generation length	3.26 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1-3	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: Much uncertainty. The estimate used here is the product of three AOO measures (spanning 3,600-7,200 km²) from Newman et al. (2021), the smallest being the number of 2x2 km squares for which there are records, the latter being an arbitrary doubling of this value to account for incomplete survey effort of potentially suitable habitat. The density estimate used of 45 birds/km² (range 18-88 birds/km²) was estimated by expert consultation (G.B. Baker unpublished in Newman et al. 2021). The population size is therefore placed between 135,000 and 270,000 mature individuals, with a best estimate of 165,000 (following Newman et al. 2021) .

Trend justification: In the last decade, reporting rates from available systematically collected 2-ha 20-min surveys, 500-m radius and 5-km area searches (BirdLife Australia 2020) declined by 72% (500-m) and 51% (5-km) in north-western Tasmania; by 38% (500-m) at Pyengana in north-eastern Tasmania; and, in south-eastern Tasmania, by 96% (2-ha) at Meehan Range. The reporting rate on kunanyi/Mount Wellington declined by 89% between 1976–1978 and 2014–2016 (Newman 2017). Data for an array of 2-ha surveys sites on the Wellington Range were inconclusive over 2014–2019 (Newman et al. 2021). A composite trend for those sites with sufficient data indicated that the species has decreased by 51% over the last decade (2009–2019). Given that similar trends are apparent at widely dispersed locations, but that there is some inconsistency, it is concluded that the population as a whole has declined by 30%–49% in the last decade (Newman et al. 2021). Given the ongoing threats of habitat loss, fire and drought (Newman et al. 2021), declines are feared to continue over the next three generations.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Australia	Ben Lomond
Australia	Bruny Island
Australia	Central Flinders Island
Australia	Cradle Mountain
Australia	Douglas-Apsley
Australia	King Island
Australia	Maria Island
Australia	Melaleuca to Birchs Inlet
Australia	North-west Tasmanian Coast
Australia	Robbins Passage and Boullanger Bay
Australia	South-east Tasmania

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Rural Gardens	suitable	resident
Artificial/Terrestrial	Urban Areas	suitable	resident
Forest	Temperate	major	resident
Savanna	Dry	suitable	resident
Shrubland	Temperate	suitable	resident
Altitude	0 - 1240 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Wood & pulp plantations - Agro-industry plantations	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
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 Species disturbance
Climate change & severe weather	Droughts	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Increase in fire frequency/intensity	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Unknown		Slow, Significant Declines		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Species mortality

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Strong-billed Honeyeater Melithreptus validirostris. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/strong-billed-honeyeater-melithreptus-validirostris 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.