• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Climate Change maps
• 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
-	-	A2ab+3b+4ab; C2a(i); D1

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2020	Vulnerable	A2ab+3b+4ab; C2a(i); D1
2016	Vulnerable	C2a(i); D1
2014	Vulnerable	C2a(i); D1
2012	Near Threatened	C2a(ii);D1
2008	Near Threatened	C2a(ii); D1
2004	Near Threatened
2000	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Near Threatened

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	2,690,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	500-1000 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2008
Population trend	decreasing	-	estimated	2009-2022
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)	30-39%	-	-	-
Generation length	4.1 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	2-100	-	-	-

Population justification: It has been estimated that there are probably more than 1,000 mature individuals (Thomsett 1998), although more recently it was stated that there are probably substantially fewer than 500 pairs (Jenkins et al. 2008). The population is therefore estimated to number 500-1,000 mature individuals, assumed to equate to c.750-1,500 individuals in total.

Trend justification: The population is estimated to be in decline, based on evidence of reduced territory occupation in some areas, such as Zimbabwe and South Africa, during recent years (A. Jenkins in litt. 2012, 2014; Jenkins et al., 2019). Recent data for South Africa reports a 30% decrease in breeding individuals between 2011 and 2019 (A. Jenkins in litt. 2012; K. Walker pers. comm. 2020), equating to a 42% reduction rate over three generations. Additionally, a 2013 survey in Zimbabwe found no territories in an area that once contained 12 breeding individuals c.1994 (Jenkins et al., 2019). These survey data are difficult to interpret given the limited time span of observations and the species's erratic occupancy of breeding territories, however the rate of decline over three generations is precautionarily suspected to fall in the 30-49% band.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Botswana	extant	native	yes
Ethiopia	extant	native	yes
Kenya	extant	native	yes
Malawi	extant	native	yes
Mozambique	extant	native	yes
South Africa	extant	native	yes
South Sudan	extant	native	yes
Tanzania	extant	native	yes
Uganda	extant	native	yes
Zambia	extant	native	yes
Zimbabwe	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Kenya	Ol Donyo Sabache
Kenya	Taita Hills Forests
Malawi	Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve
Mozambique	Chimanimani Mountains (Mozambique)
South Africa	Blyde River Canyon
Tanzania	Masai Steppe
Tanzania	Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Tanzania	West Usambara Mountains
Zambia	Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park and Batoka Gorge
Zambia	Wonder Gorge
Zimbabwe	Batoka Gorge
Zimbabwe	Chimanimani Mountains (Zimbabwe)
Zimbabwe	Chizarira National Park
Zimbabwe	Haroni - Rusitu junction and Botanical Reserves
Zimbabwe	Nyanga mountains

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	non-breeding
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	resident
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)		major	resident
Savanna	Dry	suitable	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	resident
Altitude	600 - 3800 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Human intrusions & disturbance	Recreational activities	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species disturbance
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Bubo africanus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Falco biarmicus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Falco peregrinus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Competition, Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Natural system modifications	Dams & water management/use - Large dams	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 3
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Pollution	Agricultural & forestry effluents - Herbicides and pesticides	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Taita Falcon Falco fasciinucha. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/taita-falcon-falco-fasciinucha on 23/12/2024.
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 23/12/2024.