• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Range map
• Resources

Taxonomic note
Rhipidura verreauxi, R. spilodera, R. layardi and R. rufilateralis (del Hoyo and Collar 2016) were previously lumped as R. verreauxi following Sibley & Monroe (1990, 1993).

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
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Near Threatened	B1b(iii)+2b(iii); C2a(ii)
2016	Near Threatened	C2a(ii)
2012	Not Recognised
2008	Not Recognised
2004	Not Recognised
2000	Not Recognised
1994	Not Recognised
1988	Not Recognised

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	620 km2
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	620 km2
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	5000-9999 mature individuals	-	estimated	2020
Population trend	decreasing	-	suspected	-
Generation length	2.27 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: Based on densities recorded in Masibalavu and Dutson (2006), the population was estimated to number 7,500 mature individuals though the species may be overestimated on transects due to its inquisitive nature (M. O'Brien in litt. 2020). The population is tentatively placed here in the band 5,000-9,999 mature individuals to account for some uncertainty.

Trend justification: This species is reliant on mature forest (Watling 2001). Although the rate of conversion of old-growth native forest to mahogany plantations has slowed significantly, logging and subsistence farming still persist within the range. However, this appears to be largely undetected by remote sensing data which indicate only minimal forest loss (Global Forest Watch 2023, using data from Hansen et al. [2013] and methods disclosed therein). Forest clearance, with upland areas of Taveuni being a key area, is ongoing for (sometimes large scale) cultivation of kava (Piper methysticum), which is now a high value crop and widely traded and sold in the region (J. England in litt. 2020, O'Brien et al. 2021). As such, although there is no direct quantification of the population trend, the species is suspected to be declining.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Fiji	Taveuni Highlands

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Rural Gardens	suitable	resident
Artificial/Terrestrial	Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	major	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Moist	suitable	resident
Altitude	0 - 1200 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 Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Small-holder farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Wood & pulp plantations - Agro-industry plantations	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Species factsheet: Taveuni Streaked Fantail Rhipidura rufilateralis. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/taveuni-streaked-fantail-rhipidura-rufilateralis on 25/01/2025.
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 25/01/2025.