• 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
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Least Concern
2016	Vulnerable	C2a(i)
2012	Vulnerable	C2a(i)
2008	Vulnerable	C2a(i)
2007	Vulnerable
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	65,200 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	5000-20000 mature individuals	medium	suspected	2022
Population trend	decreasing	poor	suspected	-
Generation length	5.61 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	10-20	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: The species is usually uncommon and localised but may be abundant close to communal nesting grounds (Dutson 2011). In 1995, it was surveyed on north-west Ambrym where 148 burrows (including 84 active or probably active burrows) were counted in three breeding grounds (Bowen 1996). In total, there are suspected to be more than 1,000 burrows on Ambrym (M. O'Brien in litt. 2021). Surveys in the Loru Protected Area on Espiritu Santo in 1995 recorded an average population density of 12 calling individuals per km² (Bowen 1997), but birds appeared less common in other forests on the island (G. Dutson pers. obs. 1998). Surveys on Ambrym and Espiritu Santo in 2001 found the species to be widespread, but only locally common at few sites (Bowen 1997, O'Brien et al. 2003). On Tongoa, there is a colony of c. 300 burrows (M. O'Brien in litt. 2021).

The density and occurrence of the species on other islands in Vanuatu is less well known. While large colonies exist on Ambrym and Tongoa, the species appears to be more thinly spread elsewhere (M. O'Brien in litt. 2021). Surveys on Efate, Malakula, Gaua, and Vanua Lava in 2014 recorded the species only on Malakula (Andersen et al. 2017). Although there are no data from which to estimate a global population size, the population size could plausibly fall within the range 5,000-20,000 mature individuals (M. O'Brien in litt. 2021). With a minimum of 1,000 burrows suspected on Ambrym (M. O'Brien in litt. 2021), the largest subpopulation is thought to exceed 1,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification: Local declines have been noted previously, likely as a result of storms, egg-collecting and predation (Foster 1999). Local villagers on north-west Ambrym reported a decline in numbers in 1995 (Bowen 1996), and villagers in Epiritu Santo also reported in 2001 that the species had declined there (O'Brien et al. 2003). There is some evidence that the population on Efate has increased recently, with the species now reported in Port Vila (M. O'Brien in litt. 2023). The global population trend has not been quantified, however the species is precautionarily suspected to be in decline owing to the ongoing threats of egg-collecting, habitat degradation and introduced species.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Vanuatu	Ambae
Vanuatu	Ambrym West
Vanuatu	Gaua
Vanuatu	Loru
Vanuatu	Santo Mountain Chain
Vanuatu	Tongoa - Laika
Vanuatu	Vanua Lava, Mount Sereama
Vanuatu	Vatthe
Vanuatu	West Malo

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	major	resident
Altitude	0 - 800 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
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Small-holder farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	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		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
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
Climate change & severe weather	Storms & flooding	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Reduced reproductive success
Climate change & severe weather	Temperature extremes	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Canis familiaris	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Felis catus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Sus scrofa	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Trend Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence, national

---

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Vanuatu Scrubfowl Megapodius layardi. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/vanuatu-scrubfowl-megapodius-layardi 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.