STATUS and CONSERVATION of RAPTORS in AUSTRALIA&Apos;S
J. RaptorRes. 32 (1) :64-73 ¸ 1998 The Raptor ResearchFoundation, Inc. STATUS AND CONSERVATION OF RAPTORS IN AUSTRALIA' S TROPI CS NICK MOONEY Parksand WildlifeSet'vice, GPO Box 44A, Hobart 7001, Tasmania,Australia ABSTRACT.----•Iof Australia's34 raptorsare found in the tropics.No full speciesand onlyone subspecies, an island endemic owl, are extinct. All of Australia'sthree threatened, diurnal speciesare endemic to the continent. One, the Vulnerable Red Goshawk (Erythrotriochisradiatus), is endemic to Australia's tropical forestsand is under threat from lossof habitat, persecution,and egg collecting.Conservation efforts include legal protection, education, and keeping nest sitessecret. A secondspecies, the rare Square-tailedKite (Lophoictiniaisura) is widelydistributed and, exceptfor clearingof woodland,threats are not obvious.Many raptors from arid areas,including the endemic Grey Falcon (Falcohypoleucos), "winter" in tropicalwoodlands. For adequateconservation, critical habitatsof the Grey Falconmust be identified. Grey Falconsshould be helped in the long term by the anticipatedreduction of rabbitsin arid Australiaby rabbit calicivirusdisease, but widespreadclearing of tropicalwoodlands for agriculture continuesas does local, heavy use of pesticides.Although no speciesof owls are threatened, five sub- speciesare; two are subspeciesof the endemic RufousOwl (Ninox rufa, one rare and one insufficiently known) and two are subspeciesof the Masked Owl (Tyt0 novaehollandiae,both insufficientlyknown). Threats include lossof critical habitat to fire and agriculture.On ChristmasIsland, the smallpopulations of endemicsubspecies of the BrownGoshawk (Accipiterfasciatus) and MoluccanHawk-owl (N. squamipila) are Vulnerable and threatened by loss of habitat to urbanization and formerly mining. Besideslegal protection, conservationefforts have included educationand habitat preservation.The tropicalEastern Grass-owl(T. longimembris)is secure although some populationsare under pressurefrom agriculture (including rodenticides) and urbanization.
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