Justification This little-known species is classified as Vulnerable on the basis of very small island subpopulations which are suspected to be declining through forest loss. However, it has been seen so infrequently that any population estimates are largely conjecture, and it may qualify for a higher threat category.

Family/Sub-family Accipitridae

Species name author Hartert, 1926

Taxonomic source(s) Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993)

Identification 28-33 cm. Small, pied hawk with black- and white-throated and possibly all-black morphs. Adult jet-black above, the throat and breast either black or white. Reddish-brown iris. Immatures mottled rufous with fine black barring on underparts. Similar spp. White-throated birds very similar to Pied Goshawk A. albogularis which is dark grey above, often with rufous collar, paler grey undersides to wing and tail and orange iris. Immature has dark streaks and drop-marks on the underparts. Voice Wailing reo. Possibly also a chatter. Hints Check all pied hawks on the three islands.

Population estimate

Population trend

Range estimate (breeding/resident)

Country endemic?

250-999

decreasing

10,100 km²

No

Range & population Accipiter imitator is endemic to Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, and Choiseul and Santa Isabel, Solomon Islands. It is rare but may be overlooked because of its unobtrusive forest habits, and it perhaps lacks a distinctive call. It is known from just one specimen from Bougainville and a handful from both Choiseul and Isabel⁷. During many weeks of fieldwork on all three islands in the 1980s and 1990s, it was seen only once on Bougainville⁶ and there was a series of records from Tirotonga village on Isabel. One specimen was also taken there, but some of the other field records and local reports, including those of all-black individuals, have been queried^3,8,9. This species's similarity to the polymorphic sympatric A. albogularis has led to a number of uncertain records, including birds on the distant island of Makira². Population numbers and trends are difficult to assess from so few recent records, but the species is clearly very rare and appears to have declined, on Choiseul at least^1,4,5.

Ecology: This species has been collected and sighted in lowland forest or forest edge to at least 400 m and, possibly, 1,000 m ^3,8,9. One was seen feeding on a Chestnut-bellied Monarch Monarcha castaneiventris¹⁰. Its ecology is poorly known and its niche separation from A. albogularis is unknown, but its shorter wings and tail and longer legs suggest that it is better adapted to interior forest⁷.

Threats As a lowland species, it is likely to be threatened by forest loss and degradation, which has increased in intensity in recent years¹¹. There is extensive logging in the lowlands and hills of Choiseul and some on Isabel. Logging may become a problem on Bougainville when the island opens up to development. It possibly suffers from competition with A. albogularis, especially in degraded forest.

Conservation measures underway CITES Appendix II. No conservation measures are known to have been taken.

Conservation measures proposed Continue searches on Choiseul and, when accessible, Bougainville. Survey population size and trends at Tirotonga. Research basic ecological requirements and interactions with A. albogularis at Tirotonga. Lobby for tighter controls of commercial logging, especially on Choiseul. Discuss possibilities of large-scale, community-based conservation areas on all three islands.

References 1. K. D. Bishop in litt. (1994). 2. Buckingham et al. (1995). 3. Debus (1995). 4. G. Dutson pers. obs. (1998). 5. D. Gibbs in litt. (1994). 6. Hadden (1981). 7. Schodde (1977). 8. Webb (1992). 9. Webb (1995). 10. Webb (1997). 11. G. Dutson in litt. (2007).

Text account compilers Phil Benstead (BirdLife International), Guy Dutson (Birds Australia), Guy Dutson (BirdLife International), Simon Mahood (BirdLife International), Andrew O'Brien (BirdLife International), Alison Stattersfield (BirdLife International)

Contributors K. David Bishop (VENT Bird Tours), Guy Dutson (Birds Australia), David Gibbs

IUCN Red List evaluators Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Simon Mahood (BirdLife International)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: Accipiter imitator. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 9/2/2010

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

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