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VU
Southern Ground-hornbill Bucorvus leadbeateri

IUCN Red List Criteria

Critically Endangered  
Endangered  
Vulnerable A4bcd 

IUCN Red List history

Year Category
2012 Vulnerable
2010 Vulnerable
2009 Least Concern
2008 Least Concern
2004 Least Concern
2000 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988 Lower Risk/Least Concern

Species attributes

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

Distribution

  Estimate Data quality
Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2) 8,670,000 medium
Number of locations -
Fragmentation -

Population & trend

  Estimate Data quality Derivation Year of estimate
No. of mature individuals Unknown not applicable Not Applicable 0
Population trend Decreasing poor -
Number of subpopulations - - -
Largest subpopulation - - -
Generation length (yrs) 31.3 - - -
Population justification: The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is reported to be widespread and common but sparse.
Trend justification: An assessment of the species's status in South Africa (Kemp and Webster in litt. 2008) estimated a 20% loss in the area of suitable habitat within the species's national range in the past 15 years. If this figure is used to project declines into the future, this equates to a population decline of 74% over 94 years (three generations). Although declines are also suspected in other range countries (S. Thomsett and S. Tyler in litt. 2010), there are not thought to be significant declines in Zambia, which may be a stronghold of the species (P. Leonard and L. Roxburgh in litt. 2010). As such, and given that data is lacking and that it is difficult to accurately project future declines for such a long-lived species, a decline of 30-49% is projected over 94 years (three generations).

Country/Territory distribution

Country/Territory Occurrence status Extinct Breeding Non-breeding Passage
Angola Native No      
Botswana Native No      
Burundi Native No      
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the Native No      
Kenya Native No      
Lesotho Native No      
Malawi Native No      
Mozambique Native No      
Namibia Native No      
Rwanda Native No      
South Africa Native No      
Swaziland Native No      
Tanzania Native No      
Uganda Native No      
Zambia Native No      
Zimbabwe Native No      

Habitats & altitude

Habitat (level 1) Habitat (level 2) Importance Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial Arable Land marginal resident
Artificial/Terrestrial Pastureland marginal resident
Artificial/Terrestrial Plantations marginal resident
Artificial/Terrestrial Rural Gardens marginal resident
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Dry major resident
Grassland Subtropical/Tropical Dry suitable resident
Grassland Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude suitable resident
Grassland Temperate suitable resident
Savanna Dry major resident
Shrubland Subtropical/Tropical Dry suitable resident
Shrubland Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude suitable resident
Altitude 0 - 3000 m Occasional altitudinal limits  

Threats & impact

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 Decline Medium Impact:
Stresses
None
Agriculture & Aquaculture Annual & perennial non-timber crops / Small-holder farming Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Majority (50-90%) Slow, Significant Decline Medium Impact:
Stresses
Reduced reproductive success
Agriculture & Aquaculture Livestock farming & ranching / Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Majority (50-90%) Slow, Significant Decline Medium Impact:
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & Aquaculture Livestock farming & ranching / Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Majority (50-90%) Slow, Significant Decline Medium Impact:
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion, Reduced reproductive success
Agriculture & Aquaculture Wood & pulp plantations / Small-holder plantations Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Majority (50-90%) Slow, Significant Decline Medium Impact:
Stresses
Reduced reproductive success
Transportation & service corridors Utility & service lines Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Negligible declines Low Impact: 4
Stresses
Species mortality
Biological resource use Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources / Persecution/control Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Majority (50-90%) Negligible declines Low Impact: 5
Stresses
Species mortality
Biological resource use Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources / Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Majority (50-90%) Slow, Significant Decline Medium Impact:
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use Gathering terrestrial plants / Unintentional effects (species is not the target) Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Negligible declines Low Impact: 4
Stresses
Species mortality
Biological resource use Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals / Intentional use (species is the target) Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Negligible declines Low Impact: 4
Stresses
Species mortality
Natural system modifications Fire & fire suppression / Trend Unknown/Unrecorded Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Slow, Significant Decline Low Impact: 5
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases Problematic native species/diseases Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Slow, Significant Decline Low Impact: 5
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

Utilisation

Purpose Primary form used Life stage used Source Scale Level Timing
Pets Whole Adults and juveniles Wild Subsistence, National Non-trivial Recent
Pets Whole Adults and juveniles Wild International Non-trivial Recent

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2013) Species factsheet: Bucorvus leadbeateri. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 25/05/2013. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2013) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 25/05/2013.

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.

To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife

To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums.

Key facts
Current IUCN Red List category Vulnerable
Family Bucorvidae (Ground-hornbills)
Species name author (Vigors, 1825)
Population size Unknown mature individuals
Population trend Decreasing
Distribution size (breeding/resident) 8,670,000 km2
Country endemic? No
Links to further information
- Summary information on this species
- Climate change species distributions