View article

The conservation status of 491 taxa of birds recorded in Aotearoa New Zealand since first human contact was assessed using the New Zealand Threat Classification System criteria. Since the last assessment in 2016, eight taxa have been added to the list–five as a result of new distribution records and three as newly described extinct species. Four taxa were removed from the assessment process due to one taxonomic revision and reassessment of the validity of records of three vagrant or introduced species. In total, 80 taxa were assessed as being Threatened, 98 as At Risk, 37 as Not Threatened, and 212 as Non-resident, Coloniser, or Introduced and Naturalised. Two taxa remain as Data Deficient, although both are probably functionally extinct, with no accepted sightings in the past 5 years. Since 2016, the status of 25 taxa has improved, often because of conservation management, while the status of 22 taxa has deteriorated. Of note, 5 of 23 taxa that were regarded as Threatened–Nationally Critical are now considered less threatened and no taxa have moved into this category. Much conservation work is still required because 137 taxa are identified as being dependent on conservation management and climate change is known or predicted to have a negative impact on 69 taxa. Although birds are better known than many other taxonomic groups, 80 taxa were flagged as requiring more conservation research and 52 taxa were given one or more Data Poor qualifiers to indicate a paucity of knowledge about their taxonomy and/or their population sizes and trends.