the eastern quoll ( dasyurus viverrinus ) , also known as the eastern native cat , is a medium-sized carnivorous dasyurid marsupial native to australia .

they are widespread and even locally common in tasmania .

they have been considered extinct on the mainland since the 1960s , but efforts are being made to reintroduce them .

it is one of six extant species of quolls .

eastern quoll

the largest species of quoll is the spotted - tail quoll ( also called the tiger quoll ) , the smallest is the northern quoll .
the eastern quoll is extinct on the mainland and has declined rapidly across tasmania .
the eastern quoll is also known as an eastern native cat . this medium - sized quoll is now extinct in mainland australia , but is widespread in tasmania . unlike all other quolls , the eastern quoll only has four toes on its hind feet .
victorian eastern quoll specimens - where light meets dark ( www . wherelightmeetsdark . com )
s3 table . mean values of all parameters measured using praat for eastern quoll vocalisations .
the 4 species are the spotted tailed quoll found along the east coast , the western quoll found in southern western australia , the eastern quoll found only in tasmania and the northern quoll found in tropical north queensland .
the eastern quoll is largely solitary . it hunts and scavenges , feeding largely on insects .
spotted - tail quoll ( also called tiger quoll ) near threatened . the largest species of quoll . found in southeast australia and tasmania . a separate subspecies is found in eastern queensland .
( photo of 2005 mainland eastern quoll specimen copyright 2005 paul mervin . used with permission . )
by 1963 the last eastern quoll ever seen on mainland australia would be found dead on the road .
at the same time newspaper reports were beginning to appear , describing the disappearance of the eastern quoll .
fancourt ba , hawkins ce , nicol sc . evidence of rapid population decline of the eastern quoll (
“this discovery raises the possibility that the eastern quoll may still exist in regions such as barrington tops , ” dr eldridge said . “hopefully , the mainland eastern quoll has been given a second chance . ”
for these reasons , the eastern , spotted - tail and northern quoll are all listed nationally as endangered , and the western quoll is listed as vulnerable .
however , there appears to be a population of eastern quolls living in the state of victoria . victoria is within the eastern quoll’s historical range on the mainland .
the eastern quoll is classified as near threatened ( nt ) on the iucn red list ( 1 ) .
s1 video . dynamic weather model , showing monthly variation in eastern quoll core habitat from 1950 to 2012 .
an eastern quoll caught and collared for research in the tasmanian midlands . photo rowena hamer . behaviour / ecology
there are several species of quoll– the new guinea quoll , the bronze quoll . the western quoll , the northern quoll , and the tiger quoll . quolls are sometimes referred to as “native cats” or “marsupial martens . ” i find the latter to be a more accurate description of their ecological niche and appearance .
we now hold some of the last remaining threatened species populations on the mainland of australia , including the mainland eastern barred bandicoot , red bellied pademelon and eastern quoll .
a northern quoll . photo jiri lochman / lochman transparencies . we have four species of quoll in australia :
the western quoll used to be found in 70 % of australia , but is now only found in a small area in southwest australia . it is the second - largest quoll . the western quoll is similar to the eastern quoll but has five toes on its hind feet .
eastern quoll numbers declined as unfavourable weather conditions reduced the amount of environmentally suitable habitat across tasmania ( grey shading ) .
s1 fig . the predicted range of the eastern quoll in tasmania as determined by the long - term climate model .
consultation document on listing eligibility and conservation actions dasyurus viverrinus ( eastern quoll ) ( pdf - 287 . 15 kb ) consultation document on listing eligibility and conservation actions dasyurus viverrinus ( eastern quoll ) ( docx - 115 . 56 kb )
in tasmania , the eastern quoll has a widespread but patchy distribution ( 1 ) , being most common in the drier eastern half of the island ( 3 ) ( 5 ) .
s1 table . correlation matrices for the eight climatic variables used in weather models for the eastern quoll in tasmania ( 1950–2009 ) .
earth sanctuaries limited , 2000 .
eastern quoll
( on - line ) . accessed 11 / 25 / 00 at urltoken .
but that’s what’s left of the eastern quoll on the australian mainland , but there do continue to be lots of sightings of them .
northern quoll : endangered . found in separate colonies in northern parts of western australia and the northern territory , and in eastern queensland .
in a little more than 60 years from its initial population plunge , the eastern quoll would be extinct across its entire former mainland range .
mt rothwell is the largest predator free ecosystem in victoria . the property is exclusively managed for the conservation of some of australia’s most threatened faunal species , including the eastern barred bandicoot ( ebb ) and eastern quoll .
map of tasmania showing spatial distribution of changes in mean index of eastern quoll abundance ( ai ) by region over the 10 years to 2009 , as recorded in annual spotlight surveys , overlaid onto the predicted core habitat distribution for the eastern quoll as defined by the binary weather model .
a quoll’s fur can range in colour from brown to black . its coat is dotted with lighter patches . the spotted - tailed quoll is the only quoll species that also has spots on its tail .
there is quite a large size difference between quoll species . the smallest australian quoll is the northern quoll , the largest the spotted - tailed quoll . northern quolls are the size of kittens , whereas tiger quolls are the size of full - grown cats or small dogs .
rob brewster , who heads rewilding australia , said the park represented the habitat that typified the last strongholds of the eastern quoll on the mainland .
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a nocturnal species , the eastern quoll shelters in a den by day , usually in an underground burrow , fallen log or rock pile ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ) . the eastern quoll is mainly terrestrial , moving across the ground with a bounding gait and only occasionally climbing ( 3 ) .
the spotted - tailed quoll is also known as the tiger quoll . it is the largest quoll , and the only one to have spots on its tail . there are two subspecies of tiger quoll . dasyurus maculatus maculatus is found in southeast australia , and dasyurus maculatus gracilis is found in east queensland .
established in august 2014 , the australian quoll conservancy is australia’s newest conservation group . the aqc is dedicated to the conservation of all four of australia’s quoll species , particularly the race “gracilis” of the spotted tailed quoll in north qld .
parks and wildlife service of tasmania , october 20 , 1997 .
eastern quoll
( on - line ) . accessed november 25 , 2000 at urltoken .
skin samples taken from the specimen by staff at oeh were sent to australian museum researchers who conducted genetic testing to compare known mainland and tasmanian eastern quoll specimens .
the tasmanian experience demonstrates that if nsw and victoria are ever to reintroduce the eastern quoll , at least on a landscape scale , we must first reintroduce the devil - in a hope that a healthy devil population would suppress cat and perhaps fox numbers , allowing the eastern quoll to have a chance to survive in the wild .
maybe one day we’ll find a genuine relict population of eastern quolls on the mainland .
in september 2008 museum victoria released an article describing two eastern quoll specimens which had been collected as roadkill near mount rothwell conservation and research centre , west of melbourne .
the eastern quoll is classed as vulnerable under federal legislation , but is not listed under tasmanian state legislation . further details can be found at our threatened species site .
by 2006 , mt rothwell manager paul mervin estimates over 500 eastern quolls had born in captivity across all mainland sanctuaries breeding eastern quolls . without exception , all captive - bred eastern quolls were the more common fawn colour despite some sanctuaries even pairing two black quolls together .
the eastern quoll ( dasyurus viverrinus ) is a boldly spotted 1 kg carnivorous marsupial that was once common throughout the open forests and woodlands of south - eastern australia , before the introduction of red foxes saw the species disappear from the mainland between 1900 and 1960 .
further recommended conservation measures for the eastern quoll include the control of fox populations ( 1 ) ( 2 ) , and the tasmanian government is now undertaking a fox eradication programme ( 7 ) . suggestions have also been made to re - introduce the eastern quoll into parts of the mainland where red foxes are controlled ( 3 ) ( 8 ) .
in eastern australia . journal of zoology . 2006 ; 268 ( 4 ) : 347–54 .
the eastern quoll ( dasyurus viverrinus ) is a medium sized carnivorous marsupial ( figures 1 & 2 ) . mainland populations were once distributed from south australia to queensland but are now presumed extinct , mainly due to fox predation . in tasmania eastern quolls are still common .
like the spotted - tail quoll , the eastern quoll is an opportunistic carnivore that takes live prey and scavenges . the eastern quoll is an impressive hunter , taking small mammals such as rabbits , mice and rats . they can also be quite bold when competing with the larger tasmanian devil for food . eastern quolls sometimes scavenge morsels of food from around feeding devils . however , the main component of its diet is invertebrates , especially agricultural pests such as the cockchafer beetle and corbie grub . carrion and some fruits are also eaten .
the last confirmed specimen of the eastern quoll on the australian mainland was from nielsen park , vaucluse in sydney dating from 1963 , and is now held by the australian museum .
we’ll have a closer look at the 6 species of quoll further down the page .
temporal variation in area of environmentally suitable habitat and quoll abundance from 1990 to 2009 .
despite its larger size , the spotted - tailed quoll still treads an ecological tightrope .
long - term conservation efforts mean the future is looking brighter for the western quoll .
this ' trophic cascade ' of events ; whereby the damage to an ecosystems top order predator impacts on other species within the environment , now threatens the survival of the eastern quoll in tasmania . if devil numbers do not recover , and perhaps even if they do , then the decimation of the eastern quoll and its eventual extinction may mirror the mainland experience .
dr todd soderquist , threatened species officer of the office of environment and heritage , said , “reports of eastern quolls still occur in nsw occasionally , but most are likely to be mistaken identification of the larger spotted - tailed quoll . a confirmed record of an eastern quoll is extremely important in focusing our surveys toward areas where unverified yet promising identifications have occurred .
one of the australian quolls is the eastern quoll ( dasyurus viverrinus ) . it is currently found only in tasmania , but its range once included much of the southeastern australian mainland .
weather - defined species distribution models for the eastern quoll in tasmania , showing ( a ) habitat suitability ( logistic output ) and ( b ) core distribution ( binary output ) .
eastern quolls face an uphill battle to recover after climate change drove wild populations closer to extinction .
s2 fig . response curves of eastern quolls for each of the modelled weather variables in tasmania .
figure 2 . a litter of six month old juvenile captive eastern quolls in a nest box .
the last “native” mainland eastern quoll died in sydney in 1963 . these little marsupials , though called “native cats , ” are thought to have suffered greatly when foxes were introduced to australia . foxes readily kill them , and because tasmania has been fox free up until very recently . it was thought that this was why the eastern quoll has been able to thrive there .
jagoe , m . , talune wildlife park , koala gardens . july 28 , 2000 .
eastern quoll
( on - line ) . accessed november 25 , 2000 at urltoken .
figure 3 . image of a tail hair plucked from an eastern quoll . dna is collected from cells which were part of the hair follicle - not the actual shaft of the hair .
the western quoll , for instance , was once found across 70 % of australia . it’s now only found in the far south - west of western australia . the eastern quoll , once widespread in south - east australia , has been extinct on the mainland since the 1960s .
the quoll is mainly nocturnal , and tends to stay in its den during the day .
the new guinean quoll ( dasyurus albopunctatus ) lives in the forests of northern new guinea .
the northern quoll is the smallest species of quoll . all quolls have relatively short life spans , and the male northern quoll are particularly short - lived . in some areas , all adult male northern quolls die after the breeding season , leaving only female quolls and their young .
there are six species of quoll . four are found in australia and / or tasmania , the other two are found in new guinea . the six species of quoll are listed below .
the only species of quoll to have a full pouch is the tiger quoll . the other species have folds of skin on their undersides which develop into a pouch during the breeding season .
once found across much of south - eastern australia , the eastern quoll is now found only in tasmania . disease is thought to be responsible for a sudden crash in mainland populations in the early 1900s , although foxes , cats , rabbits , poisoning and persecution have all been linked to their decline .
“this exciting discovery indicates that the eastern quoll survived for decades longer on the mainland than previously thought , ” dr mark eldridge , principal research scientist at the australian museum research institute ( amri ) .
please contact the australian quoll conservancy should you require further information on network , rescue and research .
the endangered northern quoll has been virtually wiped out from areas since the arrival of cane toads .
the last eastern quoll on the australian mainland is thought to have been killed around 1963 , although there have been unconfirmed sightings since ( 1 ) ( 3 ) . the factors that caused the eastern quoll to become extinct on the mainland are not well known ( 1 ) , but may have included predation by and competition with introduced carnivores such as red foxes ( vulpes vulpes ) and feral cats , as well as disease transmitted from these non - native species . the eastern quoll was also hunted in the past , and has been persecuted as it may sometimes prey on domestic poultry ( 3 ) .
the eastern quoll is also vulnerable to mortality on roads ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ) ( 5 ) , with an increase in traffic speed resulting in an increase in the number of quolls killed ( 1 ) . although the biology of the eastern quoll is fairly well known , its precise habitat requirements , distribution , abundance and diseases are less well understood ( 1 ) ( 3 ) .
the eastern quoll ( or native cat , as it is sometimes called ) has two colour phases - - ginger - brown or black , both with white spots on the body but not the tail .
bronwyn fancourt has spent four years researching the causes of the decline of eastern quoll in tasmania . the following is a brief summary of the extremely enlightening presentation she gave to the bruny island community recently .
the eastern quoll has not been confirmed on mainland australia since 1963 when the last one died in sydney , nsw . prior to this the species ' distribution extended from south - east south australia , through most of victoria , along the eastern seaboard of new south wales and possibly into south - east queensland .
the eastern quoll’s persistence in tasmania decades after it disappeared from the mainland suggests tasmania is a far safer place for eastern quolls and offers them the best chance to recover . removing them from a relatively safe place and reintroducing them to high - risk mainland sites filled with dingoes , foxes and toxic fox baits could actually hinder , not help , their recovery . for example , while baiting foxes may reduce the threat from foxes , it takes less than half of one fox bait to kill an adult female eastern quoll .
“dna based analysis indicated that the new eastern quoll specimen was most similar to specimens from mainland australia and not tasmania , ” dr greta frankham of the australian centre for wildlife genomics at the australian museum confirmed .
eastern and northern tasmania . population undergoing significant decline . numbers in the low thousands . extinct in former range on mainland in south and east . last mainland sighting was in neilson park in eastern sydney in the 1960s .
the eastern quoll once occurred across southeast australia , from south australia , through victoria to the central coast of new south wales ( 1 ) ( 2 ) ( 3 ) . however , after reductions of between 50 and 90 percent in its historical range , the eastern quoll now exists in the wild only in tasmania and on the nearby bruny island , where it may have been introduced ( 1 ) ( 3 ) .
the male eastern quoll is larger than the female ( 3 ) ( 4 ) . both sexes have a long body , short legs , a narrow head with a tapering snout , and erect ears that have rounded tips ( 3 ) ( 5 ) . compared to the closely related spotted - tailed quoll ( dasyurus maculatus ) , the eastern quoll is slighter in build and has a more pointed muzzle ( 4 ) ( 5 ) , and is also distinguished by the lack of spots on its tail ( 2 ) .
the spotted - tailed quoll can eat medium - sized birds and mammals , such as possums and rabbits . smaller quoll species eat insects , reptiles , frogs , birds’ eggs , small birds and mammals .
despite their mainland demise , eastern quolls continued to thrive in tasmania – until recently . across tasmania , quoll numbers declined by more than 50 % in the 10 years to 2009 and show no sign of recovery .
the answer to yesterday’s “what is the species ? ” is an eastern quoll ( dasyurus viverrinus ) . the one in the photo above is a darker phase than the one in the photo that asked the question .
lindenmayer said the park was one of the last strongholds for the endangered eastern bristlebird and also contained rare vegetation .
eastern quolls were released into the sanctuary from 2002 through to 2006 . all captive - bred eastern quolls during this time were tagged with microchips . as eastern quolls are able to breed in their first year , the first
wild born
quolls ( within the sanctuary ) would have arrived in 2003 and these would not have received microchips .
a collaborative effort between the office of environment and heritage and the australian museum has confirmed the discovery of an eastern quoll specimen from barrington tops , raising hopes that the species may not be extinct in new south wales .
male eastern quolls are about the size of a small domestic cat averaging 60 cm in length and 1 . 3 kg in weight ; females are slightly smaller . they have thick , soft fur that is coloured fawn , brown or black . small white spots cover the body except for the bushy tail which may have a white tip . compared to the related spotted - tail quoll , the eastern quoll is slightly built with a pointed muzzle .
i hope we can mitigate some of the issues have that have really harmed the quoll of two colors .
there are 6 species of quoll ; 4 are found in australia , 2 are found in new guinea .
citation : dorph a , mcdonald pg ( 2017 ) the acoustic repertoire and behavioural context of the vocalisations of a nocturnal dasyurid , the eastern quoll ( dasyurus viverrinus ) . plos one 12 ( 7 ) : e0179337 . urltoken
the reintroduction comes after the earlier release of the eastern bettong in 2012 , after a similar mainland extinction around 1900 .
with the frequency of extreme weather events predicted to increase over coming decades , the future for eastern quolls looks uncertain .
the diaries and newspaper reports left for us by the australian ' s in the 19th century depict a land where the quoll was in great abundance . stories of quolls in peoples kitchens , chook yards , the local church , and everywhere in between were a regular theme . advertisements offering eastern quoll skin rugs and waist coasts were even found in city newspapers , and up until the 1890s it seemed that the quoll wasn ' t going anywhere .
quolls are carnivorous , which means they eat meat . the larger the quoll , the larger its potential prey . smaller quoll species eat insects , worms , frogs , lizards and small mammals . the tiger quoll also eats larger animals such as possums , rabbits and hares . quolls will also eat carrion , fruit and grass .
diagnosing species decline : a contextual review of threats , causes and future directions for management and conservation of the eastern quoll . wildlife research . 43 : 197 - 211 . ( fancourt , b . a . , 2016 ) .
whatever the truth is ; either the fox , poisoning and shooting , an epidemic , or perhaps a combination of these factors , resuted in the eastern quoll becoming exceedingly rare in most parts of mainland australia from about 1900 onward .
although the new specimen could be identified as an eastern quoll , it was not initially clear whether it derived from a local barrington tops population or was an escapee from captive animals of tasmanian origin , where a population has survived .
the northern quoll is rated ‘endangered’ on the iucn red list . the other 5 species are rated ‘near threatened’ .
‘quoll’ is an aboriginal name . captain cook saw quolls in 1770 , and heard local people using the name .
it is doubtful we will ever have answers to most of these questions and with eastern quoll sighting reports being forwarded to wlmd from a number of locations in nsw , there may well be other populations persisting in small pockets of wilderness .
two dead eastern quolls were collected in 2008 - one in june and the other in september . both were found by local wildlife carer raylene reynolds and forwarded to museum victoria . ms reynolds reported having seen quolls feeding beside the road previously , where these two specimens were found . the location is also close to where one eastern quoll was found in 2005 .
the federal government , which has voiced its determination to tackle the threat feral cats pose to native species , is holding a threatened species summit in july to discuss , among other things , the reintroduction of animals such as the eastern quoll .
fancourt ba , hawkins ce , cameron ez , jones me , nicol sc ( 2015 ) devil declines and catastrophic cascades : is mesopredator release of feral cats inhibiting recovery of the eastern quoll ? plos one 10 : e0119303 . pmid : 25760348
some quolls can climb high into trees to capture prey , including tree - roosting sleeping birds . northern quolls are the smallest , most aggressive and most arboreal ( tree - based ) of all quoll species , eastern quolls are the least .
a mainland population may still exist , but if it does , it is very small and fragmented . the most recent sighting of the mainland eastern quoll was in 2006 , so it is worth exploring to see if they are still out there .
aitkin lm , nelson je , shepherd rk . development of hearing and vocalization in a marsupial , the northern quoll ,
the quoll is a carnivorous marsupial . it is easily recognised by its distinctive pale spots . the quoll is native to australia and new guinea . it is threatened by habitat loss and the spread of invasive species ( in particular the cane toad ) . this page contains quoll facts for kids and adults , and is part of our australian animals series .
growing up to 125cm ( including a long tail ) and 5kg , the spotted - tail quoll ( or tiger quoll ) is now the largest native carnivore left on the mainland ( excluding dingoes ) . the northern quoll is the smallest of the quolls , with males weighing around 1kg ( females are appreciably smaller ) – the size of a small kitten .
fancourt , b . a . ( 2016 ) . diagnosing species decline : a contextual review of threats , causes and future directions for management and conservation of the eastern quoll . wildlife research . 43 : 197 - 211 . available from : urltoken .
in this study , we tested the hypothesis that the recent decline of the eastern quoll in tasmania is due to short - term variation in climatic variables . we built sdms for the species using both long - term climate means and short - term weather variables , and we compared the predictions of the area of suitable habitat from the weather model with an index of range - wide abundance of the quoll from standardised transect counts . we made four predictions : ( 1 ) climatic variables would provide meaningful predictions of habitat suitability for the eastern quoll ; ( 2 ) weather sdms using short - term spatially and temporally explicit weather data would perform better than climate sdms that use long - term climatic means ; ( 3 ) weather sdms would predict a reduction in the amount of suitable habitat corresponding to the period of decline in quoll abundance , and quoll declines would be greatest in regions with lowest mean habitat suitability ; and ( 4 ) predicted habitat suitability would exhibit a positive relationship with quoll abundance .
fancourt ba , hawkins ce , cameron ez , jones m , nicol sc . devil decline and catastrophic cascades : is mesopredator release of feral cats inhibiting recovery of the eastern quoll ? plos one . 2015 ; 10 ( 3 ) : e0119303 . pmid : 25760348
five eastern quolls have been released into a woodland sanctuary in canberra ' s north , decades after they were last seen in the wild .
what has now become clear is that tasmanian devils were suppressing feral cat numbers at levels that allowed eastern quolls to persist in the environment .
if these are descendants then how long have eastern quolls survived outside the sanctuary ? have they developed specific adaptive behaviours to cope with their environment ? have they interacted with predators , and in particular foxes ? ( the red fox , vulpes vulpes has recently been introduced into the island state of tasmania - the eastern quoll ' s last stronghold - and may have contributed to their extinction on the mainland . )
aitkin lm , nelson je , shepherd rk . hearing , vocalization and the external ear of a marsupial , the northern quoll ,
bronwyn recommends that an insurance population ( or captive breeding ) of quolls be established to supplement other quoll populations across mainland tasmania .
we protect quoll habitat , by maintaining native vegetation and conserving hollow logs . our fire management helps preserve quoll habitat and important habitat features , while our feral predator management , aimed at fox and cat control , also reduces competition and the pressure of predation .
the eastern quoll breeds in the early winter , between may and august ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ) ( 5 ) , with the young being born after a gestation period of around 21 days ( 3 ) ( 4 ) . there may be up to 30 young in each litter , but the pouch of the female eastern quoll usually contains only 6 teats . this means that the only young to survive are those that can attach themselves to the teats in order to feed ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ) .
the eastern quoll once lived in eastern australia and tasmania . today , its thought to exist only in tasmania . apparently , it could not survive competition with and predation from feral cats and then succumbed to predation by foxes . it was also widely poisoned because it was viewed to be threat to poultry . it tends to live in areas very close to farming enterprises , so it is possible that the quoll took the odd chicken . it is also possible that all of these pressures combined with a disease that finally extirpated them from the mainland .
a taxidermied specimen was recently handed over to the national parks and wildlife service in gloucester by a local resident , who reported it to be collected as a road kill on barrington tops in 1989 . staff at npws were excited to realise the specimen was an eastern quoll .
mainland australia’s largest marsupial carnivore , the spotted - tailed quoll , is a creature now verging on the mythical . populations plummeted within decades of european settlement in their forest habitats along australia’s eastern seaboard and in tasmania , where they are second in size only to the tasmanian devil .
the eastern quoll was once widespread across south - eastern australia . it disappeared from the mainland in the 1960s . today , it is only found in the wild in tasmania , but does exist in a mainland safe haven in victoria . it is mostly solitary and is active at night : hunting for prey such as insects , small mammals , birds and reptiles . eastern quolls have a thick coat , which can be either fawn or black , with white spots . both fawn and black young can be born in the same litter . fawn quolls are much more common .
although considered to be widespread and relatively common in tasmania ( 1 ) ( 2 ) ( 4 ) , the eastern quoll is now believed to be undergoing a rapid decline ( 6 ) . the recent introduction of the red fox to tasmania is likely to present the most significant threat to the eastern quoll there ( 1 ) ( 6 ) ( 7 ) , although it may also face threats from habitat clearance , poisoning by insecticides , illegal persecution , and predation by and competition with feral cats ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ) ( 5 ) .
feral cats are well suited to taking prey that quolls eat , the direct competition potentially forcing the eastern quoll from its habitat . dogs , roadkills from collision with vehicles , and illegal poisoning or trapping by poultry owners are also causing declines . the species is wholly protected by law .
interestingly , while weather conditions have since improved , eastern quolls have not recovered . with their numbers pushed so low , the remaining small populations can no longer breed faster than other threats kill them off . historically , when quoll numbers were higher , they could cope with these threats .
while the young eastern quolls are being cared for by the female , their mortality rate is low . however , after weaning the young tend to disperse , and mortality is high during the first few months of independent life ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ) . the eastern quoll reaches sexual maturity within its first year , and may live for around three to five years in the wild ( 3 ) ( 5 ) .
fancourt , b . ( 2011 ) in search of disappearing eastern quolls . paws newsletter , foundation for national parks & wildlife . available at : urltoken
association between seroprevalence of t . gondii igg antibodies in eastern quolls at cradle mountain and the square - root transformed number of eastern quolls captured 2 months later ( y = 2 . 552–0 . 022× ) . each data point represents a single trapping / sampling session between may 2011 and july 2013 .
newspaper reports become less numerous as the decades pass . by 1948 , when an eastern quoll turned up in kew , near melbourne , it seems that most people in victoria haven ' t seen a quoll for 30 years . quolls were still being reported and collected around the suburbs of sydney , which suggests that perhaps the eastern quolls final mainland strongholds were those areas of bushland protected from foxes by the less penetrable city fringes , may have slowed the now ubiquitous urban fox population . it may have also been a barrier to the poisoning of quolls , which would have regularly occurred in more rural areas , or acted as a barrier to whatever epidemic may have struck the quoll at the turn of the century .
the eastern quoll is one of australia’s few remaining carnivorous marsupials . it belongs to the same family grouping as the tasmanian devil , antechinus and dunnarts and is a protected species under the nature conservation act 2002 . once present across south - eastern australia , it is now considered extinct on the mainland . many factors are thought to be linked with its extinction , including foxes , poisons , cane toads , habitat loss , disease and persecution .
we have demonstrated that the distribution and abundance of the eastern quoll appear to be correlated with changes in short - term weather variables . temporally explicit sdms related unfavourable weather conditions to a sudden decline in both distribution of core habitat and quoll abundance . however , while improved weather conditions predicted a subsequent recovery in suitable habitat , quoll abundance did not recover . this suggests that the recent decline in abundance is not a short - term fluctuation , and that some unmeasured factor ( s ) is continuing to suppress quoll populations and inhibit their recovery . we suggest that while the causal agents continue to operate unchecked , ongoing declines may lead to an increased extinction risk . further research is required to identify these agents .
spotted - tailed quoll view full size creator : © houghton library , harvard university , ms typ 55 . 12 ( fol . 8 )
now , with the sanctuary ' s permission , where light meets dark would like to report two further eastern quolls discovered in the same vicinity in 2005 .
eastern quolls can be seen in all but the narawntapu range national park and the arthur river area . they are common in mt . field national park .
eastern quolls survived in tasmania but have not been seen on the mainland since 1963 ; they eat insects , fruit and animal carcasses . photograph : rob brewster
we’re proud to have two species of quoll on our reserves and partnerships . spotted - tail quolls are present on our tasmanian reserves , and the northern quoll is commonly recorded in the uunguu ipa ( our wunambal gaambera partnership ) , and has been caught on camera at carnarvon station reserve .
quolls are classed as an ‘endangered species’ . the quoll population as been on the decline due to habitat loss and competition from cats and foxes .
the eastern quoll tends to live alone , foraging mainly for invertebrates such as beetle larvae and corbie grubs ( oncopera spp . ) . however , it is an opportunistic carnivore and will also hunt small mammals such as rabbits , mice and rats , as well as birds , lizards and snakes . it also scavenges on larger prey and occasionally feeds on grass and fruits ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ) . the eastern quoll may even compete with the larger tasmanian devil ( sarcophilus harrisii ) for food , darting around its kills to take small pieces of flesh ( 3 ) ( 4 ) .
to conserve the eastern quoll , the changes to its range and population density in tasmania need to be monitored . the reasons behind its decline and its extinction on the australian mainland also need to be better understood in order for management plans and habitat conservation measures to be put in place ( 1 ) .
this small marsupial may also benefit from the protection and maintenance of suitable habitat , as well as measures to reduce road kills ( 2 ) ( 5 ) . the eastern quoll is fully protected by law , and is listed under a range of national and regional legislation ( 2 ) ( 4 ) .
it was thought that with the commencement of baiting for foxes , and the potential for wild dogs to also be destroyed via uptake of the baits , combined with the demise of the devils , that the eastern quoll would fare well , having a greater share of resources available when scavenging through the bush .
our smallest and most endangered quoll once occurred across northern australia , from eastern queensland to the west australian pilbara . but over the last century , it has disappeared from vast areas , while numbers have crashed in many others , probably due to the effects of pastoralism , changed fire regimes and feral cats .
grey shading represents the total area of core habitat across all 12 months for each year ( left axis ) as given by the independent binary weather model . width of shading indicates variability of suitable area within each year ( lower and upper bounds of shading represent the months with the lowest and highest amounts of suitable habitat respectively ) . black dots represent the quoll abundance index ( ai ) , being the total number of eastern quoll sightings recorded in annual spotlight surveys across all transects ( n = 147 ) surveyed every year from 1990 to 2009 inclusive ( right axis ) [ 7 ] . arrows indicate ( a ) identified changepoint in mean quoll ai , and ( b ) identified changepoint in relationship between area of suitable habitat and quoll ai .
eastern quolls are nocturnal and only occasionally forage or bask during daylight . during the day they sleep in nests made under rocks in underground burrows or fallen logs .
while meeting international criteria for being considered endangered , there has been reluctance to add the eastern quoll to the state threatened species listing . exactly what is causing the decline is being investigated , but otherwise there are no management plans for the species in its last refuge . as an insurance policy , captive populations of eastern quolls should be established in zoos and in larger fenced sanctuaries , in case they are lost from the wild before the cause of their decline is discovered .
in light of this finding , all potential sightings of eastern quolls in nsw over the last 40 years are being re - assessed for credibility by oeh . in addition , as part of the nsw government’s $ 100 million saving our species program , surveys for eastern quolls are being designed to confirm whether any remnant populations survive .
little is known about the quolls of new guinea . the bronze quoll ( dasyurus spartacus ) lives in the savanna and grasslands of southern new guinea .
fancourt ba , bateman bl , vanderwal j , nicol sc , hawkins ce , jones m , et al . testing the role of climate change in species decline : is the eastern quoll a victim of a change in the weather . plos one . 2015 ; 10 ( 6 ) : e0129420 . pmid : 26106887
citation : fancourt ba , bateman bl , vanderwal j , nicol sc , hawkins ce , jones me , et al . ( 2015 ) testing the role of climate change in species decline : is the eastern quoll a victim of a change in the weather ? plos one 10 ( 6 ) : e0129420 . urltoken
eastern quolls once lived in southeastern australia , tasmania , kangaroo island , and king island ( nowak , 1991 ) . they were last seen in the sydney suburb of vaucluse in the 1960 ' s and are now extinct from the australian mainland . eastern quolls are still common in tasmania ( parks and wildlife service of tasmania 1997 ) .
the eastern quoll is a medium - sized carnivorous marsupial with thick , soft fur that is fawn , brown or black and covered in small white spots , except on the tail ( 3 ) ( 4 ) ( 5 ) . the tail is long and bushy , and sometimes has a white tip ( 4 ) ( 5 ) .
bronwyn concluded that unfavourable weather conditions in the early 2000s contributed to the initial dramatic decline of the eastern quoll across tasmania , and that their numbers have fallen below a critical threshold . thus , faced with ongoing predation pressure , particularly of juvenile quolls by feral cats , their numbers on mainland tasmania are too small to recover without assistance .
the quoll has ridges on the bottom of its feet to help it climb . it is unable to use its long tail to grip onto branches as monkeys do .
quolls have a naturally short life span . smaller species live only for around 2 years and larger species , like the spotted tailed quoll , 4 – 5 years .
mt rothwell sanctuary is a 45 minute car trip west of melbourne . it has been designed as a
feral - proof enclosure
, keeping predator species such as foxes , cats and dogs away from the endangered species that live within its boundaries . the sanctuary ' s first eastern quoll breeding season was in 2002 and 50 young were produced .
eastern quolls are set to be released on the australian mainland , 50 years after they were wiped out by a combination of habitat loss and the spread of foxes and feral cats .
this species occurs in two distinct colour morphs , the first being fawn with whitish underparts , and the second being black with brownish underparts ( 3 ) . the fawn morph of the eastern quoll is more common , but both can occur in the same litter . both morphs possess the distinctive white spots ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 5 ) .
bronwyn’s research investigated the impacts of climate , the decline in devil numbers , disease ( toxoplasmosis ) and feral cats on the numbers of quolls at several sites across the state . her research provided much insight into the ecology and behaviour of the eastern quoll and the interactions between devils , quolls and feral cats . it is indeed a very complex story .
the second largest of australia’s quoll species , the western quoll ( or chuditch ) now occurs naturally only in south - western australia . it was once found across most of the australian mainland , but like other quolls , it declined rapidly following european settlement , mostly due to predation by foxes and cats but with contributions from many other factors .
captive breeding colonies of eastern quoll exist on the mainland and are comprised of animals imported from tasmania . these populations are used for display purposes and are valuable “insurance colonies” , in case of declines in the wild populations of tasmanian eastern quolls . the mainland captive population was created from only a few animals and as there has been very little input from non - related animals we fear the genetic diversity of the population is extremely low . this inbreeding is likely to limit the long - term viability of the mainland captive populations and hence reduce their value .
eastern quolls prefer areas with low rainfall and cold winters . but an 18 - month period of warm winters and higher seasonal rainfall during 2002 - 03 resulted in most of tasmania becoming unsuitable for eastern quolls . this rapidly drove their numbers down . in fact , the amount of environmentally suitable habitat in this period was lower than at any other time during the previous 60 years .
monthly climatic data were obtained at a 0 . 05° grid scale ( ~ 5 km x 5 km ) for the period 1947 to 2012 from the australian water availability project ( awap ) [ 40 ] . the spatial resolution of these data was approximately double the maximum home range size for the eastern quoll [ 33 ] and therefore was considered appropriate for this species .
bronwyn warned that as an island population , eastern quolls on bruny island are very vulnerable to unpredictable events , such as climatic changes ( e . g . wetter and warmer conditions ) or disease outbreaks . in addition , if the number of feral cats increased significantly on north bruny their predation on juvenile quolls could reduce the quoll population , particularly if combined with other unfavourable events .
eastern quolls – small , fleet - footed and ferocious – are one of australia’s few surviving marsupial predators . they were once so common in southeast australia that when europeans arrived the quolls were reportedly hyperabundant .
despite their mainland demise , eastern quolls continued to thrive in tasmania , until recently . in the 10 years to 2009 , their numbers had fallen by more than 50 % with no sign of recovery .
the eastern quoll is one of 20 mammals that the australian government has prioritised resource allocation to support the species recovery effort . this species is a priority for investment as actions may benefit multiple species and there are strong partnerships with the act government and community groups . priority actions which may support the species include establishment of populations in feral - free enclosures and landscape predator control at reintroduction sites .
brewster said the release should take place next year . but he said it would be “very hard” to restore the quoll to its former range unless fox and cat numbers were drastically reduced .
quolls generally breed during winter . being marsupials , quoll young ( pups ) spend the first part of their lives in a pouch . females have between five and eight pups per litter .
in addition to the eastern quolls , mt rothwell has had significant success breeding the critically endangered eastern barred bandicoot . it is also home to red - bellied pademelons ( now extinct in the wild on the mainland ) , brush - tailed rock wallabies ( critically endangered in victoria ) , long - nosed potoroos ( vulnerable ) , spotted - tailed quolls ( endangered ) and rufous bettongs ( extinct in victoria ) .
north bruny , however is an interesting case study – it is one of the few sites across tasmania where quoll numbers have increased in recent years . with its favourable climate and mosaic of open grasslands , woodlands and agricultural pastures , it offers ideal quoll habitat . an increase in abundance is possibly due to improvements in pasture management that now provide better quality feeding and denning habitat .
australia’s history is littered with examples where delays and inaction prevented small populations from recovering , with some species now lost forever . the eastern quolls’ fate is not yet sealed . but we have to act now .
this study aims to use genetic markers to non - invasively and reliably examine the genetic diversity of a small population of captive eastern quolls at pearcedale conservation park ( pcp ) , victoria . techniques used included :
the quoll is around the size of a small cat . its face is pointed , and its mouth is filled with sharp teeth . it has a moist , pink nose and bright eyes .
change in ai is calculated as the change in the mean annual number of quoll sightings from 1997–99 to 2007–09 for each spotlighting region , based on the 150 transects consistently surveyed in each of these two periods [ 7 ] . white circles indicate an increase in ai , black circles indicate a decrease in ai for each region . circle size indicates relative magnitude of absolute increase or decrease in ai , being large circles ( > 6 quoll sightings ) , medium circles ( 3–6 sightings ) , and small circles ( < 3 sightings ) . eight regions have been excluded from this analysis , as there were either no eastern quoll detections in the region during the 10 year period ( 7 regions ) , or there was no change in the ai over the 10 year period ( 1 region ) .


the semiplumbeous hawk ( leucopternis semiplumbeus ) is a species of bird of prey in the family accipitridae .

it is found in colombia , costa rica , ecuador , honduras , and panama .

its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests .

semiplumbeous hawk

based on millsap et al . ( 2011 ) , the gray hawk , formerly asturina nitida , has been split into gray hawk , asturina plagiata and gray - lined hawk , asturina nitida .
plumbeous hawk recorded day before . unable to follow up with any demisemi or hemidemisemiplumbeous hawks
the tiny hawk is among the most poorly known members of its genus in the neotropics . name for its diminutive size , the male tiny hawk is only about 75 g although females exceed 100 g .
butastur teesa , commonly called the white - eyed buzzard , is a medium - sized hawk found in south asia .
fire island raptor enumerations… rather out of date site but with lots of useful links to hawk watching in the us of a .
the tiny hawk ( and presumably semicollared hawk ) do not seem closely related to accipiter ( kocum , 2006 ; olson , 2006 ) and have been removed from accipiter and placed in the genus hieraspiza ( kaup 1844 , type superciliosa ) . it has not been clear what they are related to .
bierregaard , r . o . , jr , boesman , p . & marks , j . s . ( 2018 ) . semiplumbeous hawk ( leucopternis semiplumbeus ) . in : del hoyo , j . , elliott , a . , sargatal , j . , christie , d . a . & de juana , e . ( eds . ) . handbook of the birds of the world alive . lynx edicions , barcelona . ( retrieved from urltoken on 9 july 2018 ) .
the cooper ' s hawk , northern goshawk , and closely related taxa are the closest relatives of the harriers . they go in genus astur ( lacépède 1799 , type gentilis ) . these are sister to a clade that includes the eurasian sparrowhawk and the sharp - shinned hawk complex . it retains the name accipiter ( brisson 1760 , type nisus ) . i have included the gray - bellied hawk with this group based on kocum ( 2006 ) , although the support for this is not strong .
the hawk migration association of north america ( hmana ) is a membership - based organization committed to the conservation of raptors through the scientific study , enjoyment , and appreciation of raptor migration . . .
the tiny hawk ( accipiter superciliosus ) is a small diurnal bird of prey found in or near forests , primarily humid , throughout much of the neotropics . it is primarily a bird - eater , and is known to prey on hummingbirds .
the key papers for the booted eagles ( aquilinae ) are bunce et al . ( 2005 ) , helbig et al . ( 2005 ) , lerner and mindell ( 2005 ) , haring et al . ( 2007b ) , and lerner et al . ( 2017 ) . the spizaetus hawk - eagles belong in two different clades within aquilinae . thus spizaetus is divided into nisaetus and spizaetus . the black - and - chestnut eagle ( oroaetus ) must be merged into the remaining spizaetus . the rufous - bellied hawk - eagle ( lophotriorchis ) is separated from hieraaetus . while the spotted eagles are separated from aquila as clanga . hieraaetus loses a couple of species to aquila , which also gains cassin ' s hawk - eagle from spizaetus .
kocum ( 2006 ) includes several species from this group in her dissertation . her analysis places them in a weakly supported unresolved basal polytomy with accipitrini , harpagini , and the remaining buteoninae . griffiths et al . ( 2007 ) grouped together the lizard buzzard , gabar goshawk , long - tailed hawk , and the chanting goshawks . the group was basal to accipitrini and buteoninae , but did not include the tiny hawk . the analysis by nagy and tökölyi ( 2014 ) bundles them together as shown here , but their evidence for this seems weak .
the javan hawk - eagle ( nisaetus bartelsi ) ( earlier placed in spizaetus [ 2 ] ) is a medium - sized , approximately 60 cm long , dark brown raptor in the family accipitridae . its head and neck are rufous and it is heavily barred black below .
a small greyish brown hawk . adults have conspicuous white or yellowish white eyes , two dark cheek stripes , a black gular stripe , whitish neck patch , buff shoulder patches , barred brown and white underparts , orange - yellow cere and a long rufous tail . rounded longish slim wings with dark tips that look like those of a shikra in silhouette . sexes alike . juveniles have a buff head , brown iris , indistinct or absent cheek and throat stripes , dark - brown streaked breast , and more strongly barred rufous uppertail .
this list includes three relatives of the sharp - shinned hawk that sacc has not split ( although they are split in the sibley - monore list ) . they could be allopatric forms best treated as one species . however , although the combined analysis of kocum ( 2006 ) placed ventralis and erythronemius in a clade striatus , other arrangements were seen for some of the other genes ( chionogaster was not included ) . breman et al . ( 2013 ) also found a separation between striatus and erythronemius . this hints , but does not prove , that a species - level treatment is appropriate , as has been followed by various authors .
this slim and small sized hawk is easily identified by its white iris to the eye and the white throat and dark mesial stripe . a white spot is sometimes visible on the back of the head . when perched the wing tip nearly reaches the tip of the tail . the ceres are distinctly yellow and the head is dark with the underside of the body darkly barred . in flight the narrow wings appear rounded with black tips to the feathers and the wing - lining appears dark . the upper wing in flight shows a pale bar over the brown . the rufous tail is barred with a darker subterminal band . young birds have the iris brownish and the forehead is whitish and a broad supercilium may be present .
the white - eyed buzzard ( butastur teesa ) is a medium sized hawk , distinct from the true buzzards in the genus buteo , found in south asia . adults have a rufous tail , a distinctive white iris , and a white throat bearing a dark mesial stripe bordered . the head is brown and the median coverts of the upper wing are pale . they lack the typical carpal patches on the underside of the wings seen in true buzzards but the entire wing lining appears dark in contrast to the flight feathers . they sit upright on perches for prolonged periods and soar on thermals in search of insect and small vertebrate prey . they are vociferous in the breeding season and several birds may be heard calling as they soar together .
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thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on the iucn red list of threatened species website , we are grateful for your input .
sacc . 2005 and updates . a classification of the bird species of south america . available at : urltoken .
justification : this species has a very large range , and hence does not approach the thresholds for vulnerable under the range size criterion ( extent of occurrence < 20 , 000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size , habitat extent / quality , or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation ) . despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing , the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for vulnerable under the population trend criterion ( > 30 % decline over ten years or three generations ) . the population size may be small , but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for vulnerable under the population size criterion ( < 10 , 000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be > 10 % in ten years or three generations , or with a specified population structure ) . for these reasons the species is evaluated as least concern .
the population is estimated to number 1 , 000 - 10 , 000 individuals , roughly equivalent to 670 - 6 , 700 mature individuals . trend justification : the population is suspected to be in decline owing to ongoing habitat destruction ( ferguson - lees and christie 2001 ) .
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) , in neotropical birds online ( t . s . schulenberg , editor ) . cornell lab of ornithology , ithaca , ny , usa . retrieved from neotropical birds online :
pair present , calling bird was perched 10 meters above ground . recorded during a respite in constant cold front rain .
moore et al . 2013 : bird sounds of ecuador dvd same bird as previous cut . intervals shortened
moore et al . 2013 : bird sounds of ecuador dvd perched . intervals shortened
selectively logged humid forest . reference : a : 208 - 212 ( leusemx1 ) . . krabbe & nilsson ( 2003 ) ( isbn 90 - 75838 - 06 - 9 ) .
id certainty 100 % . ( archiv . tape 21 side a track 41 seq . a )
recorded in 120 year - old forest , on two separate days . filtered to reduce wind noise .
calls from a pair perched , probably interacting with pair of buteo magnirostris . near end , one bird flew farther off to vocalize . disturbed forest edge .
sonogram images © xeno - canto foundation . sonogram images share the same license terms as the recording they depict .
extreme e honduras # r and e nicaragua # r s to w colombia ( e to magdalena valley ) and nw ecuador ( esmeraldas and nw pichincha ) . several recently seen and heard in allpahuayo - mishana national reserve , n peru , possibly referring to present species or to a closely related new species # r .
31–36 cm ; male 250 g , female 325 g ; wingspan 51–64 cm . small , stocky , short - winged
quite vocal in breeding season , when gives a series of loud , piercing upslurred whistles :
kwee . . . . . .
humid forests of tropical and lower subtropical zones ; forest edge , in and around forest fragments . . .
almost no information . one anecdotal record of nest - building in crown of tall tree in costa rica in jan ; male in breeding condition taken . . .
not globally threatened ( least concern ) . cites ii . formerly classified as near threatened . although considered locally common in some areas of primary forest , and tolerant of . . .
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jose alvarez et al . reported the bird as a new report to peru in cotinga 34 ( 2012 ) : ol 61–84 , published online 10 march 2012 . avifauna de la reserva nacional allpahuayo mishana , loreto , perú
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has sometimes been incorporated within buteo . recent phylogenetic analyses suggested that only the three species listed below belong in leucopternis # r # r .
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distribution size : 3 , 900 , 000 km2 . global range : south east iran to myanmar , southern tibet . indian subcontinent range : north east afghanistan ( nuristan ) , north west pakistan , north west himalayas to himachal , sub - himalayas from south west baluchistan to west bengal , north central bangladesh , southern peninsula , south assam hills
clements , j . f . , t . s . schulenberg , m . j . iliff , d . roberson , t . a . fredericks , b . l . sullivan , and c . l . wood . 2014 . the ebird / clements checklist of birds of the world : version 6 . 9 . downloaded from urltoken
a . global : habitat systems : terrestrial ; freshwater . forest dependency : does not normally occur in forest . altitude : 0 - 1200 m . altitudinal limits : ( max ) 4000 m . general habitats : savanna - dry ; shrubland - subtropical / tropical dry ; grassland - subtropical / tropical dry ; artificial / terrestrial - arable land . b . indian subcontinent : open dry country and thin deciduous forest , scrub and cultivation . avoids humid and densely wooded tracts .
not a migrant . in india , it is a widespread resident that moves locally .
carnivorous . locusts , grasshoppers and other large insects ; as well as mice , lizards and frogs . also hunts for crabs near wetlands and larger prey like the black - naped hare or lepus nigricollis .
global : 100 , 000 mature individuals ( 2009 ) . india : 5000 birds in an area of 50 , 000 km2 around delhi ( 1950 ) .
usually solitary , they often sit upright on dry trees and telegraph posts etc for long periods of time . these rather sluggish birds soar on thermals in search of insect and small vertebrate prey . vociferous in the breeding season , pairs call , which sounds like plainitive mewing , while soaring in circles high up in the air .
breeding season : february to may in india . nest location : usually built by both parents in the fork of a thicky foliaged tree such as a mango , preferably one in a grove . nest : like a crows in being a loose unlined cup of twigs . clutch size : 3 . eggs : broad , greenish - white unspotted ovals with a smooth texture . parental investment : both parents share the responsibility of nest - building and feeding the young . only females incubate eggs however . incubation time : 19 days .
this species has an extremely large range , and hence does not approach the thresholds for vulnerable under the range size criterion ( extent of occurrence < 20 , 000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size , habitat extent / quality , or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation ) . the population trend appears to be fluctuating , and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for vulnerable under the population trend criterion ( > 30 % decline over ten years or three generations ) . the population size is very large , and hence does not approach the thresholds for vulnerable under the population size criterion ( < 10 , 000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be > 10 % in ten years or three generations , or with a specified population structure ) . for these reasons the species is evaluated as least concern .
red list category & criteria : least concern ( ver 3 . 1 ) year published : 2009 assessor / s : birdlife international reviewer / s : bird , j . , butchart , s .
cites ( convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora ) india listed species : yes . appendix : ii . cites ( convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora ) global listed species : yes . appendix : ii . aewa ( agreement on the conservation of african - eurasian migratory waterbirds ) listed species : no . iwpa ( indian wildlife protection act , 1972 ) listed species : yes . iwpa ( indian wildlife protection act , 1972 ) schedule : iv .
fledgelings are reddish brown unlike most other downy raptor chicks which tend to be white .
, an old name for the sparrowhawks . molecular phylogeny studies suggest that the genus is a sister group of the buteoninae .
. it is a resident in iran , pakistan , nepal , bangladesh and myanmar . it is absent from sri lanka and is probably absent from the andamans . it is a summer visitor in northeastern afghanistan . it is mainly found in the plains but may go up to 1200m in the foothills of the himalayas .
the usual habitat is in dry , open forest or cultivation . they are numerous in some areas but declining .
in flight , the dark wing lining and white throat are distinctive on the underside .
this species is usually seen soaring alone in thermals or perched still . groups of two or three may sometimes be seen . they have a mewing call or falling whistle ( transcribed as
they feed mainly on locusts , grasshoppers , crickets and other large insects as well as mice , lizards and frogs . they may also take crabs from near wetlands
the breeding season is february to may . the nest is loose platform of twigs not unlike that of a crow , sometimes placed in a leafless tree .
both sexes share nest - building and feeding young ; female alone incubates for about 19 days until the eggs hatch .
hume , ao ( 1869 ) . my scrap book : rough notes on indian oology and ornithology . baptist mission press , calcutta . pp . 286–288 .
rasmussen pc & jc anderton ( 2005 ) . birds of south asia . the ripley guide . volume 2 . smithsonian institution & lynx edicions . pp . 100–101 .
clark , william s ; schmitt , n john ( 1992 ) .
flight identification of indian raptors with pale bars on upper wings
. j . bombay nat . hist . soc . 89 ( 1 ) : 1–3 .
gnanaselvan , p ( 1992 ) .
nesting of the white - eyed buzzard - eagle in pudukudi , thanjavur district
. newsletter for birdwatchers 32 ( 7 & 8 ) : 16–17 .
jerdon , tc ( 1862 ) . the birds of india . volume 1 . military orphan press , calcutta . pp . 92–93 .
lerner , hrl ; matthew c . klaver , david p . mindell ( 2008 ) .
molecular phylogenetics of the buteonine birds of prey ( accipitridae )
. the auk 125 ( 2 ) : 304–315 . doi : 10 . 1525 / auk . 2008 . 06161 .
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telluraves contains slightly more than 3 / 4 of all bird species . athough there ' s some residual uncertainty about the other main branches of passerea , the land bird clade telluraves is well - supported by jarvis et al . ( 2014 ) where it receives 100 % bootstrap support . further , hackett et al . ( 2008 ) and ericson et al . ( 2006a ) both found the hawks and american vultures to be closer to the picimorphae than to the falcons ( see also suh et al . , 2011 ; mccormack et al . , 2013 ; yuri et al . 2013 ) . other papers ( e . g . , morgan - richards et al . , 2008 ) are less supportive , putting all of them somewhere between the ardeae and the passerines . the order here follows jarvis et al .
the main division in telluraves is between the group containing the mousebirds , hawks , owl , and woodpeckers ( afroaves ) and the group containing the falcons , parrots , and passerines ( australaves ) ( ericson et al . , 2006a ; hackett et al . , 2008 ; ericson , 2012 ; jarvis et al . , 2014 ) . australaves is by far the larger group , containing about 64 % of all bird species . in contrast , afroaves only has about 11 & half ; % of the species . still , afroaves is much larger than any other high - level group than branches off sooner .
i ' m not fond of the names afroaves and australaves , mainly because the names suggest some knowledge of their origin that we don ' t have . as you will note in some of comments in the next few pages , some of the groups where the crown group appears to originate in africa or australia today ( ericson , 2012 ) have fossil records that are quite different . the earliest fossils throughout the clade come from the northern hemisphere . more precisely , they come from eupore and north america , which were connected in paleocene and early eocene .
in the tif list , afroaves is divided into four groups : coliiformes , accipitrimorphae , strigiformes , and picimorphae . there is some uncertainty about whether strigiformes are closer to accipitrimorphae or to picimorphae . suh ( 2016 ) and jarvis et al . ( 2014 ) prefer the latter , and that is followed here .
the coliiformes are a relict afrotropical group consisting of 6 species in 2 genera . it wasn ' t always so . there ' s a fairly extensive fossil record from europe and north america . primitive coliiformes ( sandcoleidae ) are known from the early eocence ( 48 - 56 mya ) . by the late eocene , only modern forms are known ( mayr , 2009 ) .
although new world vultures are rather similar to old world vultures ( part of accipitridae ) , they are not closely related . this was already recognized by huxley in 1876 based on morphological evidence . nonetheless , they were traditionally placed in falconiformes , as where the accipitridae and falconidae . there are also some superficial similarities to storks , and when sibley and ahlquist found support for this using dna hybridization techniques , they were removed from falconiformes and placed next to the storks . more recent analysis have shown this is incorrect , and have also broken up falconiformes . as mentioned above , more recent research ( e . g . , hackett et al . , 2008 ; han et al . , 2011 ; mccormack et al . , 2013 ; yuri et al . , 2013 ; jarvis et al . , 2014 ) puts the new world vultures close to the accipitriformes .
the phylogeny of cathartidae is based on johnson et al . ( 2016 ) .
those interested in ancient raptors should read darren naish ' s post on titan - hawks .
the secretarybird is the first branch of accipitriformes , followed by the osprey . after that , come the accipitridae ( hawks , kites , and eagles ) .
it is not clear whether the osprey is a single species . the ioc recognizes two osprey species , eastern ( indo - australasian cristatus ) and western ( everything else ) . some have suggested that the caribbean population ( ridgwayi ) should also be separated .
monti et al . suggest that the new world clade is basal , as suggested by the cyt - b analysis . however , combining nd2 with cyt - b yielded a different topology , with the old world clade basal . in any event , the separation of all 4 clades appears to have taken place over a short time interval . the cyt - b analysis suggested the new world clade is a million or so years old . a few of the samples showed a mismatch between geography and clade .
at present , it remains unclear whether or not the osprey should be considered a considered a single species , or 3 - 4 .
at the genus level , the order presented here attempts to synthesize the papers by amaral et al . ( 2006 , 2009 ) , barrowclough et al . ( 2014 ) , breman et al . ( 2013 ) , griffiths et al . ( 2007 ) , haring et al . ( 2007b ) , helbig et al . ( 2005 ) , kocum ( 2006 ) , lerner and mindell ( 2005 ) , lerner et al . ( 2008 ) , nagy and tökölyi ( 2014 ) , oatley et al . ( 2015 ) , ong et al . ( 2011 ) , and wink and sauer - gürth ( 2004 ) . some of the genera were restructured based on these and other papers .
the accipitridae are a complicated family . you can see from the diagram that i treat them as consisting of ten subfamilies with large families accipitrinae and buteoninae at the end . the latter two subfamilies are further divided into tribes . the timing estimates of nagy and tökölyi ( 2014 ) have influenced what gets counted as a subfamily and what counts as a tribe . after reading jarvis et al . ( 2014 ) , i suspect nagy and tökölyi ' s divergence dates are a little short . nagy and tökölyi did not include the crested goshawk subfamily , lophospizinae , but indications are that it is near aquilinae ( oatley et al . , 2015 ) .
one thing that genetic results have made clear is that the kites are not a natural group . rather , they are scattered in three subfamilie . the first group is the elanine kites . kites also occur in three clades in perninae and four clades in buteoninae .
now that it is clear that henicopernis belongs within perninae ( barrowclough et al . , 2014 ) , this small primarily african clade is cleanly separated from perninae . the separation from perninae seems to be quite ancient ( nagy and tökölyi , 2014 ) , so i recognize both groups as subfamilies .
the honey - buzzards ( pernis ) have been sorted out by gamauf and haring ( 2004 ) , including the recently - split phillipine honey - buzzard . barrowclough et al . ( 2014 ) provided additional information concerning the australo - papuan species .
three groups of kites are part of perninae . the neotropical chondrohierax and leptodon kites , the swallow - tailed kite ( elanoides , sister to the pernis honey - buzzards ) , and the square - tailed kite ( lophoictinia , sister to the henicopernis honey - buzzards ) . note that the honey - buzzards are not a natural group either .
the name gypinae ( blyth , 1851 ) has priority over aegypiinae ( w . p . sclater , 1924 ) . the old world vultures are gathered here and fall into two clades . the first four species ( and genera ! ) are in one clade , with necrosyrtes and gyps in the other . the arrangement of species within gyps has taken both arshad et al . ( 2009 ) and nagy and tökölyi ( 2014 ) into account . i follow lerner et al . ( 2005 ) and nagy and tökölyi ( 2014 ) for the genera . arshad et al . is almost the same , while griffiths et al . ( 2009 ) is broadly consistent but less well - resolved .
in the serpent eagles , dryotriorchis has been merged into circaetus . exactly how many species are in spilornis remains an issue . there are six here , but ferguson - lees and christie ( 2001 ) list 13 ! i ' ve not accepted the ioc split of minimus because i don ' t see any evidence to split this and not the others .
what evidence there is suggests that the crested goshawk is not part of accipitrinae . barcoding suggested it is basal to the accipitrinae / buteoninae clade ( ong et al . , 2011 ; breman et al . , 2013 ) . raty , in a birdforum post got similar results when adding a partial cytochrome - b gene . more recently , oatley et al . ' s ( 2015 ) 4 - gene analysis found the crested goshawk near the aquilinae ( harpiinae was not in the analysis ) . i ' m not sure i ' m entirely convinced , but i ' ve double - down on this and put it in a trichotomy with harpiinae and aquilinae . besides , there ' s something that appeals to me in having the crested goshawks near the harpy eagles .
dna from the sulawesi ( crested ) goshawk has not been tested , but it is thought to be a very close relative of the crested goshawk , with the two forming a superspecies . the name lophospiza ( kaup 1844 , type trivirgata ) is available for these two species .
the split between the harpy eagles and booted eagles seems to have occurred about 20 million years ago ( nagy and tökölyi , 2014 ) , so i treat them as separate subfamilies .
although it is fairly basal , there is still some uncertain concerning the closest relatives of the crowned eagle , stephanoaetus coronatus .
i ' ve included the extinct haast ' s eagle of new zealand on the species tree since bunce et al . ( 2005 ) analyzed dna from it . however , it isn ' t included on the main list because it likely became extinct prior to 1500 , which is the cutoff for inclusion .
there is a deep division of the accipitrinae into two groups which i rank as tribes : melieraxini and accipitrini .
the name melieraxinae has appeared in the literature since at least lerner and mindell ( 2005 ) , but does not seem to be formally established .
the papers by wink and sauer - gürth ( 2004 ) , breman et al . ( 2013 ) , barrowclough et al . ( 2014 ) , nagy and tökölyi ( 2014 ) and kocum ' s dissertation ( 2006 ) allow us to make a rough draft of a species - level tree for the accipitters . doubtless it will need further adjustment .
the result is that the genus accipiter has been divided into 6 pieces . two of those , hieraspiza and lophospiza have been moved outside the accipitrini . kocum ( 2006 ) , griffiths et al . ( 2007 ) , lerner et al . ( 2008 ) , and nagy and tökölyi ( 2014 ) found that the circus harriers are embedded within the traditional accipiter . the options are to lump circus into accipiter or divide accipiter into at least three parts . i ' ve chosen to take the latter course , dividing accipter into four parts .
the arrangement of the harriers follows oatley et al . ( 2015 ) . i have split the hen and northern harriers . oatley et al . found that the northern harrier was closer to the cinereous harrier than to the hen harrier . oatley et al . also found that the last 5 harriers are very closely related , possibily conspecific . however , i distrust their estimated divergence dates . they are markedly shorter than comparable dates in nagy and tökölyi ( 2014 ) , which already seem a bit short compared to jarvis et al . ( 2015 ) .
the buteoninae are the largest subfamily of the accipitridae . according to nagy and tökölyi ( 2014 ) , the clade is roughly 20 million years old . there are three deep divisions ( 15 - 18 million years ago ) in the buteoninae which i have recognized as tribes : harpagini , milvini , and buteonini .
many of the changes between versions 2 . 00 and 2 . 01 of this page were due to the publication of lerner et al . ( 2008 ) . their results have subsequently been refined by amaral et al . ( 2009 ) and nagy and tökölyi ( 2014 ) . i have additionally consulted amaral et al . ( 2006 ) , barrowclough et al . \ ( 2014 ) , griffiths et al . \ ( 2007 ) , kocum ( 2006 ) , kruckenhauser et al . \ ( 2004 ) , ong et al . \ ( 2011 ) , and riesing et al . ( 2003 ) . although these sources are not in 100 % agreement , and there are still a few lacuna , i think the buteoninae are now in pretty good shape even at the species level .
there might still be a little modification of species boundaries to go , particularly in pseudastur and near buteo buteo . i ' ve modified the generic limits quite a bit in the buteoninae , but less drastically than suggested by riesing et al . ( 2003 ) and by lerner et al . ( 2008 ) . most of these changes were also adopted by amaral et al . ( 2009 ) , which prompted some further changes in version 2 . 15 . this has been further refined by considering nagy and tökölyi ( 2014 ) in version 2 . 61 .
harpagini consists of the two harpagus kites . nagy and tökölyi ( 2014 ) put harpagini in the basal position . griffiths et al . ( 2007 ) also included them in their analysis . they have harpagus basal to accipitrinae + buteoninae . however , resolution was poor , and other basal raptors from griffiths et al . have moved to accipitridae .
milvini consists of the milvine kites and sea and fish eagles . the kites are the second of the four kite clades in buteoninae .
the two - species version of icthyophaga turns out to be nested within haliaeetus . it could either be submerged into haliaeetus , or expanded to include four haliaeetus species . i ' ve taken the second option . this puts all of the northern fish - eagles and sea - eagles in haliaeetus , while the tropical fish / sea - eagles are in icthyophaga . the two groups are not only geographically separated , but are visually distinct—compare the relatively longer , narrower wings of haliaeetus to the shorter , broader wings of icthyophaga . there ' s a spelling issue here : icthyophaga or ichthyophaga ? both dickinson ( 2003 ) and peterson ( zoonomen . net ) give the former , which is the original spelling . peterson also argues that icthyophaga is correct . nonetheless , ichthyophaga is also in wide usage ( e . g . , hbw - 2 ) .
this brings us to buteonini . the first branch consists of butastur buzzards and the second branch is the ictinia kites ( third of the four buteoninae kite clades ) . the next clade contains busarellus , geranospiza , and the final kite clade , rostrhamus and presumably helicolestes . except possibly for the last two , they are all long - separated and deserving of genus status .
the clade starting at b is also flagged by lerner et al . as a good starting point for buteo . the former leucopternis , white , gray - backed , and mantled hawks are placed in pseudastur while the some of the remaining leucopternis are put in geranoaetus . this includes the white - tailed , and variable ( sometimes split as red - backed and puna ) hawks , formerly in buteo . it should be noted that the species boundaries in pseudastur seriously need adjustment , but it seems that further study will be needed to clarify the situation .
the clade at c is also a plausible way to delimit buteo . the sacc prefers to retain leucopternis . the balance of evidence suggests leucopternis is more basal than the gray and gray - lined hawks ( subgenus asturina ) . amaral et al . ( 2009 ) find asturina sister to buteo and nagy and tökölyi ( 2014 ) put the asturina hawks a little deeper in the buteos . i now follow both aou committees by including asturina in buteo .
as defined below , buteo consists primarily of species breeding in the old world and nearctic , with a few neotropical species . the other genera that might be included in buteo — leucopternis ( point a ) , pseudastur , geranoaetus ( point b ) , parabuteo , rupornis , and morphnarchus ( point c ) — are primarily south and middle american breeders .
amaral et al . ( 2009 ) and nagy and tökölyi ( 2014 ) help clear up the situation with the remaining buteo species , although some issues remain . the new world species split out nicely , up to the lagopus / regalis pair . then we get into the old world buteos , whose taxonomy remains somewhat murky . two species were not considered in their analysis , and the true species boundaries among the old world buteos remain somewhat uncertain . i expect that the treatment here will subject to a bit of revision as more is known .
riesing et al . ( 2003 , fig . 5 ) found evidence that archer ' s buzzard , buteo archeri is not part of the augur buzzard , buteo augur , but is sister to a clade consisting of the red - necked , augur and jackal buzzards , and possibly the madagascan buzzard , buteo brachypterus . other evidence in riesing et al . ( fig . 4 ) , and in nagy and tökölyi ( 2014 ) puts brachypterus in a slightly more basal position , out of this clade .
another apparently misplaced buteo was the forest buzzard , buteo trizonatus . it was considered a subspecies of the mountain buzzard , buteo oreophilus , but genetic data ( esp . kruckenhauser et al . , 2004 ) suggests it is closer to the common buzzard , buteo buteo . although the genetic distance is small , its distant separation from the common buzzard ' s breeding range and distinct plumage suggest it should be considered a distinct species .
although the breeding buzzards of the cape verde and socotra islands have been considered races of the common buzzard , genetic data ( clouet and wink , 2000 ) suggests they are more closely related to the long - legged buzzard , buteo rufinus . once again , the genetic distances are small , but this suggests treating them as distinct species : cape verde buzzard , buteo bannermani , and socotra buzzard , buteo socotraensis . oddly , although it had been studied for over a century , the socotra buzzard had not been formally named until 2010 when porter and kirwan dubbed it buteo socotraensis . this replaces the informal name ‘b . socotrae’ that some have used .
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hawks , eagles , kites , harriers and old world vultures are included in this group . the osprey is placed in a separate family ( pandionidae ) , as are the secretary bird ( sagittariidae ) and the new world vultures . the other bird of prey family , which includes caracaras and falcons , are a distinct and separate group .
the accipitridae are a diverse family with a great deal of variation in size and shape . they range in size from the tiny pearl kite
, which measures up to 120cm and weighs up to 14kg . wingspan can vary from 39cm in the little sparrowhawk to more than 300cm in the cinereous vulture and himalayan vulture
of new zealand , which is estimated to have measured up to 140cm and to have weighed 15kg to 16 . 5 kg in the largest females .
( possibly not closely related to other vultures ) , it may form more than half of the diet . most accipitrids will not eat plant material . insects are taken exclusively by around 12 species , in great numbers by 44 additional species , and opportunistically by a great many others . the diet of the honey - buzzards includes not only the adults and young of social insects such as wasps and bees , but the honey and combs from their nests . the snail kite
are specialists in consuming snails , which usually constitute 50 - 95 % of their diet .
occasionally , an eagle or other raptor that kills prey considerably heavier than itself ( too heavy for the raptor to carry and fly with ) will then have to leave prey where they ' ve killed and later return repeatedly to feed or dismember and bring to a perch or nest piece by piece . this has the advantage of providing a surplus of food but has the disadvantage of potentially attracting scavengers or other predators which can steal the kill or even attack the feeding accipitrid . using this method , accipitrids such as the golden eagle
have successfully hunted ungulates , such as deer and antelope , and other large mammals ( kangaroos and emus in the wedge - tailed ) weighing more than 30kg , 7–8 times their own mass . more typical prey for these powerful booted eagle species weigh between 0 . 5kg and 5kg . the haliaeetus eagles such as steller ' s sea eagle
is most closely related to the snake eagles . another handsome aberration of the snake - eagle lineage ( although , unlike the philippine , has long been known to be a snake - eagle ) is the bateleur
, which has evolved unusually bright plumage in adults , with a huge red cere , red feet , bright yellow bill , and boldly contrasting grey - and - white markings over black plumage . the bateleur has specialised to feed extensively on carrion and almost any other feeding opportunity that presents itself .
there are , according to the ioc , 255 species of hawks , buzzards , kites , eagles and old world vultures in the family accipitridae . they are :
the accipitridae , one of the four families within the order accipitriformes ( the other order of diurnal birds of prey being falconiformes ) , are a family of small to large birds with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet .
the bearded vulture ( gypaetus barbatus ) , also known as the lammergeier [ a ] or ossifrage , is a bird of prey and the only member of the genus gypaetus .
taxonomy : vultur barbatus linnaeus , 1758 , santa cruz , near oran , algeria . individual variation in plumage considerable , and geographical variation based largely on size . forms aureus ( europe and w asia ) and hemachalanus ( higher mountains of c asia ) sometimes recognized , but probably better subsumed within nominate barbatus . two subspecies tentatively recognized .
the cape griffon or cape vulture ( gyps coprotheres ) , also known as kolbe ' s vulture , is an old world vulture in the family accipitridae . it is endemic to southern africa , and is found mainly in south africa , lesotho , botswana and in some parts of northern namibia . it nests on cliffs and lays one egg per year . since 2015 , it has been classified as endangered .
vultur coprotheres j . r . forster , 1798 , south africa . traditionally thought to form a species - group with g . himalayensis , g . indicus ( with tenuirostris ) , g . rueppelli and g . fulvus , and formerly considered conspecific with g . fulvus . recent genetic data , however , indicate that present species forms a clade with g . indicus and g . tenuirostris and that these three are sister to a clade comprising g . rueppelli and g . fulvus ; this arrangement independently supported by study based on wider molecular sample from additional loci . an apparently mixed ( and probably successful ) pairing between present species and g . africanus was reported at last surviving colony in namibia . monotypic .
the egyptian vulture ( neophron percnopterus ) is a small old world vulture , found widely distributed from southwestern europe and northern africa to india… .
taxonomy : vultur perenopterus [ sic ] linnaeus , 1758 , egypt . original specific name incorrectly spelt , and officially emended . following the naming of a new subspecies from canary is , further work revealed that population of this species in balearic is is equally distinct genetically ; further work desirable . nw himalayan population included in nominate , but possibly separable ( as race rubripersonatus ) . three subspecies currently recognized .
taxonomy : spizaëtus nipalensis bartelsi stresemann , 1924 , western java . traditionally thought to form a species - group with n . nipalensis , n . alboniger ( with n . nanus ) , n . lanceolatus and n . philippensis ( with n . pinskeri ) . sometimes considered to be a race of n . nipalensis , but clearly distinct . monotypic .
the white - bellied goshawk ( accipiter haplochrous ) is a species of bird of prey in the accipitridae family . it is endemic to new caledonia . the species is also known as the new caledonia sparrowhawk…
taxonomy : accipiter haplochrous p . l . sclater , 1859 , nu island , off new caledonia . traditionally thought to form a species - group with a . melanochlamys , a . albogularis and a . rufitorques . monotypic .
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