Tagula Butcherbird Cracticus louisiadensis Scientific name definitions

27–30 cm. Rather large, dark butcherbird with powerful hook-tipped bill. Plumage is all black, except for white spots at sides of breast, white stripe on inner wing (formed by two partly white tertials), white uppertail-coverts, large white spots at tips of outer tail feathers, white lower abdomen, undertail-coverts and inner wing-coverts; iris dark brown; bill grey-blue, tip black; legs black. Sexes similar in plumage, male larger than female. Juvenile undescribed.

Tagula I, in Louisiade Archipelago, off SE New Guinea.

Forest and forest edge.

Probably sedentary.

No information.

No information.

No information.

Not globally threatened. Currently considered Data Deficient. Restricted-range species: present in Louisiade Archipelago EBA. Very poorly known. Apart from specimens, only modern records are of ten seen during a ten-day trek from N coast up to Mt Riu in 1992 BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Cracticus louisiadensis. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 14/11/2015. and an unspecified number encountered (and photographed) in 2013–2014 (1 Goulding, W. (2014). Conservation of Endemic Birds in the Louisiade Archipelago, Papua New Guinea. Interim Report for the Rufford Foundation – October 2014. Close ). Forest of E two-thirds of Tagula (total area c. 866 km²) already degraded, and logging presumably remains a threat to all lowland forest. Population and ecology of present species virtually unknown, but thought likely to be similar to those of C. cassicus, a common and adaptable species occurring in all forest-edge habitats (including gardens and savanna). Nevertheless, lack of basic information on ecology, range and popoulation size and trend precludes a robust assessment of its risk of extinction; it is therefore listed as Data Deficient. No current conservation measures known; proposed measures include surveys of potentially suitable habitat on Tagula and study of the species' ecological requirements, tolerance of habitat degradation and threats. Forests E from Mt Riu very important for survival of both the present species and the endemic Tagula Honeyeater (Microptilotis vicina) and Tagula White-eye (Zosterops meeki).