Mauritius kestrel

How it was counted

The figure counts animals, not pairs or nests, across the whole wild population on Mauritius. Nicoll and others publish it as an estimate with no range, so it is not a tally of every kestrel known.

An estimate published with no range: Nicoll and others put the whole wild population at fewer than 250, an upper figure and not an exact count of every kestrel.

What moves it

Nicoll and others name habitat loss and widespread use of DDT as the past pressures that confined the Mauritius kestrel to the Black River Gorges, and tie the West population's decline to poor breeding, with most pairs there nesting in natural cavities rather than nest boxes.

• habitat loss and the widespread use of DDT, which by the late 1950s had confined it to the Black River Gorges (historic). Source: Nicoll et al. 2021, Ibis 163: 1294-1309 (Zoological Society of London, Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, Durrell, University of Kent, Mauritius National Parks and Conservation Service); author accepted manuscript on UCL Discovery.
• poor breeding in the West population, where most pairs nest in natural cavities rather than nest boxes; the paper ties the West's decline to it. Source: Nicoll et al. 2021, Ibis 163: 1294-1309 (Zoological Society of London, Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, Durrell, University of Kent, Mauritius National Parks and Conservation Service); author accepted manuscript on UCL Discovery.

Who is helping

The Mauritius Kestrel restoration programme bred kestrels in captivity and released them into separate populations, backed by managing eggs and chicks, extra food and nest boxes; Nicoll and others name the programme's funders, not who carried out the work.

The next count

The Mauritius kestrel is counted at irregular intervals, and no date for the next count is known (last checked 12 November 2026).

Sources

• Nicoll et al. 2021, Ibis 163: 1294-1309 (Zoological Society of London, Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, Durrell, University of Kent, Mauritius National Parks and Conservation Service); author accepted manuscript on UCL Discovery Last checked 12 November 2026.

What changed

• 12 November 2026 Added to Live Species, on the wall (1,000 or fewer): Fewer than 250 (Estimate, no range, 2018).

Every change on the site