| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | AVES | GRUIFORMES | RALLIDAE |
| Scientific Name: | Gallinula chloropus | ||||||
| Species Authority: | (Linnaeus, 1758) | ||||||
Common Name/s:
|
|||||||
| Red List Category & Criteria: | Least Concern ver 3.1 | ||||||
| Year Assessed: | 2009 | ||||||
| Assessor/s: | BirdLife International | ||||||
| Reviewer/s: | Bird, J., Butchart, S. | ||||||
|
Justification: 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 is not known, but the population is not believed to be decreasing sufficiently rapidly to approach the thresholds under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely 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. |
|||||||
| History: |
|
||||||
| Countries: |
Native:
Afghanistan; Albania; Algeria; Angola; Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; Argentina; Armenia; Aruba; Austria; Azerbaijan; Bahamas; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Barbados; Belarus; Belgium; Belize; Benin; Bermuda; Bolivia; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Botswana; Brazil; Brunei Darussalam; Bulgaria; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cambodia; Cameroon; Canada; Cape Verde; Cayman Islands; Central African Republic; Chad; Chile; China; Colombia; Comoros; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Costa Rica; Côte d'Ivoire; Croatia; Cuba; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Djibouti; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; Egypt; El Salvador; Eritrea; Estonia; Ethiopia; Finland; France; French Guiana; Gambia; Georgia; Germany; Ghana; Greece; Grenada; Guadeloupe; Guam; Guatemala; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Guyana; Haiti; Honduras; Hong Kong; Hungary; India; Indonesia; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Iraq; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Jamaica; Japan; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Korea, Democratic People's Republic of; Korea, Republic of; Kuwait; Kyrgyzstan; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Latvia; Lebanon; Lesotho; Liberia; Libyan Arab Jamahiriya; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Macao; Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of; Madagascar; Malawi; Malaysia; Maldives; Mali; Malta; Martinique; Mauritania; Mauritius; Mayotte; Mexico; Moldova; Mongolia; Montenegro; Montserrat; Morocco; Mozambique; Myanmar; Namibia; Nepal; Netherlands; Netherlands Antilles; Nicaragua; Niger; Nigeria; Northern Mariana Islands; Norway; Oman; Pakistan; Palau; Palestinian Territory, Occupied; Panama; Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Portugal; Puerto Rico; Qatar; Réunion; Romania; Russian Federation; Russian Federation; Russian Federation; Rwanda; Saint Helena; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Martin (French part); Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Sao Tomé and Principe; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Serbia; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Singapore; Slovakia; Slovenia; Somalia; South Africa; Spain; Sri Lanka; Sudan; Suriname; Swaziland; Sweden; Switzerland; Syrian Arab Republic; Taiwan, Province of China; Tajikistan; Tanzania, United Republic of; Thailand; Togo; Trinidad and Tobago; Tunisia; Turkey; Turkmenistan; Turks and Caicos Islands; Uganda; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom; United States; Uruguay; Uzbekistan; Venezuela; Viet Nam; Virgin Islands, British; Virgin Islands, U.S.; Yemen; Zambia; Zimbabwe
Vagrant:
Faroe Islands; Gibraltar; Greenland; Iceland; Saint Pierre and Miquelon; Svalbard and Jan Mayen
|
| Range Map: | Click here to open the map viewer and explore range. |
| Population: | Total regarded as a minimum by Wetlands International (2006). |
| Habitat and Ecology: | Behaviour This species is predominantly sedentary or locally dispersive, but makes partially or fully migratory movements in the northern parts of its range due to its vulnerability to freezing conditions2. Most northern populations move south from September to December, returning again from March to May1. The species breeds in solitary territorial pairs during the spring, especially during wet months (the exact timing varying geographically)1. It remains largely solitary throughout the year although juveniles and adults may form diurnal feeding groups of up to 30 individuals in the winter, especially during hard weather2, often congregating on sheltered lakes and ponds1. Habitat The species inhabits freshwater wetlands, both still and moving, requiring easy access to open water1 and showing a preference for waters sheltered by woodland, bushes or tall emergent vegetation1, 2. Suitable habitats include slow-flowing rivers1, 2, oxbow lakes2, streams, canals, ditches, lakes, reservoirs, sites with small open water surfaces such as pools and ponds only a few metres across, swamps, marshes1, 2, seasonally flooded sites1 such as flood-plains2, disused gravel pits, rice-fields1, 2, sewage ponds2, and occasionally mangroves (Puerto Rico) and seashores (Azerbaijan)2. It generally avoids very open sites (especially those exposed to wind or wave action)1, 2 and oligotrophic or saline habitats (although it may be found on brackish waters)1, 2. When foraging the species may range onto drier grassland, agricultural land or meadows, and on migration and in the winter months it can often be observed on damp grassland away from water2. Diet The species is omnivorous and opportunistic, its diet consisting of earthworms, crustaceans, molluscs, adult and larval insects (especially flies, mayflies, caddisflies, bugs, beetles and Lepidoptera), spiders, small fish, tadpoles and occasionally birds eggs, as well as plant matter such as filamentous algae, moss, the vegetative parts of reeds and aquatic plants, the seeds of reeds, rushes, sedges, water-lilies, waterside herbaceous vegetation, trees (Ulmus spp.) and cereal crops, flowers of Eichhornia spp., and the berries and fruits of yew, Rubus, Sorbus, Rosa, Crataegus, Rhamnus, Hedera, Sambucus, Hippophae spp. and various orchard trees1. Breeding site The nest varies between a shallow saucer and a deep cup constructed from twigs and waterside vegetation, and can be floating on or positioned up to 1 m above water in emergent vegetation, or positioned on a solid platform of branches in water. Less often the nest is placed in ground vegetation or in low bushes on the bank near water, or in bushes and trees up to 8 m from the ground1. Management information Early harvesting in rice-fields should be avoided as it harms nests and young broods of this species2. |
| Systems: | Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine |
| Major Threat(s): | The species is susceptible to avian influenza4, 6 and avian botulism7, so may be threatened by future outbreaks of these diseases. It also suffers nest predation from American mink Neovison vison in the UK8. Utilisation The species is hunted for local consumption and trade in Sumatra2 and Malawi3, for sport in the USA2 , and for commercial and recreational purposes in Gilan Province, northern Iran5. |
| Citation: | BirdLife International 2009. Gallinula chloropus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 07 February 2012. |
| Disclaimer: | To make use of this information, please check the <Terms of Use>. |
| Feedback: | If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown on this page, please fill in the feedback form so that we can correct or extend the information provided |
