Scopus umbretta

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	PELECANIFORMES	SCOPIDAE

Scientific Name:

Scopus umbretta

Species Authority:

Gmelin, 1789

Common Name/s:

English	–	Hamerkop
French	–	Ombrette

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Published:

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 appears to be stable, 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.

History:

2008	–	Least Concern
2004	–	Least Concern

Geographic Range [top]

Countries:	Native: Angola; Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Côte d'Ivoire; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Kenya; Lesotho; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Mauritania; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Rwanda; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Africa; Sudan; Swaziland; Tanzania, United Republic of; Togo; Uganda; Yemen; Zambia; Zimbabwe Vagrant: Liberia
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Countries:

Native:

Angola; Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Côte d'Ivoire; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Kenya; Lesotho; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Mauritania; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Rwanda; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Africa; Sudan; Swaziland; Tanzania, United Republic of; Togo; Uganda; Yemen; Zambia; Zimbabwe

Vagrant:

Liberia

Range Map:

Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Behaviour This species is sedentary¹ but often makes local movements in semi-arid areas² and disperses during the rains¹. It breeds all year round in East Africa, but elsewhere breeding peaks mostly late in the rains or in the dry season¹. The species nests solitarily¹ and usually occurs in pairs or in small groups of 8-10 individuals outside of the breeding season, sometimes also occurring in social groups of more than 50². Habitat The species occupies a wide variety of habitats¹ from forest to semi-desert, wherever water is available². It is commonest in well-watered savanna or woodland and less common in forest, showing a general preference for permanent waters although it will also use temporary wetlands in arid areas². The species forages in shallow water along sandbanks, in reedbeds or in floating vegetation² and requires trees (e.g. Khaya senegalensis) to nest and roost in^{1, 2}. Suitable habitats include the banks of large rivers and lakes^{1, 2}, marshes, dams, temporary seasonal ponds², aquaculture ponds, irrigation schemes and estuaries as well as rocky coasts in Tanzania¹. Diet Its diet consists predominantly of amphibians (especially Xenopus spp. adults and tadpoles) and small fish as well as crustaceans, worms and insects¹. Breeding site The nest is an elaborate hollow structure of sticks usually built in a fork of a tree¹ overhanging water, but alternatively built on cliff ledges, rock columns, on the ground or on sandbanks². The species shows a preference for nesting in dead trees standing in water and usually roosts in or near its nest².
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater

Habitat and Ecology:

Behaviour This species is sedentary¹ but often makes local movements in semi-arid areas² and disperses during the rains¹. It breeds all year round in East Africa, but elsewhere breeding peaks mostly late in the rains or in the dry season¹. The species nests solitarily¹ and usually occurs in pairs or in small groups of 8-10 individuals outside of the breeding season, sometimes also occurring in social groups of more than 50². Habitat The species occupies a wide variety of habitats¹ from forest to semi-desert, wherever water is available². It is commonest in well-watered savanna or woodland and less common in forest, showing a general preference for permanent waters although it will also use temporary wetlands in arid areas². The species forages in shallow water along sandbanks, in reedbeds or in floating vegetation² and requires trees (e.g. Khaya senegalensis) to nest and roost in^{1, 2}. Suitable habitats include the banks of large rivers and lakes^{1, 2}, marshes, dams, temporary seasonal ponds², aquaculture ponds, irrigation schemes and estuaries as well as rocky coasts in Tanzania¹. Diet Its diet consists predominantly of amphibians (especially Xenopus spp. adults and tadpoles) and small fish as well as crustaceans, worms and insects¹. Breeding site The nest is an elaborate hollow structure of sticks usually built in a fork of a tree¹ overhanging water, but alternatively built on cliff ledges, rock columns, on the ground or on sandbanks². The species shows a preference for nesting in dead trees standing in water and usually roosts in or near its nest².

Systems:

Terrestrial; Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	The species is potentially threatened by a deterioration in wetland water quality caused by the excessive use of pesticides¹. Utilisation The species is hunted and traded at traditional medicine markets in Nigeria³.

Major Threat(s):

The species is potentially threatened by a deterioration in wetland water quality caused by the excessive use of pesticides¹. Utilisation The species is hunted and traded at traditional medicine markets in Nigeria³.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2009. Scopus umbretta. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 24 May 2012.
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