| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | AVES | ANSERIFORMES | ANATIDAE |
| Scientific Name: | Anas crecca | ||||||
| Species Authority: | Linnaeus, 1758 | ||||||
Common Name/s:
|
|||||||
| 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 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; Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; Armenia; Aruba; Austria; Azerbaijan; Bahamas; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Barbados; Belarus; Belgium; Belize; Benin; Bermuda; Bhutan; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Cambodia; Cameroon; Canada; Cayman Islands; Central African Republic; Chad; China; Colombia; Costa Rica; Croatia; Cuba; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Egypt; El Salvador; Eritrea; Estonia; Ethiopia; Faroe Islands; Finland; France; Gambia; Georgia; Germany; Ghana; Greece; Greenland; Guatemala; Guinea-Bissau; Haiti; Honduras; Hong Kong; Hungary; Iceland; India; 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; Libyan Arab Jamahiriya; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of; Malaysia; Maldives; Mali; Malta; Martinique; Mauritania; Mexico; Moldova; Mongolia; Montenegro; Montserrat; Morocco; Myanmar; Nepal; Netherlands; Niger; Nigeria; Northern Mariana Islands; Norway; Oman; Pakistan; Palestinian Territory, Occupied; Philippines; Poland; Portugal; Puerto Rico; Qatar; Romania; Russian Federation; Russian Federation; Russian Federation; Rwanda; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Pierre and Miquelon; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Serbia; Singapore; Slovakia; Slovenia; Somalia; Spain; Sri Lanka; Sudan; Svalbard and Jan Mayen; Sweden; Switzerland; Syrian Arab Republic; Taiwan, Province of China; Tajikistan; Tanzania, United Republic of; Thailand; Trinidad and Tobago; Tunisia; Turkey; Turkmenistan; Uganda; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom; United States; Uzbekistan; Viet Nam; Virgin Islands, British; Virgin Islands, U.S.; Western Sahara; Yemen
Vagrant:
Guadeloupe; Guinea; Panama; Seychelles
|
| Range Map: | Click here to open the map viewer and explore range. |
| Habitat and Ecology: | Behaviour Northern breeding populations of this species are highly migratory3 although populations in more temperate regions are sedentary1 or locally dispersive5. The species breeds from May onwards3 in single pairs or loose groups1. Once females have started incubating2 (from June or early-July)5 males congregate2 and undertake extensive moult migrations or remain near the breeding grounds3 to undergo a flightless moulting period lasting for c.4 weeks5 (the females moult on the breeding grounds)3. After the post-breeding moult migratory populations of the species migrate south, the peak of the autumn migration occurring between October and November5. It returns to the breeding areas from late-February onwards (peaking March-April)5. Outside of the breeding season the species forms large concentrations, with large flocks of 30-40 and sometimes hundreds of individuals gathering at winter roosting sites3, 6. The species forages at night during the winter (especially during the hunting season) but forages by day during the breeding season2. Habitat Breeding The species shows a preference for shallow2, 3 permanent waters4 in the breeding season3, 7, especially those in the vicinity of woodlands with fairly dense herbaceous cover available nearby for nesting4. Small freshwater lakes and shallow marshes with abundant emergent vegetation1, 4 are preferred to open water4, as are small waterbodies forming part of a larger wetland, lake or river system, especially in the valleys of small forested rivers7. Other suitable habitats include small ponds, pools3, 7, oxbow lakes, lagoons7 and slow-flowing streams6, 7. Non-breeding Outside of the breeding season the species frequents similar habitats to those in which it breeds6, including marsh and lake habitats and other sheltered waters with high productivity and abundant vegetation2 as well as flooded fields and artificial waters (e.g. reservoirs)7. During the winter the species also occurs along the coast1, 5 on saline7 or brackish lagoons with abundant submergent vegetation2, saltmarshes3, tidal creeks4, intertidal mudflats2, 4, river deltas3, estuarine waters2, 3 and even sheltered coastal bays3, although it does show a preference for marshes with mud flats for foraging rather than more saline or open-water habitats4. Diet Breeding In spring and summer the diet of the species consists predominantly of animal matter such as molluscs, worms, insects and crustaceans1. Non-breeding During winter the species mainly takes the seeds of aquatic plants1 (e.g. emergent and submerged macrophytes)2, grasses, sedges and agricultural grain1 (cereals and rice)2. Breeding site The nest is a hollow in the ground placed amongst dense vegetation1 or under bushes close to water (rarely more then 100 m away)2. Neighbouring pairs may sometimes nest only 1 m apart although the species is not colonial7. Management information A study in the Czech Republic found that fish ponds with a fish stock density of less than 400 kg ha1, water transparency of more than 50 cm, mixed fish stocks (e.g. tench and pike or perch) rather than monospecific stocks (e.g. of carp), and systems that include ponds with fish fry (to provide areas with low fish competition and high invertebrate availability) are more successful in supporting breeding pairs of this species11. Studies in Danish coastal wetlands found that the spatial restriction of shore-based shooting was more successful at maintaining waterfowl population sizes than was the temporal restriction of shooting, and therefore that wildfowl reserves should incorporate shooting-free refuges that include adjacent marshland in order to ensure high waterfowl species diversity20. |
| Systems: | Terrestrial; Freshwater |
| Major Threat(s): | This species is threatened by lowland habitat loss and degradation (e.g. through wetland drainage)11 and by upland habitat loss due to afforestation and other land-use changes2. The species suffers mortality as a result of lead shot ingestion (France)23 and from poisoning by white phosphorous ingestion (from firearms) in Alaska21. It is also intensively hunted in its winter quarters1. The species is threatened by disturbance from human recreational activities19, hunting20 and construction work (UK)18. The species is susceptible to avian botulism9 and avian influenza10, 17 so may be threatened by future outbreaks of these diseases. Utilisation The species is hunted for sport in North America8, 12, Denmark13, France14 and Italy15, and is hunted commercially and recreationally in Iran16. The eggs of this species were (and possibly still are) harvested in Iceland22. |
| Citation: | BirdLife International 2009. Anas crecca. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 24 May 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 |
