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Vanellus gregarius
– Critically Endangered
Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
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ANIMALIA
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Phylum:
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CHORDATA
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Class:
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AVES
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Order:
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CHARADRIIFORMES
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Family:
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CHARADRIIDAE
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Scientific Name:
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Vanellus gregarius
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Species Authority:
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(Pallas, 1771)
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Common Name/s:
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Assessment Information
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Red List Category & Criteria:
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CR A3bc ver 3.1 (2001)
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Year Assessed:
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2006
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Assessor/s:
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BirdLife International
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Evaluator/s:
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Butchart, S. & Pilgrim, J. (BirdLife International Red List Authority)
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Justification:
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This species is listed as Critically Endangered because its very small population has undergone an very rapid reduction for poorly understood reasons, and this decline is projected to continue and increase in the future.
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History:
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| 1988 | - | Threatened (Collar and Andrew 1988) |
| 1994 | - | Vulnerable (Collar, Crosby and Stattersfield 1994) |
| 2000 | - | Vulnerable (BirdLife International 2000) |
| 2004 | - | Critically Endangered (BirdLife International 2004) |
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Geographic Range
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Range Description:
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Vanellus gregarius breeds in Russia and Kazakhstan, dispersing through Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Armenia, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey, to key wintering sites in Israel, Eritrea, Sudan and north-west India. Birds winter occasionally in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Oman. It has suffered a very rapid decline and range contraction. In northern Kazakhstan, a decline of 40% between 1930-1960, was followed by a further halving of numbers between 1960-1987. These declines have continued, or even accelerated, to the point that the current population is estimated to be only 600-1,800 individuals.
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Countries:
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Native:
Afghanistan; Armenia; Azerbaijan; Eritrea; India; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Iraq; Israel; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Oman; Pakistan; Russian Federation; Saudi Arabia; Sri Lanka; Sudan; Syrian Arab Republic; Tajikistan; Turkey; Turkmenistan; Uzbekistan
Vagrant:
Austria; Bahrain; Belgium; Cameroon; China; Czech Republic; Denmark; Egypt; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Hungary; Ireland; Italy; Jordan; Kuwait; Lebanon; Maldives; Malta; Mongolia; Morocco; Netherlands; Poland; Portugal; Qatar; Romania; Seychelles; Slovakia; Slovenia; Somalia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom; Yemen
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Population
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Population Trend:
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Habitat and Ecology
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Habitat and Ecology:
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It has a sporadic and irruptive pattern of semi-colonial breeding, mainly in the transition zones between Stipa and Artemisia grassland steppes where bare saline areas occur near water-bodies. Exact breeding habitat requirements are poorly known. It has recently been postulated that it evolved to nest in the short swards left in the wake of enormous wintering herds of saiga Saiga tartarica (currently listed as threatened)7. The wintering grounds are dry plains, sandy wastes and short grass areas, often adjacent to water.
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System:
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Terrestrial
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Threats
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Threats:
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Key factors explaining the magnitude of recent declines remain unknown. On the breeding grounds, it is threatened by the conversion of steppe to arable cultivation, but large areas of apparently suitable breeding habitat are unoccupied3. The species habitat may however have been altered by a reduction in grazing by large herds of native ungulates and, latterly, by the loss of the enormous herds of domestic grazing animals from state-sponsored collective farms8. Breeding may now only occur in vicinity of villages which exposes birds to additional threats, such as predation by dogs and cats, and human disturbance. Many colonies are destroyed during agricultural operations or are predated by Rook Corvus frugilegus, which have increased considerably in breeding regions. Nests in grazed areas may suffer from trampling. It may also have been adversely affected by the increasingly dry climate in its breeding and wintering range.
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Conservation Actions
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Conservation Actions:
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Conservation measures underway:
CMS Appendix I and II. It is legally protected in Armenia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, but this is generally not enforced4.
Conservation measures proposed:
Survey key wintering and passage sites and also breeding range in Kazakhstan3. Identify key threats4. Protect grassland steppe from conversion to agriculture. Regulate livestock numbers to create appropriate sward conditions. Manage colonies during the nesting period.
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