Anthus richardi | UAE National Red List of Birds

Taxa
Anthus richardi | Vieillot, 1818
Publication
UAE National Red List of Birds
Location
Countries in Assessment
United Arab Emirates
Country ISO code(s)
ARE
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Off
Scope (Assessment)
National
Taxon
Taxonomic Group
Vertebrates
Taxonomic Group Level 2
Birds
Assessed taxon level
Species
Taxonomic Notes
Anthus richardi and A. cinnamomeus (del Hoyo and Collar (2016) were previously lumped as A. richardi following AERC TAC (2003); Dowsett and Forbes-Watson (1993).
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
The majority of occurrences of this species within the UAE are likely to be of wintering birds or migrant individuals on passage to and from the breeding grounds. Numbers are highest between mid-September and mid-April, occasionally to early May, when the species is fairly common to common throughout the country (Pedersen et al. 2017). Individuals wintering in or migrating through the UAE breed in central-eastern Asia.
Habitats and Ecology
Ecological system type
Terrestrial system
No
Freshwater system
No
Marine system
No
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This species inhabits grassland, irrigated grassland, marshes, scrubland and cultivations (Richardson 1990, Richardson and Aspinall 1998, Aspinall and Porter 2011). There is no information available about its diet in the UAE; elsewhere it is insectivorous and feeds mainly on beetles and grasshoppers (Tyler 2019). The species is a long-distance migrant and breeds between April and July in grasslands of Siberia and Kazakhstan (Tyler 2019).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Assessed status
Asessment status in full
Endangered
Assessment status abreviation
EN
Assessment status criteria
D
Assessment rationale/justification
Retained in this Red List assessment due to its regional listing as Vulnerable as a breeding bird in the Arabian Peninsula, this species has a very small non-breeding population within the UAE. It is listed here as Endangered under Criterion D, having been adjusted down by one category because it has a relatively small population size in UAE compared to the regional and global population. Further research is required to identify whether the species may be being impacted by factors such as habitat loss.
About the assessment
Assessment year
2019
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Affliation of assessor(s)/contributors/reviewers listed on assessment
Government
IGO
Assessor affiliation specific
Government|IGO
Criteria system
Criteria system specifics
IUCN v3.1 + Regional Guidelines v4.0
Criteria system used
IUCN
Criteria Citation
IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1, Second edition. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. iv + 32pp pp. And IUCN. 2012. Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
Endemism
Endemic to region
Not_assigned
Endemism Notes
Is an endemic?: Not_assigned
Conservation
Threats listed in assessment
Symes et al. (2015) does note that its habitat could be declining (with no first level threat described) in the wider Arabian Peninsula, although pesticide use is potentially a key threat in its wider range. Within the UAE itself, overgrazing in areas outside of Protected Areas could potentially be an issue for this species too.
Conservation Measures

Conservation measures:
Conservation measures notes:
Required conservation measures:

Further information
History
It is considered that in 1996, the national Red List status of this species would have been the same as in this assessment.
Scientific Name Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus
Anthus richardi Animalia Chordata Aves Passeriformes Motacillidae Anthus