Hirundo rustica | UAE National Red List of Birds
Taxa
Hirundo rustica | Linnaeus, 1758
Publication
Asessment status in full
Least Concern
Assessment status abreviation
LC
Assessment rationale/justification
The non-breeding population of this species within the UAE is small enough to trigger a listing as Vulnerable under Criterion D1. However, the movement habits of this species, with individuals moving fairly widely in the non-breeding season make estimating the over-wintering population size for this species is particularly difficult, and it is plausible that this could be an underestimating the number of individuals that visit the country in winter. The breeding population in the Arabian Peninsula is believed to be stable, and the population within the UAE is also suspected to be stable. Therefore, given the movement habits of this species, and its relative abundance during migration a regional adjustment has been made to drop down two categories, and so the species is listed here as Least Concern.
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 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.
Endemic to region
Not_assigned
Endemism Notes
Is an endemic?: Not_assigned
Threats listed in assessment
Within the UAE, Aspinall (1996) identified no threats, although artificial habitats that favour this species within the UAE may be transient, so monitoring of such habitats will be important. Visiting individuals do face a range of threats outside of the country, the main threat of which is the intensification of agriculture. Changes in farming practices such as the abandonment of traditional milk and beef production have resulted in a loss of suitable foraging areas. In addition, intensive livestock rearing, improved hygiene, land drainage and the use of herbicides and pesticides all reduce the numbers of insect prey available. Suitable nest sites are often scarcer on modern farms. The species is susceptible to changes in climate with bad weather in the wintering areas as well as the breeding grounds affecting breeding success (Tucker and Heath 1994). Outside of the UAE, it is occasionally hunted for sport and nests are sometimes removed as a nuisance.
Conservation Measures
Conservation measures:
Conservation measures notes:
Required conservation measures:
History
It is assessed 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hirundo rustica | Animalia | Chordata | Aves | Passeriformes | Hirundinidae | Hirundo |