Motacilla alba | UAE National Red List of Birds

Taxa
Motacilla alba | Linnaeus, 1758
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
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
This species is a very common migrant and winter visitor in the UAE. It occurs throughout the country between mid-September and April (Pedersen et al. 2017). Individuals wintering in or migrating through the UAE breed throughout Eurasia.
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 a wide variety of non-forested, open habitats, including parks, large gardens, cultivations, livestock enclosures, damp grassland, sewage treatment plants, roadsides and roundabouts (Richardson 1990, Aspinall and Porter 2011). There is no information available about its diet in the UAE; elsewhere it feeds on a wide range of small invertebrates, as well as fish fry, crumbs and other household scraps. At dusk, the species forms flocks to roost (Richardson 1990). The species is migratory and breeds between early April and August.
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Assessed status
Asessment status in full
Least Concern
Assessment status abreviation
LC
Assessment rationale/justification
Although this species has a relatively small non-breeding population size within the UAE, there is no strong evidence to support any deterioration in the population (and it is likely that there is a rescue effect from outside the country). Therefore, the species is listed here as Least Concern.
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
Climate change is thought to affect the timing of migration for this species (Ahas and Aasa 2006,;Sokolov and Gordienko 2008,;Kullberg;et al.;2015), but it is unknown whether this is having significant impacts on the population trend within UAE. Artificial habitats that favour this species within the UAE may be transient, so monitoring of such habitats will be important.
Conservation Measures

Conservation measures:
Conservation measures notes:
Required conservation measures:

Further information
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
Motacilla alba Animalia Chordata Aves Passeriformes Motacillidae Motacilla