Taxon name
Apus pallidus
(Shelley, 1870)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Apus pallidus
(Shelley, 1870)
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Birds
Species authority
(Shelley, 1870)
Location and scope
Specific locality or subnational name or regional name
United Arab Emirates (the)
Scope (of the Assessment)
National
Countries included within the scope of the assessment
United Arab Emirates (the)
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Assessed as
Least Concern
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
The breeding population in the UAE is relatively large and stable. The species is therefore evaluated as Least Concern at the national level.
Assessment details
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Criteria system used
IUCN
Reference for methods given
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.
Further information
Endemism (according to assessment)
Endemic to region
Not assigned
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
This species occurs in the UAE during the breeding season and during migration. The breeding population is very common between November and April/May and is found mainly along the coast of Abu Dhabi Emirate and in the north-eastern part of the country (Jennings 2010, Pedersen et al. 2017). The migrant population travels through the country on passage to and from the breeding grounds. From June to October, the species is very rare and uncommon in the UAE (Pedersen et al. 2017).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This species is aerial during the day, when it is found over a variety of habitats, including over ponds, sewage lagoons, irrigated cropfields, along busy roads, over coastal saltflats with scattered saltbush, over the sea and over coastal stacks (Jennings 2010). There is no information available about its diet in the UAE; elsewhere it takes flies, mosquitoes, ants and bees (Jennings 2010). Records of adults entering nest crevices suggest that the main breeding period lasts from February to July. Nest have not been described for the UAE, but elsewhere they consist of grass, feathers and debris, which are glued together with saliva (Jennings 2010). The preferred nesting sites include natural rock crevices, but also man-made sites like buildings and towers (Jennings 2010, Aspinall and Porter 2011). Clutches may contain two to three eggs (Jennings 2010). The species is migratory; immediately after breeding in the UAE or other parts in the Middle East, it returns to the wintering grounds in west and central Africa.
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
There are currently no known threats to this species in UAE (Aspinall 1996), and indeed urban development may even be aiding the species by providing new nesting sites.
History
It is assessed that in 1996, the national Red List status of this species would have been the same as in this assessment.
Publication
Burfield, I.J., Westrip, J., Sheldon, R.D., Hermes, C., Wheatley, H., Smith, D., Harding, K.A. Allen, D.J. and Alshamsi, O. 2021. UAE National Red List of Birds. Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
