Taxon name
Ardea cinerea
Linnaeus, 1758
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Ardea cinerea
Linnaeus, 1758
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Birds
Species authority
Linnaeus, 1758
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
This species has a moderately sized non-breeding population in the UAE, which qualifies it for listing as Vulnerable. The population is increasing within the region, with the breeding population in the wider Arabian Peninsula stable or increasing; therefore, any breeding population outside of the region will likely have a large rescue effect. Therefore, the species is downlisted by two categories to 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
The majority of occurrences of this species within the UAE are likely to be of wintering birds and migrant individuals on passage to and from the breeding grounds (Pedersen et al. 2017). Numbers are highest between late July and May, when the species is very common at coastal wetlands, e.g. at Khor Dubai (Richardson 1990, Pedersen et al. 2017). Some non-breeding individuals may stay in the country over summer (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 inhabits any kind of wetland, from open, sandy coasts and lagoons to sheltered creeks, ponds, lakes, reservoirs, sewage treatment plants and ornamental ponds in cities (Richardson 1990, Jennings 2010, Aspinall and Porter 2011). It is an opportunistic feeder; it takes predominantly fish, but also insects, reptiles and small birds (Jennings 2010). It occasionally establishes feeding territories, where it hunts by stalking or standing still to wait for prey (Jennings 2010). It feeds at any time of the day or at night, but is most active at dawn or dusk, typically roosting communally or solitary during the middle of the day and at night (Brown et al. 1982, Kushlan and Hancock 2005). The species is migratory. Individuals wintering in or migrating through the UAE breed during spring in Siberia, where they may form large colonies (Kushlan and Hancock 2005, Jennings 2010). Most migratory movements occur nocturnally in small parties or larger flocks of 200 to 250 individuals (Brown et al. 1982).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
The most relevant threats to this species within UAE are potentially from wetland land-use changes and possibly oil pollution at coastal sites, although the severity of these threats is essentially unknown.;Individuals that visit UAE may also be impacted upon by other threats outside of the country. In Europe, the species was heavily persecuted in the nineteenth century due to its consumption of fish, which resulted in competition with fishermen and fish farmers (Kushlan and Hancock 2005). Although killing at aquaculture farms has not reduced the global population so far (possibly because it is mostly young birds being killed) (Kushlan and Hancock 2005), large numbers have been killed (Carss 1994, Kushlan and Hancock 2005). Timber harvesting is a threat throughout much of the species's range by removing trees used by nesting colonies and/or disturbing nearby colonies (Kushlan and Hancock 2005). The species is also susceptible to avian influenza (Melville and Shortridge 2006) and avian botulism (van Heerden 1974), so may be threatened by future outbreaks of these diseases.
History
The population would have been a little smaller but still moderately sized, sufficient to qualify as Vulnerable, adjusted down by two categories to LC.
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
