Taxon name
Oenanthe isabellina
(Temminck, 1829)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Oenanthe isabellina
(Temminck, 1829)
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Birds
Species authority
(Temminck, 1829)
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 small non-breeding population that visits the UAE, small enough that it could warrant a listing as Near Threatened. The breeding population in the wider Arabian Peninsula is stable and it is suspected that the population may be increasing within the UAE. Therefore, a regional adjustment has been made and the species is listed here as Least Concern.
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 is very common within the UAE during migration and in winter. Numbers are highest in March/April and in August/September, but the species has been recorded in all months (Pedersen et al. 2017). Individuals migrating through or wintering in the UAE breed from the Anatolian plains through central Asia to north and central China (Jennings 2010).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This species occurs in arid open, sparsely vegetated country, including barren or grassy areas, semi-desert and steppe, but also in cultivations and parkland (Richardson 1990, Aspinall and Porter 2011). It is rarely found in very arid environments (Richardson 1990). The species is mainly insectivorous and mostly takes ants, but occasionally feeds on seeds (Jennings 2010). The species is migratory (Collar 2015).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Globally, the species is linked, to some extent, to populations of burrow-nesting rodents, which supply nest-holes. As a result, declines in these species, such as falls in gerbil numbers due to ploughing, may impact this species (Collar 2015); but in essence the impact of this upon the species within UAE is uncertain. Overgrazing outside of Protected Areas in the UAE potentially could have an impact on this species.
History
Taking into account regional adjustments, 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
