Taxon name
Alaudala rufescens
(Vieillot, 1820)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Alaudala rufescens
(Vieillot, 1820)
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Birds
Species authority
(Vieillot, 1820)
Taxonomic notes and synonyms listed
Calandrella rufescens (AERC TAC [2003]; Cramp et al. [1977-1994]; Dowsett & Forbes-Watson [1993]; Sibley & Monroe [1990, 1993]) and C. cheleensis (Sibley & Monroe [1990, 1993]) have been lumped into Alaudala rufescens following del Hoyo and Collar (2016).
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
Critically Endangered
Qualifying criteria (if given)
D
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
This species has a small non-breeding population that would warrant a listing as Endangered under criterion D. However, the species is thought to have previously bred in the UAE, and the breeding status takes precedence here. The species is suspected to no longer be a breeding species in the country, but lack of sufficient survey work to confirm its disappearance from the whole country means that it is tentatively treated here as being still extant. Any remaining breeding population is still thought to be tiny. Therefore, the species is listed here as Critically Endangered under criterion D.
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 migrant individuals on passage to and from the breeding grounds in September-November and March-April (Richardson 1990, Pedersen et al. 2017). It is also a common wintering bird in the country (Pedersen et al. 2017). Since 1993, there was a small resident population of about 20 pairs in the UAE, which bred on Taweela Island/Ras Ghanada (Abu Dhabi) and Siniyah Island (Umm al-Quwain), as well as along the coast from Umm al-Quwain to Ras al-Khaimah emirates (Richardson and Aspinall 1998, Jennings 2010, Pedersen et al. 2017). However, it is now believed that the species no longer breeds regularly in the UAE, if it still breeds at all (R. Sheldon;in litt.;2019). There hasn't been sufficient surveying work, though, to confirm its disappearance from the country as a breeding species, and it is quite possible that there could be individuals breeding in unsurveyed areas. Therefore, for this process it is tentatively treated as being still extant.
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This species occurs on open plains of sand or gravel, covered with a dense layer of grasses and herbs (Jennings 2010). It is often found on cultivated areas, near rain pools and on saltflats (Jennings 2010, Aspinall and Porter 2011). It avoids areas with dense vegetation of bushes and trees, and is rare in rocky deserts and on hillsides (Jennings 2010). It is often found in association with other larks, especially the Greater Short-toed Lark Calandrella brachydactyla (Jennings 2010). In winter, the species can form flocks of up to several thousand individuals (Jennings 2010). There is no information available on its diet in the UAE. Elsewhere, the diet varies seasonally between invertebrates and seeds. In the spring it feeds mostly on invertebrates and in winter mostly seeds with a mix of the two consumed in summer. Fruits and bulbs are also taken. The breeding season lasts from February to August. The nest is a small scrape on the ground beside a small shrub or tuft, or in the open and lined with vegetation. Normally four to five eggs are laid.
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Development around Ras Ghanada could encroach on breeding sites, but this was thought to be likely to only have a negligible impact on the population, and Aspinall (1996) believed that unless there is to be any significant change in land-use in the near future it is unlikely that the species will face any severe threats. Given that the species has now potentially gone extinct within the UAE as a breeding species either Aspinall (1996) underestimated the impact of development on this species or there are further unidentified threats that have driven the species's potential disappearance as a breeding bird in UAE. Predation by cats,;Felis catus,;has been noted to cause local declines on the Arabian Peninsula for Crested Lark (Symes;et al.;2015), and this is another possible threat to this species.
History
It is assessed that in 1996, the national Red List status of this species would have been the same as in this assessment, as while there was still confirmed breeding in 1996, the population size would still likely have met the thresholds for listed as Critically Endangered.
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
