Taxon name
Alcedo atthis
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Alcedo atthis
(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
Critically Endangered
Qualifying criteria (if given)
C2a(i,ii); D
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
This species has an extremely small over-wintering population size within the UAE. This population is inferred to be in decline due to development, with artificial water sources appearing to attract fewer individuals than natural ones. Therefore, the species is assessed here as Critically Endangered under criteria C2a(i,ii); 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
This species is thought to be a common visitor to the country from August to April (Pedersen et al. 2017), occurring as a passage migrant and over-wintering species in the UAE.
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This species prefers still or gently flowing water with plenty of small fish, and with reeds, rushes or shrubs on the banks for perches. Streams, small rivers, canals and ditches are favoured to open waterbodies, but it also uses lakes, ponds and flooded gravel pits. In winter it becomes more coastal, also using estuaries, harbours and rocky seashores. Although not recorded for UAE, in Europe, the main prey is fish but will also consume aquatic insects, flies (Diptera), butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera), amphibians (Rana), crayfish (Astacus), prawns (Palaemon), shrimps (Gammarus) and isopods in winter. Very occasionally it feeds on berries (Rubus, Sambucus) and stems of reed (Phragmites) (see del Hoyo et al. 2001).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Changes in land-use and the possibility of oil pollution could affect this species in UAE, but the severity of these threats towards this species is unknown.;Individuals that visit the UAE are also likely to impacted by threats operating outside of the country. Long term declines in its global range (outside of the UAE) are thought to be due to chemical and biological river pollution. The two main sources of this are most likely industrial waste disposal and agricultural chemical runoff. Canalization of streams and clearance of emergent vegetation to improve drainage result in loss of feeding habitat and nesting habitat (although the latter is not relevant to the population in UAE), and declines in fish numbers (Tucker and Heath 1994). It is also at risk locally from persecution to protect fish stocks (Woodall 2016).
History
It is assessed that in 1996, the national Red List category of this species would have been the same as in this assessment, however, it is not certain that the species would have been inferred to be in decline, so the criteria string in 1996 would have been assessed as being Critically Endangered under criterion D alone.
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
