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NRLD - 330477 | Todiramphus chloris

Assessment ID
330477
Taxon name
Todiramphus chloris
(Boddaert, 1783)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Todiramphus chloris
(Boddaert, 1783)
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Birds
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
chordata
Class
aves
Order
coraciiformes
Family
alcedinidae
Genus
Todiramphus
Species
chloris
Species authority
(Boddaert, 1783)
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)
Country ISO code(s)
ARE
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Assessed as
Endangered
Abbreviated status
EN
Qualifying criteria (if given)
D
Criteria system used
IUCN

(see Assessment details)

Assessment rationale/justification
This species has a small resident population in the UAE, which qualifies it for listing as Endangered. The population is stable within the country. While it does occur in a tiny area, there is no strong evidence for declines, so it would not qualify for listing as threatened under criterion B, although it would be Vulnerable under criterion D2. As the population in the UAE is geographically isolated from any other breeding population, immigration from outside of the country is highly unlikely. Therefore, the species is retained as Endangered at the national level.
Assessment details
Year assessed
2019
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 on the east coast of the UAE. It is present only in a small area of mangroves near Khor Kalba (Sharjah Emirate), where it was discovered in 1962 (Pedersen et al. 2017).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Terrestrial
Not_assigned
Freshwater
Not_assigned
Marine
Not_assigned
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This species exclusively inhabits mature forest of coastal mangrove (Black Mangrove Avicennia marina) and associated tidal creeks (Jennings 2010). It feeds on crabs and occasionally on small fish, which it takes by pouncing to the surface from a mangrove perch (Jennings 2010). Its breeding behaviour is not well studied. Pairs have been observed between February and June. Breeding likely takes place in early summer, but nestlings and fledglings have been recorded between January and July. Clutches contain three eggs (Jennings 2010). The species breeds in holes in old mangrove trees, about 1-3 m above high tide level. The nesting cavity has an entrance about 6-10 cm wide and reaches about 40-50 cm into the tree (Jennings 2010). The nest is horizontal and unlined (Jennings 2010).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Aspinall (1996) lists a range of potential threats to this species in UAE. The species is potentially incidentally caught in fishing nets (Aspinall 1996). Threats to the species's environment are also important, with loss of its mangrove habitat due to disease, pollution and clearance (e.g. for land reclamation) being particularly threatening, as well as the species being impacted by other human activities, e.g. recreation leading to species disturbance and capture for trade (see Aspinall 1996).
History
While it is plausible that the quality of habitat in the species's tiny range may have been in decline in 1996, with the main threat being considered to be disturbance due to recreational fishing, the number of locations is thought to be >10 despite it only being found in a very small area. Therefore, it is assessed that in 1996, the national Red List status of this species would have been the same as in this assessment, qualifying as Near Threatened under criterion B, Vulnerable under criterion D2, and Endangered under criterion D at both time points.
Publication
UAE National Red List of Birds
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