Taxon name
Caprimulgus aegyptius
Lichtenstein, 1823
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Caprimulgus aegyptius
Lichtenstein, 1823
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Birds
Species authority
Lichtenstein, 1823
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
Qualifying criteria (if given)
D
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
This species has a very small breeding population in the UAE, which might qualify it for listing as Critically Endangered. However, the population is increasing and the potential for immigration from outside the UAE remains very high, as the species is stable in the wider Arabian Peninsula. Therefore, the species's status has undergone a regional adjustment down one category and is thus listed as Endangered 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 in the UAE are likely to be of migrant individuals. Between September and early May, the species is fairly common across the country (Pedersen et al. 2017). The species is a scarce breeding resident in Abu Dhabi Emirate; the first breeding was confirmed in June 2013, followed by two more records from March 2016 and April 2017 (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 occurs in semi-deserts, often interspersed with palm or scrub (Aspinall and Porter 2011). The species is migratory; after breeding in south-central Asia, individuals winter in the UAE or pass through the country on their way to wintering grounds in the Sahel zone of Africa. There is no information available on its feeding habits, nor on its breeding behaviour in the UAE. Elsewhere it feeds singly or in small flocks low over the ground near water, bushes, over cultivated land or livestock enclosures, where it takes mainly insects (Cleere 2019). It breeds from spring to early summer. Eggs are laid directly on the ground in a depression among stones, sheltered by a small bush. Clutches contain one to two eggs (Cleere 2019).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Historically, this species appears to have been impacted by agricultural development and urbanisation within parts of its breeding range (del Hoyo et al. 1999). The degree to which this has affected the species over recent times is uncertain, but it is possible that habitat loss could be having an effect on the species within UAE.
History
This species would not have qualified to have been listed in a 1996 assessment of this species's Red List status in UAE. As such this species cannot be assessed for a genuine change.
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
