Taxon name
Gallinago gallinago
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Gallinago gallinago
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Birds
Species authority
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Taxonomic notes and synonyms listed
Gallinago gallinago and G. delicata (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) were previously lumped as G. gallinago following Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993).
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
Near Threatened
Qualifying criteria (if given)
D1
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
This species has a restricted non-breeding population in the UAE, which qualifies it for listing as Vulnerable. However, the population is increasing within the country, therefore, the species's has undergone a regional adjustment down to Near Threatened (D1) 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
This species is common in the UAE between late August and April, when wintering birds and migrant individuals on passage to and from the breeding grounds occur at wetlands throughout the country (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 inhabits freshwater wetlands, including wet or flooded grasslands, marshes, pond edges, ditches and water treatment plants overgrown with vegetation (Richardson 1990, Aspinall and Porter 2011). There is no information available about its diet in the UAE; elsewhere the diet includes insects, earthworms, small crustaceans, small gastropods and spiders, but also plant fibres and seeds in smaller quantities. The species forages in small groups by vertical and rhythmic probing in substrate, often without removing the bill from the soil. The species is migratory and breeds between April and June throughout Eurasia.
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
The most relevant threats within the UAE are changes in land-use and the possibility of oil pollution, but the severity of these threats towards this species is unknown. Individuals that visit the UAE will also be impacted by a range of threats that occur outside of the country:Declines noted in breeding populations of Europe are probably chiefly due to habitat changes, especially drainage (BirdLife International 2015). Low water levels shorten the period of food availability in pastures, due to the lower penetrability of soil, and thereby strongly influence the length of the breeding season (BirdLife International 2015). Changes in habitat structure and food abundance, which already negatively affect this (and many other) species might also lead to increased predation risks for nestlings (BirdLife International 2015). Estimated 1,500,000 birds are hunted annually in Europe (Van Gils;et al. 2015).
History
Populations would have been smaller in 1996, qualifying as Endangered, adjusted down to VU after rescue effect from the large global population. These increases are likely due to increased availability of artifical water sources.
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
