Taxon name
Actitis hypoleucos
Linnaeus, 1758
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Actitis hypoleucos
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
Qualifying criteria (if given)
D
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
This species has a very small non-breeding population in the UAE, which qualifies it for listing as Endangered. On a global scale, the species is in decline and breeding populations outside of the country may not have a large rescue effect. Therefore, the species is precautionarily retained 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 within the UAE are likely to be of wintering birds and of migrant individuals on passage to and from the breeding grounds (Pedersen et al. 2017). Numbers are highest between late July and early May, when the species may be found on any freshwater wetland in the country, but individuals are recorded through the summer months as well (Richardson 1990, 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 on the edges of freshwater wetlands, mostly at ponds, water treatment plants and in irrigated grassland (Richardson 1990, Aspinall and Porter 2011). It is rarely found in saline habitats like mudflats and only sometimes on shorelines and rocky coasts (Richardson 1990). There is no information available about its diet in the UAE; elsewhere it consists of adult and larval insects, spiders, molluscs, snails, crustaceans, annelids, and occasionally frogs, toads, tadpoles and small fish, as well as plant material (Urban et al. 1986, del Hoyo et al. 1996). It forages solitarily during the day (Richardson 1990, del Hoyo et al. 1996), but may aggregate at night into roosts of over 100 individuals (Johnsgard 1981, del Hoyo et al. 1996). The species is migratory (del Hoyo et al. 1996). It breeds between May and June on freshwater margins throughout Eurasia (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Snow and Perrins 1998). Immature individuals may also remain in the winter range throughout the summer breeding season (Snow and Perrins 1998, Pedersen et al. 2017).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
The most relevant threats within UAE are changes in coastal land-use and the possibility of oil pollution, but the severity of these threats towards this species is unknown.
History
The population is thought to have been similar in 1996; significant impacts from development had not yet commenced, whilst wetland creation had also not started in a large way.
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
