Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Birds
Species authority
Brème, 1839
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
Least Concern
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
This species has a large non-breeding population in the UAE, which is stable at high numbers. Therefore, it is listed as Least Concern 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 migrant individuals on passage to and from the breeding ground or winter visitors (Pedersen et al. 2017). The species is particularly common between April and November along the coast (Richardson 1990). Individual birds may also occur during summer in 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
During the non-breeding season, this species is almost entirely coastal, frequenting shallow inshore waters and mudflats further inland (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Aspinall and Porter 2011). It forages in shallow water close to the shore and on sandy beaches, but also inland in flooded saltflats (Jennings 2010). It mainly feeds on small fish and marine invertebrates, which it takes by plunge-diving, surface-dipping or by wading in shallow pools (Jennings 2010). Individuals may oversummer in the UAE; however, they do not breed there. Instead, migratory populations breed in central Asia (Jennings 2010)
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
In UAE the most relevant threats are changes in coastal land-use and the possibility of oil pollution, but the severity of these threats towards this species is unknown.Globally, the species considered to be threatened by pollution from oil (Cooper;et al.;1984, James 1984, del Hoyo;et al;1996), and there are a range of other factors that could impact individuals that visit UAE. These include disturbance caused by local people and tourists casually visiting breeding colonies, and by habitat loss resulting from tourism development (James 1984). The species is also susceptible to avian influenza, so may be threatened by future outbreaks of the virus (Melville and Shortridge 2006, Gaidet;et al.;2007).
History
The species is considered to have had large and stable;numbers in 1996, and so it would have received the same national Red List category as it does now.
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
