Taxon name
Anthus richardi
Vieillot, 1818
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Anthus richardi
Vieillot, 1818
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Birds
Species authority
Vieillot, 1818
Taxonomic notes and synonyms listed
Anthus richardi and A. cinnamomeus (del Hoyo and Collar (2016) were previously lumped as A. richardi following AERC TAC (2003); Dowsett and Forbes-Watson (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
Qualifying criteria (if given)
D
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
Retained in this Red List assessment due to its regional listing as Vulnerable as a breeding bird in the Arabian Peninsula, this species has a very small non-breeding population within the UAE. It is listed here as Endangered under Criterion D, having been adjusted down by one category because it has a relatively small population size in UAE compared to the regional and global population. Further research is required to identify whether the species may be being impacted by factors such as habitat loss.
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 or migrant individuals on passage to and from the breeding grounds. Numbers are highest between mid-September and mid-April, occasionally to early May, when the species is fairly common to common throughout the country (Pedersen et al. 2017). Individuals wintering in or migrating through the UAE breed in central-eastern Asia.
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This species inhabits grassland, irrigated grassland, marshes, scrubland and cultivations (Richardson 1990, Richardson and Aspinall 1998, Aspinall and Porter 2011). There is no information available about its diet in the UAE; elsewhere it is insectivorous and feeds mainly on beetles and grasshoppers (Tyler 2019). The species is a long-distance migrant and breeds between April and July in grasslands of Siberia and Kazakhstan (Tyler 2019).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Symes et al. (2015) does note that its habitat could be declining (with no first level threat described) in the wider Arabian Peninsula, although pesticide use is potentially a key threat in its wider range. Within the UAE itself, overgrazing in areas outside of Protected Areas could potentially be an issue for this species too.
History
It is considered that in 1996, the national Red List status of this species would have been the same as in this assessment.
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
