Information is being sought by BirdLife International regarding the named species in regard to updating the IUCN Red List for 2010. You are requested to provide comments/inputs through the globally threatened birds forum at
http://www.birdlife forums.org/ WebX/.2cba27b2/ or directly send your comments to
jez.bird@birdlife. org or myself. See details below as relates to the discussion topics on the respective species
Greater Spotted Eagle (Aquila clanga): information requested.
Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga is currently listed as Vulnerable under criterion C2a(ii) on the IUCN Red List because its global population is estimated to number just 5,000-13,200 mature individuals, extrapolated from an estimated 810-1,100 pairs breeding in Europe (BirdLife International 2004). During the revision of the conservation status of Lesser Spotted Eagle A. pomarina at www.birdlifeforums. org in 2006 Martin Flade in litt. (2006) commented that Greater Spotted Eagle “is still quite common in the whole W-Siberian lowlands from Ural mountains to the middle Ob (and onwards to E-Siberia)”. No comprehensive assessment of the species’s population size globally or population trends in different parts of its range exists; however, given the species’s massive global range it is highly plausible that its population exceeds 10,000 mature individuals (the threshold for listing as VU under criterion C) and may
warrant downlisting. The species is long-lived with an estimated generation length of 16.6 years (BirdLife International, unpublished data); if its population has declined by >30% over the past three generations (50 years) it would qualify as Vulnerable under criterion A2. Information about the species’s population size and declines are requested to improve our assessment of its global status.
BirdLife International (2004) Birds in Europe: population estimates, trends and conservation status. Cambridge, UK: BirdLife International.
Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis): information requested.
Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis breeds widely from Eastern Europe through Central Asia to the steppes of Mongolia. It winters in Africa and western Asia and is currently considered Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because of its large range and population; population trends are not well understood but it is not thought to be declining by >30% over three generations (50 years based on a generation time of 16.6 years). While population trends have not been assessed for the global population, anecdotal sources suggest it is declining. A large proportion of the global population passes through several migration bottlenecks during spring. Trends in numbers passing through Eilat, Israel in spring reported in the 3rd Symposium on Asian Raptors suggest the average count of absolute numbers of Steppe Eagles has declined from c. 35,000 pre 1987 to c. 9,000 post 1989 (Yosef 2003). Populations in European Russia and Turkey are in
decline (BirdLife International 2004), but these constitute <5% of the global population. In Africa in winter (Dowsett et al. 2008) report no apparent change in the number of wintering birds from Zambia. To ascertain global trends data are needed from the Asian breeding grounds and African wintering grounds. Comments on likely population trends are invited.
BirdLife International (2004) Birds in Europe: population estimates, trends and conservation status. Cambridge, U.K.: BirdLife International (BirdLife Conservation Series 12).
Dowsett, R.J., D.R. Aspinwall, and F. Dowsett-Lemaire. 2008. The birds of Zambia. Tauraco Press and Aves, Liége, Belgium.
Yosef, R. (2003) Raptor visible-migration monitoring, banding and conservation at Eilat on the westernmost Asiatic flyway. Asian Raptor Research and Conservation Network. 3rd Symposium on Asian Raptors, Kenting, Taiwan, 2003.