Data Zone
Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: #http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of _the_WP15.xls#.
Cramp, S. and Simmons, K.E.L. (eds). 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
| Critically Endangered | Endangered | Vulnerable |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | - |
| Year | Category | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Least Concern | |
| 2016 | Least Concern | |
| 2013 | Least Concern | |
| 2012 | Least Concern | |
| 2009 | Least Concern | |
| 2008 | Least Concern | |
| 2004 | Least Concern | |
| 2000 | Lower Risk/Least Concern | |
| 1994 | Lower Risk/Least Concern | |
| 1988 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
| Migratory status | not a migrant | Forest dependency | Low |
| Land mass type | Average mass | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2) | 42,800,000 | medium |
| Extent of Occurrence non-breeding (km2) | 18,200,000 | medium |
| Number of locations | - | |
| Severely Fragmented | - |
| Value | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of mature individuals | 67000-670000 | poor | suspected | 2009 |
| Population trend | Decreasing | suspected | - | |
| Decline (3 years/1 generation past) | - | - | - | |
| Decline (5 years/1 generation past) | - | - | - | |
| Decline (10 years/1 generation past) | - | - | - | |
| Decline (10 years/3 generation future) | - | - | - | |
| Decline (10 years/3 generation past and future) | - | - | - | |
| Number of subpopulations | - | - | - | |
| Percentage in largest subpopulation | - | - | - | |
| Generation length (yrs) | 5 | - | - | - |
Population justification: Ferguson-Lees and Christie (2001) place the global population in the band 100,001-1,000,000 individuals, which roughly equates to 67,000-670,000 mature individuals. The European population is estimated at 840-1,700 mature individuals (BirdLife International in prep.). Europe forms a very small proportion of the global range (approximately 1%).
Trend justification: The species is declining in Europe owing to persecution, collecting of eggs and chicks for falconry, collisions with wind turbines, habitat loss, and nest-site competition with Peregrine Falcons (Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001; De Rosa 2019; Keller et al. 2020). Particularly notable declines have occurred in former strongholds such as Italy and Turkey, as well as in the West Balkans and Greece (Keller et al. 2020; Di Vittorio et al. 2017). Exploitation for falconry may also be causing declines in breeding populations in Saudi Arabia (Binothman 2016). Declines of 38% (equivalent to 18.9% over three generations) were recorded outside of protected areas during road surveys in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in 1969-1973 and 2003-2004, but there was no significant decline within protected areas (Thiollay 2006). There was no significant decline detected during road surveys in Northern Cameroon in 1973 and 2000. There are reports of declines in North Africa (Corso 2018), but a regional Red List assessment carried out in 2020 categorised the species as Least Concern, despite local declines in Libya and Egypt. Localised declines in southern Africa have been linked to poisoning by pesticides (Global Raptor Information Network 2015).
Despite these local declines, there is no evidence for population decline across the rest of the species's range, therefore the global population is suspected to be declining at a rate of <20% over three generations.
| Country/Territory | Occurrence status | Presence | Resident | Breeding | Non-breeding | Passage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Algeria | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Angola | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Armenia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Azerbaijan | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Benin | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Botswana | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Bulgaria | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Burkina Faso | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Burundi | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Cameroon | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Central African Republic | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Chad | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Congo | V | Extant | Yes | |||
| Congo, The Democratic Republic of the | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Côte d'Ivoire | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Croatia | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Cyprus | V | Extant | Yes | |||
| Czechia | V | Extant | Yes | |||
| Djibouti | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Egypt | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Eritrea | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Eswatini | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Ethiopia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| France | V | Extant | Yes | |||
| Gabon | V | Extant | Yes | |||
| Gambia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Georgia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Ghana | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Gibraltar (to UK) | V | Extant | Yes | |||
| Greece | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Guinea | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Guinea-Bissau | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Iran, Islamic Republic of | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Iraq | V | Extant | Yes | |||
| Israel | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Italy | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Jordan | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Kenya | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Kuwait | V | Extant | Yes | |||
| Lebanon | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Lesotho | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Liberia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Libya | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Malawi | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Mali | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Malta | V | Extant | Yes | |||
| Mauritania | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Montenegro | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Morocco | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Mozambique | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Namibia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Niger | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Nigeria | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| North Macedonia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Oman | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Palestine | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Portugal | V | Extant | Yes | |||
| Qatar | U | Extant | ||||
| Romania | V | Extant | Yes | |||
| Russia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Russia (European) | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Rwanda | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Saudi Arabia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Senegal | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Serbia | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Sierra Leone | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Slovakia | V | Extant | Yes | |||
| Somalia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| South Africa | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| South Sudan | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Spain | V | Extant | Yes | |||
| Sudan | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Syria | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Tanzania | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Togo | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Tunisia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Turkey | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Uganda | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| United Arab Emirates | V | Extant | Yes | |||
| Western Sahara | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Yemen | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Zambia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Zimbabwe | N | Extant | Yes |
| Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Plantations | suitable | resident |
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Urban Areas | suitable | resident |
| Desert | Hot | suitable | resident |
| Forest | Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane | suitable | resident |
| Grassland | Subtropical/Tropical Dry | suitable | resident |
| Grassland | Temperate | suitable | resident |
| Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks) | suitable | resident | |
| Savanna | Dry | suitable | resident |
| Shrubland | Mediterranean-type Shrubby Vegetation | suitable | resident |
| Altitude | 0 - 2500 m | Occasional altitudinal limits | (max) 5000 m |
| Threat (level 1) | Threat (level 2) | Impact and Stresses | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Medium Impact: 6 | ||||||
|
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| Agriculture & aquaculture | Livestock farming & ranching - Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Agriculture & aquaculture | Wood & pulp plantations - Agro-industry plantations | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Medium Impact: 6 | ||||||
|
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| Biological resource use | Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Persecution/control | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Rapid Declines | Medium Impact: 6 | ||||||
|
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| Biological resource use | Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest] | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Energy production & mining | Mining & quarrying | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Energy production & mining | Renewable energy | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Human intrusions & disturbance | Recreational activities | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases | Problematic native species/diseases - Falco peregrinus | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Natural system modifications | Fire & fire suppression - Increase in fire frequency/intensity | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
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| Pollution | Agricultural & forestry effluents - Herbicides and pesticides | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
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| Residential & commercial development | Housing & urban areas | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
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| Transportation & service corridors | Roads & railroads | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
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| Transportation & service corridors | Utility & service lines | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
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| Purpose | Primary form used | Life stage used | Source | Scale | Level | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pets/display animals, horticulture | - | - | International | Non-trivial | Recent | |
| Sport hunting/specimen collecting | - | - | Non-trivial | Recent |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2023) Species factsheet: Falco biarmicus. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 29/03/2023.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2023) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 29/03/2023.
