• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

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.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	D	D1+2

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2018	Endangered	D
2016	Critically Endangered	C2a(ii)
2015	Critically Endangered	C2a(ii)
2013	Critically Endangered	C2a(ii)
2012	Critically Endangered	C2a(ii)
2010	Critically Endangered	C2a(ii)
2009	Critically Endangered	C2a(ii)
2008	Critically Endangered
2005	Critically Endangered
2004	Critically Endangered
2000	Critically Endangered
1996	Critically Endangered
1994	Critically Endangered
1988	Threatened

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	Does not normally occur in forest
Land mass type	Land-mass type - continent	Average mass	1202 g

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2)	203,000	medium
Extent of Occurrence non-breeding (km2)	617,000	medium
Number of locations	2-5	-
Severely Fragmented		-

	Value	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
No. of mature individuals	200-249	good	estimated	2006
Population trend	Stable	medium	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	2	-	-	-
Percentage in largest subpopulation	95-99	-	-	-
Generation length (yrs)	8	-	-	-

Population justification: In Souss-Massa National Park and Tamri, Morocco in 2015, 116 pairs raised 205 fledglings with a total of 580 individuals present at the end of the breeding season (Oubrou and El Bekkay 2015). In 2014, 115 pairs produced 192 young which went on to fledge (Oubrou and El Bekkay 2014). In 2013, 113 pairs (i.e. 226 mature individuals) nested, out of 319 adults, and produced 148 fledged young with a total of 443 birds at the end of the breeding season (Oubrou and El Bekkay 2013, J. F. Orueta in litt. 2016). In 2011, 110 pairs produced 138 fledged young (J. F. Orueta in litt. 2016), matching the breeding success of 2010, when 105 pairs fledged 138 young (R. Grimmett in litt. 2011). After the breeding season the total number of birds in the western population may have exceeded 500 in 2011-2012 (IAGNBI 2012), and almost reached 600 individuals in 2015 (Oubrou and El Bekkay 2015). Only a single mature female returned to Syria in 2013 (C. Bowden in litt. 2013) and again in 2014, but reportedly no birds returned in 2015 (Serra 2015). The last successful breeding record in Syria is from 2011 when a single breeding pair fledged two young (R. Grimmett in litt. 2011). The Turkish population now numbers around 100 individuals (IAGNBI 2012), but these managed birds are excluded from the total estimate. The species is considered Regionally Extinct in Europe (BirdLife International 2015).

Trend justification: The Moroccan population underwent a catastrophic reduction in the mid-1990s, but has since increased steadily. Serra (2003) provides reasonable evidence, including testimonies of local people, that in Syria the species was still common 20 years ago and possibly quite abundant 30 years ago. Colonies of several hundred probably existed up until 1980. Although the Turkish population may now be recovering to similar levels as ten or more years ago, this heavily managed population is excluded from the overall trends; as are the reintroduced populations in Austria, Germany and Spain. Overall, though, the current trend is tentatively suspected to be stable.

Country/Territory	Occurrence status	Presence	Resident	Breeding	Non-breeding	Passage
Algeria	V	Extant			Yes
Cape Verde	V	Extant
Egypt	V	Extinct
Eritrea	N	Extant			Yes
Ethiopia	N	Extinct			Yes
Germany	V	Extant
Iraq	N	Possibly Extinct
Israel	N	Extinct		Yes		Yes
Jordan	N	Extant				Yes
Mali	V	Extant
Mauritania	V	Extant
Montenegro	V	Extant
Morocco	N	Extant	Yes
Portugal	V	Extant
Saudi Arabia	N	Extant				Yes
Senegal	N	Extinct		Yes
Serbia	V	Extant
Somalia	V	Extant
Spain	V	Extant
Sudan	N	Extinct			Yes
Switzerland	N	Extinct				Yes
Syria	N	Extant		Yes
Turkey	R	Extant		Yes
Western Sahara	V	Extant
Yemen	N	Extant			Yes	Yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Syria	Ibis Protected Area
Morocco	Oued Matil: Ksob
Morocco	Tamri and Imsouane
Morocco	Tarhazoute
Morocco	Parc National de Souss-Massa and Aglou
Turkey	Karkamış
Saudi Arabia	National Wildlife Research Center and environs, Taif
Yemen	Ta'izz wadis
Yemen	Al-Kadan area
Turkey	Southern Euphrates Valley and Birecik Plains
Syria	Tadmur desert and mountains
Algeria	El Bayadh
Morocco	Côte Imsouane - Taghazout

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	major	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	major	non-breeding
Caves and Subterranean Habitats (non-aquatic)	Caves	suitable	breeding
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands	suitable	breeding
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)		major	breeding
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	non-breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls)	suitable	resident
Altitude	0 - 1400 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Shifting agriculture	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 3
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Small-holder farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather	Droughts	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Human intrusions & disturbance	Recreational activities	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Likely to Return		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Species disturbance
Human intrusions & disturbance	War, civil unrest & military exercises	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Corvus ruficollis	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Neophron percnopterus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Natural system modifications	Dams & water management/use - Dams (size unknown)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Natural system modifications	Other ecosystem modifications	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Pollution	Agricultural & forestry effluents - Herbicides and pesticides	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 3
		Stresses Species mortality
Pollution	Agricultural & forestry effluents - Type Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Likely to Return		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Species mortality
Residential & commercial development	Housing & urban areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

Purpose	Primary form used	Life stage used	Source	Scale	Level	Timing
Food - human	-	-			Non-trivial	Recent
Pets/display animals, horticulture	-	-		International	Non-trivial	Recent

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2022) Species factsheet: Geronticus eremita. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 28/05/2022. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2022) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 28/05/2022.