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The site was identified as important in 2007 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni	LC	breeding	2006-2007	50-70 breeding pairs	A1
Saker Falcon Falco cherrug	EN	breeding	1991-1992	13-32 breeding pairs	A1

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2007) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2007. The most recent assessment (2017) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Reference	Actual	Units	% remaining	Result
White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala	2	10	individuals	100	favourable
Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea	10	40	individuals	100	favourable
Black-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles orientalis	20	25	individuals	100	favourable
Demoiselle Crane Anthropoides virgo	7	16	breeding pairs	100	favourable
Great Bustard Otis tarda	30	16	individuals	54	unfavourable
Asian Houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii	5	4	breeding pairs	80	near favourable
Little Owl Athene noctua	30	20	breeding pairs	67	unfavourable
Eurasian Eagle-owl Bubo bubo	10	6	breeding pairs	60	unfavourable
Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis	7	12	breeding pairs	100	favourable
Eastern Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca	4	2	breeding pairs	50	unfavourable
Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos	4	4	breeding pairs	100	favourable
Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus	17	18	individuals	100	favourable
Milvus migrans	5	12	breeding pairs	100	favourable
Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus	25	40	breeding pairs	100	favourable
Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni	40	60	breeding pairs	100	favourable
Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus	20	60	breeding pairs	100	favourable
Eurasian Hobby Falco subbuteo	8	8	breeding pairs	100	favourable
Saker Falcon Falco cherrug	8	10	breeding pairs	100	favourable

State (condition of the trigger species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Desert	good (> 90%)	moderate (70-90%)	near favourable
Shrubland	good (> 90%)	good (> 90%)	favourable
Grassland	good (> 90%)	good (> 90%)	favourable
Wetlands (inland)	good (> 90%)	good (> 90%)	favourable
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)	good (> 90%)	good (> 90%)	favourable
Artificial/Terrestrial	good (> 90%)	good (> 90%)	favourable

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Biological resource use	happening now	whole area/population (>90%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	very high
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Unknown	No management planning has taken place	Unknown	negligible

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Desert	Desert & semi-desert - clay, Desert & semi-desert - sandy, Desert & semi-desert - salty	70
Grassland	Steppes & dry calcareous	10
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)	Inland cliffs, Scree, boulders & bare rocky areas	10
Shrubland	Low bushes	10
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable land, Highly improved reseeded grasslands	minor (<10)
Wetlands (inland)	Rivers & streams, Standing fresh water, Temporary water bodies, Standing brackish & salt water	minor (<10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
rangeland/pastureland	20

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Arkaly Mountains (Kazakhstan). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/arkaly-mountains-iba-kazakhstan on 23/11/2024.