Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
A semi-desert plain, cut across by many irrigation channels, with pastures and, to a lesser extent, cotton fields.
Certainly the most important area for wintering
Tetrax tetrax in Azerbaijan, probably also in the former USSR; discovered only in 1989. Breeding species include
Ciconia ciconia (in some villages),
Francolinus francolinus (rare, in scrub along channels),
Burhinus oedicnemus,
Merops superciliosus (common) and larks (Alaudidae). Species of global conservation concern that do not meet IBA criteria:
Branta ruficollis (formerly very common winter visitor, now very rare and not annual),
Otis tarda (very rare winter visitor, not annual).
Aquila nipalensis is common on migration, when
Grus grus and
Anthropoides virgo also occur.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Main threats are poaching and disturbance of
Tetrax tetrax by shepherds and other local people.
National None
International None
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Mugan steppe (Azerbaijan). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/mugan-steppe-iba-azerbaijan on 23/11/2024.
