LC
African Woollyneck Ciconia microscelis



Taxonomy

Taxonomic note
Ciconia episcopus and C. microscelis (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) were previously lumped as C. episcopus following  Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993).

Taxonomic source(s)
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. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
del Hoyo, J.; Collar, N. J.; Christie, D. A.; Elliott, A.; Fishpool, L. D. C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Critically Endangered Endangered Vulnerable
- - -

Red List history
Year Category Criteria
2016 Least Concern
2014 Least Concern
2012 Not Recognised
2008 Not Recognised
2004 Not Recognised
2000 Not Recognised
1994 Not Recognised
1988 Not Recognised
Species attributes

Migratory status not a migrant Forest dependency low
Land-mass type Average mass 2,061 g
Range

Estimate Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) 20,800,000 km2 medium
Severely fragmented? no -
Population
Estimate Data quality Derivation Year of estimate
Population size unknown poor estimated 2001
Population trend stable - suspected -
Generation length 15.9 years - - -

Population justification: This species's population has been estimated to number c.10,000-100,000 individuals (Wetlands International 2014).

Trend justification: The population is thought to be stable (Wetlands International 2014).


Country/territory distribution
Country/Territory Presence Origin Resident Breeding visitor Non-breeding visitor Passage migrant
Angola extant native yes
Benin extant native yes
Botswana extant native yes
Burkina Faso extant native yes
Burundi extant native yes
Cameroon extant native yes
Central African Republic extant native yes
Chad extant native yes
Congo extant native yes
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the extant native yes
Côte d'Ivoire extant native yes
Eritrea extant native yes
Eswatini extant native yes
Ethiopia extant native yes
Gabon extant native yes
Gambia extant native yes
Ghana extant native yes
Guinea extant native yes
Guinea-Bissau extant native yes
Kenya extant native yes
Liberia extant native yes
Malawi extant native yes
Mali extant native yes
Mauritania extant vagrant yes
Mozambique extant native yes
Niger extant native yes
Nigeria extant native yes
Rwanda extant native yes
Senegal extant native yes
Sierra Leone extant native yes
Somalia extant native yes
South Africa extant native yes
South Sudan extant native yes
Sudan extant native
Tanzania extant native yes
Togo extant native yes
Uganda extant native yes
Zambia extant native yes
Zimbabwe extant native yes

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Country/Territory IBA Name
Botswana Chobe National Park
Botswana Okavango Delta
South Sudan Sudd (Bahr-el-Jebel system)

Habitats & altitude
Habitat (level 1) Habitat (level 2) Importance Occurrence
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine Artificial/Aquatic - Irrigated Land (includes irrigation channels) suitable resident
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine Artificial/Aquatic - Ponds (below 8ha) suitable resident
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine Artificial/Aquatic - Seasonally Flooded Agricultural Land suitable resident
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine Artificial/Aquatic - Water Storage Areas (over 8ha) suitable resident
Artificial/Terrestrial Arable Land suitable resident
Artificial/Terrestrial Plantations suitable resident
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Mangrove Vegetation Above High Tide Level suitable resident
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Swamp suitable resident
Grassland Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded suitable resident
Marine Intertidal Mud Flats and Salt Flats suitable resident
Marine Neritic Estuaries suitable resident
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) suitable resident
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls) suitable resident
Wetlands (inland) Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) suitable resident
Altitude 0 - 1400 m Occasional altitudinal limits  

Utilisation
Purpose Scale
Food - human subsistence, national
Pets/display animals, horticulture international

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: African Woollyneck Ciconia microscelis. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/african-woollyneck-ciconia-microscelis on 21/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 21/12/2024.