Current view: Data table and detailed info
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.
IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Red List history
| Migratory status |
full migrant |
Forest dependency |
low |
| Land-mass type |
|
Average mass |
- |
Population justification: Estimating the total population has proved notoriously difficult, partly due to lack of data, and the population may have been overestimated in the past (Kavanaugh and King 2008). Estimates of the total populations have ranged from 1,000-40,000 pairs, roughly equivalent to 2,000-80,000 mature individuals, and 3,000-120,000 individuals in total (Nicoll et al. 2008). However, there are now thought to be no more than a few thousand wintering in Madagascar and a review of all Arabian census data found that the total Arabian population is probably just below 500 breeding pairs (Jennings and Sadler 2006; F. Hawkins in litt. 2007). Given that the Arabian population is generally regarded as the largest within its range (perhaps half of the world population), the estimate from Madagascar may indeed prove to be accurate (Jennings and Sadler 2006). Knowledge gaps about the population exist for inland areas of Egypt, Sudan, and Libya, and from the islands of the Dhalak Archipelago, Eritrea, and some Egyptian islands in the Red Sea. More recently, the draft International Single Species Action Plan for the species has provided clearer population estimates, with the breeding population estimated at 1,400-2,000 pairs (Gallo-Orsi et al. 2014), equating to 2,800-4,000 mature individuals.
This species is migratory and based on its wintering grounds and passage route it is assumed that all individuals have an opportunity to mix. Therefore it is tentatively assumed to function as one subpopulation.
Trend justification: There have been declines in the breeding population in many countries, with no population known to be increasing (Kavanaugh and King 2008; Gallo-Orsi et al. 2014; McGrady et al. 2017). Anecdotal evidence from Madagascar indicates a decline, and this is mirrored by data from breeding colonies in the Middle East (Kavanagh and King 2003; F. Hawkins in litt. 2007; M. McGrady et al. 2017, 2018, 2019); each of the latter when surveyed has shown a decline relative to previous survey results (McGrady and Nicoll 2008; Shah et al. 2008; McGrady et al. 2018, 2019). The small population in the UAE declined from 14-25 pairs in 1996 to five pairs in 2007 (Shah et al. 2008). The draft ISSAP also reports that there have been declines in the breeding population in many countries, including up to a 50% decline in Saudia Arabia, which holds c.15% of the population, with no population known to be increasing (Gallo-Orsi et al. 2014). Therefore a slow or moderate and ongoing population decline is inferred to be taking place, the overall rate of which has not been quantified, but is not currently thought to be >20% over three generations.
Country/territory distribution
Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Sooty Falcon Falco concolor. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/sooty-falcon-falco-concolor on 26/12/2024.
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 26/12/2024.
