Untitled - ENVIS Centre on Avian Ecology

ENDANGERED
THREATENED BIRDS OF INDIA
Buceros Vol. 7 & No. 1 & 2 (2002)
apparently became extinct as a breeder in Morocco,
central Europe and Israel in the twentieth century 1 . It
breeds in western Mongolia, and there are reports that it
breeds in western China. Moreover, it is a non-breeding
visitor to Pakistan and (in very small numbers) to northern
India. In India the species is a rare, very local and
declining winter visitor to northern India, south to eastern
Rajasthan and central Uttar Pradesh 2 . In 1997, one bird
was sighted in Amakhera Wetland in Aligarh district of
Uttar Pradesh 6 .
Population: The global population of the White-headed
Duck was probably over 100,000 in the early twentieth
century, falling to an estimated 19,000 birds in 1991,
since when numbers have probably declined to fewer than
10,000 individuals 3 .
Main threats: Approximately 50% of breeding habitat
has been drained during the 20 th century. Remaining sites
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are vulnerable to pollution 3 . Further threats include
drowning in fishing nets, hunting, and ingestion of lead
shot 4 . Droughts in Kazakhstan may have caused recent
poor breeding seasons 4 .
Conservation measures: CITES Appendix II. CMS
Appendix I. In India it is protected under the Wildlife
(Protection) Act 1972 in Schedule IV: Anatidae. In
Europe, a conservation programme in Spain has resulted
in a significant population increase 4 . A European action
plan was published in 1996 5 .
References: 1. Green and Anstey 1992; 2. Grimmett et
al. 1998; 3. Green and Hunter 1996; 4. BirdLife
International 2001; 5. Green and Hughes 1996; 6. M.
Zafar-ul Islam (pers. comm. 2002).
Note: No IBA site identified for this bird, but there is an
unconfirmed record from Amakhera wetland in Aligarh
district of UP.
WHITE-WINGED DUCK Cairina scutulata Endangered A1c,d; A2c,d; C1; C2a
Vulnerable D1
This forest duck qualifies as Endangered because it has a very small, rapidly declining,
severely fragmented population as a result of deforestation, wetland drainage and
exploitation.
Distribution: The White-winged Duck was historically
distributed widely from north-east India, through
Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam,
Cambodia and Malaysia, to the Indonesian islands of
Sumatra and Java. It now survives in relatively few
scattered sites, having disappeared from many portions
of its previous range. The species was “formerly
widespread” in north-eastern India 1 , particularly in
districts and states bordering the Brahmaputra river and
its major tributaries 2,3 . It has been recorded from
Arunachal Pradesh, Assam (mainly in the east and
patchily elsewhere), Meghalaya, Nagaland and Manipur
(no recent records from the latter two states), with its
distribution currently centred on the eastern lowlands of
Assam and Arunachal Pradesh 4 . It has also been
inconclusively reported from Madhya Pradesh, Bihar,
West Bengal and Tripura.
Population: In 1992 the known wild population
(absolute minimum) was only 210, although few surveys
had then been conducted 5 . This figure rose to an
n n n
estimated 336 soon afterwards 6 . After further survey
work in India, Indochina and Indonesia the most recent
global population minimum is 450, comprising 130 in
South-East Asia, 170 in India and Myanmar, and 150
on Sumatra 7 . The minimum global population may now
be 400, with the “true” figure probably in the region of
“a few thousand, undergoing a continuing decline” 8 .
The Indian population is at 300–350, of which c. 200
would be in the Tinsukia-Dibrugarh area, but still
declining 4 .
Main threats: Its decline is largely attributable to habitat
loss, wetland drainage, hydropower development,
protected area management problems, persecution and
hunting, inbreeding, trade and captivity, disturbance,
pollution and pesticides, and natural predation.
Conservation measures: It is in Schedule 1 of the Indian
Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. The species is listed under
Appendix I of CITES and is legally protected from
hunting and collection in seven countries: Bangladesh,