| 2010 IUCN Red List Category (as evaluated by BirdLife International - the official Red List Authority for birds for IUCN): Vulnerable Justification This species is listed as Vulnerable because it has suffered a rapid population reduction in its key breeding population in Russia, and equivalent declines are predicted to continue. The Fennoscandian population has undergone a severe historical decline, and has not yet recovered.
Family/Sub-family Anatidae Species name author (Linnaeus, 1758) Taxonomic source(s) AERC TAC (2003), AOU checklist (1998 + supplements), Cramp and Simmons (1977-1994), Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993) Identification 53-66 cm. Small, grey-brown goose. White patch at base of pink bill. Black belly patches. Yellow eye-ring at close range. Similar spp. White-fronted Goose A. albifrons larger, longer necked with bigger bill and less steeply sloping forehead. Adult less dark and has smaller white blaze on face and lack bright yellow eye-ring. Juvenile lacks pale eye-ring. Difficult to distinguish in flight except by longer neck and bill and relatively shorter wings. Voice Fast bouncing dyee yik. Hints Search flocks of other geese, particularly A. albifrons. Walks faster than A. albifrons and is consequently often found near the front of feeding flocks.
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Population estimate | Population trend | Range estimate (breeding/resident) | Country endemic? | 20,000 - 25,000 | decreasing | 1,100,000 km2 | No |
Range & population Anser erythropus breeds in northern Fennoscandia (Norway 35-45 pairs, Finland 0-5 pairs, Sweden 5 pairs13) and several areas in Russia, including the Kola Peninsula, tundra to the west and east of Pechora, Western Siberia (Yamal and Gydan peninsulas), the southern Taimyr and Putorana Plateau, areas north of Eastern Siberia and Chukotka. Eastern breeders winter in central China and Mongolia, and European and west Asian breeders around the Black and Caspian Seas, in Azerbaijan, the Evros Delta between Greece and Turkey5, Iraq and possibly Iran. Small numbers occur on passage or in winter in Hungary, Germany24, Slovakia, Romania2,7 Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Bulgaria9. A small wintering population is also now established in The Netherlands, which originates from a reintroduced breeding population in Sweden. There are important staging areas in Kazakhstan10, Estonia10, Lithuania and Poland. The total population is estimated to be 25,000-28,000 individuals. This includes 8,000-11,000 individuals in autumn in its Western Palearctic range24 and 17,000 wintering individuals from the East Asian Flyway (20,000 recorded in 199714; but later not more than 17,00024; 16,937 counted in Lower Yangtze Valley in 200412). The Russian population has declined from a former estimate of 30,000-50,000 individuals8. The Fennoscandian population has declined from more than 10,000 birds in the early 20th century.
| Important Bird Areas Click here to view map showing IBAs where species is recorded and triggers any of the IBA criteria. | Ecology: Behaviour This species is fully migratory, and information about its migration routes has only recently come to light as a result of satellite telemetry studies15. The species departs from its breeding grounds in northern Scandinavia and arctic Russia in late August to early September. Populations from Fennoscandia and west Asia follow several routes: either south (through Hungary), or east and then south, through the Russian Taimyr Peninsula in northern Siberia, northern Kazakhstan and finally the Black Sea21,25, to reach wintering grounds in south-east Europe (the Hungarian plain to the Black Sea) and the Near East (around the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf)21,22. East Asian populations winter in eastern China23 and the Korean peninsula1. The return passage to the breeding grounds begins in February, with the species arriving from early May21 to late June1. In Siberia non-breeding birds undertake a moult-migration to higher altitudes or to areas north of the breeding range1. Evidence indicates that this species is not a colonial breeder16, but nests in pairs on isolated territories17. The species is gregarious outside the breeding season however17. Habitat Breeding This species breeds in low-lying bogs, scrub-covered tundra and taiga-forest edges close to wetlands, up to 700 m above sea level15. It can also be found on the slopes by lower parts of mountain streams, on mountain foothills, mountain lakes and on alpine precipices, often in thawing boggy areas or on stonefields16, 18. Adults of this species undergo a post-breeding flightless summer moult whilst still in their breeding range (in Siberia and Scandinavia adults migrate to areas north of the breeding range or to higher altitudes to exploit large open water fringed with sedge (Carex), or river valleys with long grass and scrub to escape predation)15. Non-breeding During winter and on migration this species frequents open short grassland in the steppe and semi-arid zones, particularly in sodic (e.g. seashore) pastures, arable farmland, pastures and meadows1, 15, 18. Winter roosting colonies are also formed on large lakes and rivers17, 18, or in reedbeds and rushes18. Diet This species is herbivorous, feeding on grasses, roots, stems, leaves, fruits and the green parts of aquatic and terrestrial plants along lake-shores, rivers and marshes15. During the winter the species supplements its diet with winter agricultural grains15. Breeding site Birds of this species often nest on snow-free patches available early in the breeding season (such as rocky outcrops or prominent hummocks) hidden amongst vegetation (grass, dwarf shrub heathland) or in boggy hollows1, 15, usually in close proximity to open water or marshy areas15.
| Threats Breeding Disturbance on breeding grounds (e.g. from increasing tourism and angling) causes much disruption to nesting birds1. Illegal spring hunting and round-ups of moulting birds are taking place on the Russian breeding grounds26 and illegal shooting continues in Norway29. Habitat deterioration, as a result of land cultivation and increased water-levels in the Caspian Sea, is a further threat1, as is habitat loss through the creation of reservoirs for hydroelectric power in Scandinavia1. The species may also be threatened by nest predation from the Red Fox Vulpes vulpes1. Climate change and associated habitat shifts are expected to impact negatively on this species and others dependent on tundra habitat for breeding. Modelling indicates that 28% of the habitat for this species could be lost by 207011. Non-breeding High mortality in autumn and winter is caused by illegal hunting, and accidental shooting on the staging and wintering grounds is the most important threat1,2,5,15,20,26. Disturbance of roosting and feeding birds by hunters is a potentially significant limiting factor on survival and breeding output27,28,30. The wintering population at Dongting Lake, China, is threatened by the Three Gorges Dam3. In the Kaliningrad region of Russia, important migratory stop-over points on the Baltic Sea coastline are being degraded through petroleum pollution, wetland drainage for agriculture, changes in wetland management leading to scrub and reed overgrowth, peat extraction, and the burning and mowing of reed beds19.
| | Conservation measures underway CMS Appendix I and II. It is protected in key range states except Azerbaijan and China. Satellite telemetry studies have improved knowledge of its ecology and the key threats2, ,10. A reintroduction programme in Sweden recently ended. Public awareness materials have been produced4. A European action plan was published in 1996.
| | Conservation measures proposed Reduce hunting pressure in key wintering and staging areas. Locate, monitor and protect key areas. Continue satellite tracking and other research. Prevent habitat loss and manage habitats in staging and wintering areas. Promote international and national legal protection. Promote public awareness.
| References 1. Madsen (1996). 2. Aarvak et al. (1997). 3. Iwabuchi (1998). 4. Kostadinova et al. (1999). 5. Lorentsen et al. (1998). 6. Miyabayashi and Mundkur (1999). 7. Munteanu et al. (1991). 8. Morozov (1995). 9. Petkov et al. (1999). 10. Tolvanen et al. (1999). 11. Zöckler and Lysenko (2000). 12. Barter et al. (2004). 13. BirdLife International (2004). 14. Li and Mundkur (2004). 15. Kear (2005a). 16. Johnsgard (1978). 17. Madge and Burn (1988). 18. Cramp and Simmons (1977). 19. Grishanov (2006). 20. Morozov (2006). 21. Snow and Perrins (1998). 22. Alerstam (1990). 23. del Hoyo et al (1992). 24. Morozov and Syroechkovski (2005). 25. Øien et al. (2005). 26. Jones (in press). 27. Ebbinge and Spaans (1995). 28. Ä(2000). 29. T. Aarvak pers. comm. (2007). 30. N. Petkov in litt. (2007).
| Text account compilers Phil Benstead (BirdLife International), Vicky Jones (BirdLife International), Lucy Malpas (BirdLife International), John Pilgrim (BirdLife International) | Contributors Vladimir Morozov (Zoological Museum, Moscow State University), I. J. Oien (Norsk Ornitologisk Forening), Christoph Zöckler (UNEP - WCMC) | IUCN Red List evaluators Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), James Gilroy (BirdLife International), Rob Pople (BirdLife International - European Division) |
| Recommended citation BirdLife International (2010) Species factsheet: Anser erythropus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 3/9/2010 | This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List. To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums |
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