The Diurnal Birds of Prey (Raptors) in the Mesopotamian Marshes of Southern Iraq With Notes on Their Conservation Status

Abstract

Birds of prey (Raptors) are top predator avian species that many migrate annually through Mesopotamian marshes in southern Iraq toward their wintering grounds in Arabia and Africa, while others are breeding residents; however, information on their current status is scarce. From January 2016 to April 2019, a total of 20 field expeditions were conducted in the geographical zone of the Mesopotamian marshes, wetlands of international importance. The survey covered the Central Marshes, Al-Hammar and Hawizeh Marsh. One of the objectives of the field surveys is to list the raptors species that wintering and/or migrating through the Mesopotamian marshes and to understand their current spatial and temporal distribution. In the present study, a total of 32 species of diurnal raptors are recorded through intensive field observations, reviewing literature records, and personal communications of unpublished data. Moreover, eight species listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN Red List are recorded which highlight the ecological importance of the Mesopotamian marshes as a major stopover site for globally threatened raptors. Besides species persecution, observed threats such as habitat destruction, climate change, and pollution were severely influencing birds of prey communities in the Mesopotamian marshes which warrant further conservation actions.

Current Conservation Status of the Migratory Western Marsh Harrier Throughout the Unesco Site in Al-Chibayish Marsh, South of Iraq

“…During our field surveys, we encountered multiple other species of raptors inside the study area. We included their IUCN conservation status and their taxonomic order following Al-Sheikhly and Al-Azawi (2019b) DISCUSSION The Western marsh harrier has been a regular raptor in the Mesopotamian wetlands, having been recorded on a regular basis starting in the 1920s (Al-Sheikhly and Al-Azawi, 2019a). However, few research efforts have been conducted with regard to its migrating/wintering population.…”

The Falcons (Falconiformes, Falconidae) Voucher Collection in the Iraq Natural History Research Center and Museum (Inhm)

“…The current study revealed to one voucher specimen of Eurasian Hobby which was collected from Baghdad province central of Iraq as shown in Plate (1). Eurasian Hobby was considered a rare winter visitor and passage migrant to the marshy lakes, cultivated fields on the Mesopotamian marshes (Cumming 1918;Ticehurst et al 1922;Fazaa et al, 2017;Al-Sheikhly and Al-Azawi, 2019).…”

“…Worldwide, the genus Falco Linnaeus, 1758 contains 38 species (Myers et al, 2009); in Iraq, a total of ten species and subspecies including: Saker Falcon F. cherrug; Lanner Falcon F. biarmicus; Peregrine Falcon F. peregrinus; F. p. (brookei); Barbary Falcon F. p. (pelegrinoides); Eurasian Hobby F. subbuteo; Merlin F. columbarius; Red Footed Falcon F. vespertinus; Lesser Kestrel F. naumanni; Common Kestrel F. tinnunculus are recorded (Cumming,1918;Donald, 1919;Ticehurst et al, 1922;Meinertzhagen, 1914Moor and Boswell, 1956;Allouse,1960;Scott and Carp, 1982;Scott, 1993;Evans, 1994;Scott, 1995;Abed, 2007;Salim et al, 2009;Porter et al, 2010;Ararat et al, 2011;Al-Sheikhly, 2011;Al-Sheikhly, 2012a;Lahoney et al, 2013;Fazaa et al, 2017;Al-Sheikhly and Al-Azawi, 2019).…”