Saker Falcon – General Information

2006 IUCN Red List Category (as evaluated by BirdLife International - the official Red List Authority for birds for IUCN): Endangered

Family/Sub-family: Falconidae

Population estimate: 7,200 - 8,800

Population trend: decreasing

Range estimate (breeding/resident): —

Range & population

The Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) is a large falcon. This species breeds from Eastern Europe eastwards across Asia to Manchuria. It is mainly migratory except in the southernmost parts of its range, wintering in Ethiopia, the Arabian peninsula, northern India and western China.

The global population was estimated to be 8,500-12,000 pairs in 1990 compared to 3,600-4,400 pairs for 2003. The population is therefore estimated to have declined by 48-70% over this period, with a best estimate (between median estimates for 1990 and 2003) of 61%. Assuming a generation length of five years and that the decline of the Saker began (at least in some areas) in the 1970s and 1980s (consumption of Sakers in the Middle East was heavy by mid-1980s), the declines over 13 years equate to 66% over 15 years (based on median estimates), with a minimum-maximum of 53-75%.

Conservation measures underway

The Saker is a protected and red-listed species in many range states, particularly in the western parts of its range. It is listed on CITES Appendix II, and in 2002 CITES imposed a trade ban on UAE, strongly affecting the unregulated market there. Intensive wardening and management has produced a steadily rising population in Hungary. Controls of illegal trade were implemented in various countries in western range in 1990s. Captive breeding has developed strongly in some countries including UAE as a means of substituting farmed for wild-caught birds. Clinics have also been set up to improve the longevity and availability of wild-caught birds in various Gulf states. New research programmes in many parts of the range have begun to establish baseline data on distribution, population, ecology and threats.