THE CONSERVATION STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE BREEDING BIRDS OF PREY OF NORTH AFRICA

The conservation status of species was assessed using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, following the guidelines for the application of the Categories and Criteria at regional levels. The assessments were compiled by a network of 34 regional experts, reviewed during a workshop held in Tunisia in February 2020 and followed up through correspondence until completion. Overall, 12 of the 36 breeding raptors evaluated are threatened in North Africa. Four species are classified as Near Threatened (NT), three species are assessed as Regionally Extinct (Dark Chanting-goshawk Melierax metabates, Cinereous Vulture Aegypius monachus and Spanish Imperial Eagle Aquila adalberti) and 17 species as Least Concern. The current main threats to North African birds of prey are illegal killing, illegal trade, poisoning, and death because of human infrastructure such as power lines, which are reducing breeding populations. Another important threat is the use of pesticides and rodenticides in agriculture, which can have a negative impact on breeding success, reduce prey density and lead to secondary poisoning by consumption of contaminated corpses. In addition, the loss of forest habitats, agroecosystems and wetlands due to the growth and spread of the human population is another major threat to raptors in the North African region, in one way or another potentially affecting most or possibly almost all of the species present there.