Key Grassland Regions for Threatened Birds in Asia
Three key grassland areas have been identified in Asia. These are:
Eurasian steppes and desert (G01)
Indo-Gangetic grasslands (G02)
South Asian arid habitats (G03)
Eurasian steppes and desert (G01) |
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| The Eurasian steppes are a vast belt of grassland extending from eastern Europe through western and central Asia to north-east Asia. The five threatened species which occur in the east Asian steppes include four which also range westwards outside the Asian region, Imperial Eagle, Lesser Kestrel and Great Bustard to Europe, and Pale-backed Pigeon to Central Asia. They occur in a variety of habitats in addition to lowland grasslands: Imperial Eagle inhabits forest-steppe, and some forest conservation measures are relevant to the species (see F01); Pale-backed Pigeon is found in open, sparsely wooded habitats in the mountains; and White-throated Bushchat breeds in mountain grasslands. The lakes and other wetlands in the steppes are important for threatened waterbirds, and are covered in W05. | |
| Key habitats Steppe grasslands, forest steppe and mountain steppe, scrub in sandy desert. | |
| Altitude Lowlands to 3,100 m. | |
| Countries and territories Russia (Krasnoyarsk, Khakassia, Tuva, Irkutsk, Buryatia, Chita); Mongolia; China (Heilongjiang, Jilin, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Gansu); outside the Asian region, the steppes extend through central and western Asia to eastern Europe. | |
Indo-Gangetic grasslands (G02) |
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| A band of tropical grasslands (locally known as the terai and duars), now highly fragmented, extends across the plains of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers and into the adjacent Himalayan foothills. Eleven threatened grassland species occur there, including Bristled Grass-warbler, which is also known from scattered localities (away from the main grassland belt) in Pakistan and the Indian peninsula. Most of these birds inhabit damp lowland grasslands, but a few range into the hills, including Manipur Bush-quail and Slenderbilled Babbler in the Manipur basin, and Grey-crowned Prinia, which is found to well over 1,000 m and in forest edge as well as grasslands. Manipur Bush-quail, Marsh Babbler and Black-breasted Parrotbill have restricted ranges, and are confined to the Assam plains Endemic Bird Area, and Finn’s Weaver is also highly localised in distribution. The Indo-Gangetic grasslands overlap with two wetland regions, W12 and W14. | |
| Key habitats Tropical grassland along rivers and on plains, and associated scrub and woodland. | |
| Altitude Lowlands to 1,350 m. | |
| Countries and territories Pakistan; India (Haryana, Delhi, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur); Nepal; Bhutan; Bangladesh. | |
South Asian arid habitats (G03) |
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| The 12 threatened species of this region are found in a variety of arid and semi-arid habitats in the Indian subcontinent, many of which have been greatly modified by centuries of human usage. They have here been divided into five groups (see coloured outlines on map) according to their habitat requirements and distributions: (G03A) three Gyps vulture species which roam over all types of forest and open country; (G03B) four species which inhabit semi-arid plains (rolling short grasslands, open deserts and low shrublands), including two migrants from Central Asia; (G03C) Lesser Florican, which breeds in moderately high grasslands in arid to semi-arid areas; (G03D) three species restricted to dry forests and scrub; (G03E) Green Avadavat, which inhabits rough grasslands, agricultural land and orchards. The conservation needs of each of these five groups is discussed in separate sections below. | |
| Key habitats Grassland, arid and semi-arid woodland and scrub, semi-desert, cultivation and other open habitats. | |
| Altitude 0–c.1,000 m. | |
| Countries and territories Pakistan; India (Himachal Pradesh; Punjab; Haryana; Delhi; Rajasthan; Gujarat; Uttar Pradesh; Madhya Pradesh; Maharashtra; Goa; Karnataka; Andhra Pradesh; Kerala; Tamil Nadu; Bihar; Orissa; West Bengal; Sikkim; Arunachal Pradesh; Assam; Meghalaya; Nagaland; Manipur); Nepal; Bhutan; Bangladesh. | |