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closeIUCN Red List history
| Year | Category |
|---|---|
| 2012 | Least Concern |
| 2009 | Least Concern |
| 2008 | Least Concern |
| 2004 | Least Concern |
| 2000 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
| 1994 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
| 1988 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
Species attributes
| Migratory status | full migrant | Forest dependency | Does not normally occur in forest |
| Land mass type | Average mass | - |
Distribution
| Estimate | Data quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2) | 16,400,000 | medium |
| Number of locations | - | |
| Fragmentation | - |
Population & trend
| Estimate | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of mature individuals | poor | Estimated | 2009 | |
| Population trend | Decreasing | - | ||
| Number of subpopulations | - | - | - | |
| Largest subpopulation | - | - | - | |
| Generation length (yrs) | 5.9 | - | - | - |
| Trend justification: The population is suspected to be in decline owing to ongoing habitat destruction and modification (del Hoyo et al. 1996). | ||||
Country/Territory distribution
| Country/Territory | Occurrence status | Extinct | Breeding | Non-breeding | Passage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria | Vagrant | No | |||
| Angola | Native | No | |||
| Benin | Native | No | |||
| Botswana | Native | No | |||
| Burkina Faso | Native | No | |||
| Burundi | Native | No | |||
| Cameroon | Native | No | |||
| Côte d'Ivoire | Native | No | |||
| Central African Republic | Native | No | |||
| Chad | Native | No | |||
| Comoros | Vagrant | No | |||
| Congo | Native | No | |||
| Congo, The Democratic Republic of the | Native | No | |||
| Cyprus | Vagrant | No | |||
| Denmark | Vagrant | No | |||
| Djibouti | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Equatorial Guinea | Native | No | |||
| Eritrea | Vagrant | No | |||
| Ethiopia | Native | No | |||
| Finland | Vagrant | No | |||
| France | Vagrant | No | |||
| Gabon | Native | No | |||
| Gambia | Native | No | |||
| Germany | Vagrant | No | |||
| Ghana | Native | No | |||
| Greece | Vagrant | No | Yes | ||
| Guinea | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Guinea-Bissau | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Israel | Vagrant | No | |||
| Italy | Vagrant | No | |||
| Kenya | Native | No | |||
| Lesotho | Native | No | |||
| Liberia | Native | No | |||
| Madagascar | Native | No | |||
| Malawi | Native | No | |||
| Mali | Native | No | |||
| Malta | Vagrant | No | |||
| Mauritania | Vagrant | No | |||
| Mauritius | Vagrant | No | |||
| Morocco | Vagrant | No | |||
| Mozambique | Native | No | |||
| Namibia | Native | No | |||
| Niger | Native | No | |||
| Nigeria | Native | No | |||
| Oman | Vagrant | No | Yes | ||
| Portugal | Vagrant | No | |||
| Rwanda | Native | No | |||
| São Tomé e Príncipe | Vagrant | No | |||
| Senegal | Native | No | |||
| Seychelles | Vagrant | No | |||
| Sierra Leone | Native | No | |||
| Somalia | Vagrant | No | |||
| South Africa | Native | No | |||
| South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands | Vagrant | No | |||
| South Sudan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Spain | Vagrant | No | |||
| St Helena (to UK) | Vagrant | No | |||
| Sudan | Native | No | |||
| Swaziland | Vagrant | No | |||
| Tanzania | Native | No | |||
| Togo | Native | No | |||
| Tunisia | Vagrant | No | |||
| Uganda | Native | No | |||
| United Kingdom | Vagrant | No | |||
| Zambia | Native | No | |||
| Zimbabwe | Native | No |
Important Bird Areas where this species has triggered the IBA criteria
| Country/Territory | IBA Name | IBA link |
|---|---|---|
| Malawi | Lake Chilwa and flood-plain |  |
Habitats & altitude
| Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Irrigated Land (includes irrigation channels) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Irrigated Land (includes irrigation channels) | suitable | breeding |
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Ponds (below 8ha) | suitable | breeding |
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Ponds (below 8ha) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Grassland | Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded | suitable | breeding |
| Grassland | Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Inland Deltas | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Inland Deltas | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls) | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Altitude | 0 - 1900 m | Occasional altitudinal limits |
Threats & impact
| Threat (level 1) | Threat (level 2) | Impact and Stresses | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & Aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops / Scale Unknown/Unrecorded | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Whole (>90%) | Negligible declines | Medium Impact: | ||||||
| |||||||||
| Natural system modifications | Dams & water management/use / Abstraction of surface water (unknown use) | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Whole (>90%) | Negligible declines | Medium Impact: | ||||||
| |||||||||
| Natural system modifications | Dams & water management/use / Dams (size unknown) | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Whole (>90%) | Negligible declines | Medium Impact: | ||||||
| |||||||||
Utilisation
| Purpose | Primary form used | Life stage used | Source | Scale | Level | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food (human) | Whole | Adults and juveniles | Wild | Subsistence, National | Non-trivial | Recent |
| Pets | Whole | Adults and juveniles | Wild | International | Non-trivial | Recent |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2013) Species factsheet: Porphyrio alleni. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 19/06/2013.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2013) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 19/06/2013.
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.
| Key facts | |
|---|---|
| Current IUCN Red List category | Least Concern |
| Family | Rallidae (Rails, crakes and allies) |
| Species name author | Thomson, 1842 |
| Population size | mature individuals |
| Population trend | Decreasing |
| Distribution size (breeding/resident) | 16,400,000 km2 |
| Country endemic? | No |
| Links to further information | |
|
- Summary information on this species - Climate change species distributions | |
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