Abstract
Africa supports breeding populations of over 20% of all raptor species globally and over 20 regular Palearctic migratory raptors. Here, we discuss the importance of Africa in terms of the diversity of both resident and migrant species, the ecosystem services they provide, and the threats they face. We examine the state of knowledge of African raptors, including monitoring to determine trends, and describe ongoing research. African raptors provide important ecosystem services, by bringing in tourism revenues, functioning as bio-indicator species, and controlling the spread of pathogens and pest species. Many species are under pressure from growing human populations and associated habitat loss, persecution, and pollution. Most are declining, with some exceptions, some catastrophically so, such as vultures. Of 66 African species, 26% are currently on the IUCN Red List. For many species, there is a need for their conservation status to be re-evaluated, but rigorous monitoring for most of Africa is generally lacking. A systematic literature review showed considerable variation in the number of studies per species, 36% of 67 species having been relatively “well-studied” (12 or more studies), but 64% with less than 10 studies. There has been a general and consistent increase in the numbers of studies on African raptors, the majority from Southern Africa (n = 466, 62%). We found most studies focused on feeding ecology (n= 247) and distribution and abundance, with the least number of studies on behaviour and movement ecology. We list some ongoing studies and conclude that developing future leadership in research and conservation will be critical for successful raptor conservation in Africa.
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Appendix A
Appendix A
List of 67 breeding resident diurnal African raptors and their IUCN Red List status
Common name | Scientific name | IUCN Red List status |
|---|---|---|
African crowned eagle | Stephanoaetus coronatus | NT |
African cuckoo-hawk | Aviceda cuculoides | LC |
African fish eagle | Haliaeetus vocifer | LC |
African goshawk | Accipiter tachiro | LC |
African harrier-hawk | Polyboroides typus | LC |
African hawk-eagle | Aquila spilogaster | LC |
African hobby | Falco cuvierii | LC |
African marsh harrier | Circus ranivorus | LC |
African swallow-tailed kite | Chelictinia riocourii | LC |
African white-backed vulture | Gyps africanus | CR |
Augur buzzard | Buteo augur | LC |
Ayres’s hawk-eagle | Hieraaetus ayresii | LC |
Barbary falcon | Falco pelegrinoides | Not listed |
Bat hawk | Macheiramphus alcinus | LC |
Bateleur | Terathopius ecaudatus | NT |
Bearded vulture | Gypaetus barbatus | NT |
Beaudouin’s snake eagle | Circaetus beaudouini | VU |
Black eagle | Aquila verreauxii | LC |
Black harrier | Circus maurus | VU |
Black kite | Milvus migrans | LC |
Black sparrowhawk | Accipiter melanoleucus | LC |
Black-chested snake eagle | Circaetus pectoralis | LC |
Black-winged kite | Elanus caeruleus | LC |
Brown snake eagle | Circaetus cinereus | LC |
Cape vulture | Gyps coprotheres | LC |
Cassin’s hawk-eagle | Aquila africana | LC |
Chestnut-flanked sparrowhawk | Accipiter castanilius | LC |
Common kestrel | Falco tinnunculus | LC |
Congo serpent eagle | Dryotriorchis spectabilis | LC |
Dark chanting goshawk | Melierax metabates | LC |
Dickinson’s kestrel | Falco dickinsoni | LC |
Eastern chanting goshawk | Melierax poliopterus | LC |
Egyptian vulture | Neophron percnopterus | EN |
Forest buzzard | Buteo trizonatus | LC |
Fox kestrel | Falco alopex | LC |
Gabar goshawk | Micronisus gabar | LC |
Grasshopper buzzard | Butastur rufipennis | LC |
Greater kestrel | Falco rupicoloides | LC |
Grey kestrel | Falco ardosiaceus | LC |
Hooded vulture | Necrosyrtes monachus | CR |
Lanner falcon | Falco biarmicus | LC |
Lappet-faced vulture | Torgos tracheliotus | EN |
Little sparrowhawk | Accipiter minullus | LC |
Lizard buzzard | Kaupifalco monogrammicus | LC |
Long-crested eagle | Lophaetus occipitalis | LC |
Long-tailed hawk | Urotriorchis macrourus | LC |
Martial eagle | Polemaetus bellicosus | VU |
Mountain buzzard | Buteo oreophilus | LC |
Ovambo sparrowhawk | Accipiter ovampensis | LC |
Pale chanting goshawk | Melierax canorus | LC |
Palm-nut vulture | Gypohierax angolensis | LC |
Peregrine falcon | Falco peregrinus | LC |
Pygmy falcon | Polihierax semitorquatus | LC |
Red-breasted sparrowhawk | Accipiter rufiventris | LC |
Red-chested goshawk | Accipiter toussenelii | LC |
Red-necked buzzard | Buteo auguralis | LC |
Red-necked falcon | Falco chicquera | LC |
Red-thighed sparrowhawk | Accipiter erythropus | LC |
Ruppell’s griffon/vulture | Gyps rueppellii | CR |
Secretarybird | Saggitarius serpentarius | VU |
Shikra | Accipiter badius | LC |
Southern banded snake eagle | Circaetus fasciolatus | NT |
Taita falcon | Falco fasciinucha | VU |
Tawny eagle | Aquila rapax | LC |
Wahlberg’s eagle | Hieraaetus wahlbergi | LC |
Western banded snake eagle | Circaetus cinerascens | LC |
White-headed vulture | Trigonoceps occipitalis | CR |
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Amar, A., Buij, R., Suri, J., Sumasgutner, P., Virani, M.Z. (2018). Conservation and Ecology of African Raptors. In: Sarasola, J., Grande, J., Negro, J. (eds) Birds of Prey. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73745-4_18
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