Garganey Spatula querquedula Scientific name definitions

37–41 cm; male 260–520 g, female 240–585 g (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); wingspan 58–69 cm. Adult male in breeding plumage readily separated from all other ducks; eclipse male, female and young birds most likely to be confused with abundant Anas crecca, but paler, with longer bill, whiter throat, more distinct dark eyestripe, paler supercilium, greyish forewing, greenish-brown speculum and dark leading edge to wing; in addition, same-age/sex Sibirionetta formosa has more buff on lower face and white loral spot, while Spatula discors has blue (rather than greyish) forewing. Breeding male has white stripe curving from above eye to nape, contrasting with black-brown forehead and crown, golden-brown foreneck flecked white, black-brown mantle to uppertail-coverts, with feathers fringed paler, tail brown-grey, undertail white with dark brown bars and spots, pink-brown breast barred black, vermiculated greyish flanks and white belly; green speculum with white line along front and rear edges, and pale grey blue upperwing-coverts; elongated scapulars striped grey, dark green and black and white; bill lead-grey to black, legs dull grey and eyes brown. Male has female-like eclipse plumage , but is brighter, has whiter throat and belly, and retains more colourful upperwing. Female has duller upperwing, whitish belly and distinctive striped facial pattern ; bill greenish grey, eyes umber-brown and legs olive-grey to grey. Juvenile resembles female but has finely streaked and spotted ventral parts.

• Garganey x Northern Shoveler (hybrid) Spatula querquedula x clypeata
• Garganey x Green-winged Teal (hybrid) Spatula querquedula x Anas crecca

Breeds in Palearctic, mostly between 42° N and 65° N. Winters in Africa, India and SE Asia E to New Guinea.

Breeds mostly inland , on swampy meadows, flooded fields and shallow freshwater marshes, pools and small lakes with abundant emergent vegetation, including in farmland. Winters in coastal marshes or lagoons of both fresh and brackish water, provided there is some partially submerged and well-developed fringe vegetation (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); also on reservoirs (2 Claffey, P. (1999). Dams as new habitat in West African savannah. Bull. Afr. Bird Club. 6(2): 116–120. Close , 3 Baral, H. S. (2008). Birds of Jagdishpur Reservoir, Nepal. Forktail 24:115–119. Close ), rice paddies (4 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2014). The Birds of Ghana: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press, Liège, Belgium. Close ), sewage farms (4 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2014). The Birds of Ghana: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press, Liège, Belgium. Close ) and at sea, whereas marine, tidal and estuarine habitats are only infrequently used in W Europe (5 Snow, D. W., and C. M. Perrins, Editors (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Concise Edition. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Breeds up to at least 1200 m in Europe (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), but has been recorded to c. 2600 m in Ethiopia (6 Brown, L. H., E. K. Urban, and K. Newman (1982). The Birds of Africa. Volume 1. Academic Press, London, UK and New York, USA. Close ).

Highly migratory , wintering chiefly in sub-Saharan Africa (mainly from Mauritania and Senegambia E to L Chad, but also from Nile Valley S to E Africa, with small numbers reaching S to Malawi and Zambia), Indian Subcontinent and SE Asia (regularly S to Peninsular Malaysia, but also to Indonesia, e.g. Kalimantan (7 Gönner, C. (2000). Birds of Lake Jempang and the middle Mahakam wetlands, East Kalimantan. Kukila 11:13–36. Close , 8 Mann, C. F. (2008). The Birds of Borneo: An Annotated Checklist. B.O.U. Checklist 23. British Ornithologists’ Union, and British Ornithologists’ Club, Peterborough. Close ), Sulawesi (9 van Balen, S., Noske, R. and Supriatna, A.A. (2009). Around the archipelago. Kukila. 14: 73–85. Close ) and Sumatra) (10 Holmes, D.A. and Rusila Noor, Y. (1995). Discovery of waterbirds colonies in north Lampung, Sumatra. Kukila. 7(2): 121–128. Close ), less regularly N to Mediterranean Europe, even N & W Europe (5 Snow, D. W., and C. M. Perrins, Editors (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Concise Edition. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ) and Kazakhstan (11 Wassink, A. (2013). Comments on a recently published checklist of the birds of Kazakhstan. Sandgrouse. 35(1): 87–89. Close ), with very little site fidelity at this season, e.g. same birds have been recorded wintering in India and Africa in different years (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Autumn migration mainly late Jul to Oct, peaking in Europe in Aug and early Sept, with first arrivals in Senegal by early Sept and Niger in late Sept, with bulk reaching W Africa in mid Oct, but perhaps earlier to arrive in E Africa, as main passage through Egypt is in Aug and early Sept (5 Snow, D. W., and C. M. Perrins, Editors (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Concise Edition. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), arriving Kenya in mid Oct to Nov (12 Pearson, D. J., and B. S. Meadows (1992). Numbers, distribution and seasonality of Palaearctic duck in Kenya. Scopus 15:109–119. Close ). Return passage from Africa commences Feb, with early arrivals in North Sea countries at end of that month, but main northbound passage through Europe in Mar–Apr, arriving in northernmost breeding areas in mid May (5 Snow, D. W., and C. M. Perrins, Editors (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Concise Edition. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), although birds leave Kenya between late Mar and mid Apr (12 Pearson, D. J., and B. S. Meadows (1992). Numbers, distribution and seasonality of Palaearctic duck in Kenya. Scopus 15:109–119. Close ). In N India, at Keoladeo National Park, the first migrants typically reach the area between mid and late Aug, and depart between late Apr and mid May (13 Bhupathy, S., Vijayan, V.S. and Mathur, R. (1998). Population ecology of migratory waterfowl in Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 95(4): 287–295. Close ). Vagrants have reached Botswana (14 Tyler, S. J., R. D. Randall, and C. A. Brewster (2008). New bird records for Botswana and additional information on some rarities. Bulletin of the African Bird Club 15(1):36–52. Close ), South Africa (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), Indian Ocean islands (Seychelles, Reunion and Rodrigues), New Guinea (including New Ireland and New Britain) (15 Dutson, G. (2011). Birds of Melanesia: The Bismarcks, Solomons, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), Cocos I (16 van den Berg, A.B. and Haas, M. (2012). WP reports. Dutch Birding. 34(1): 49–62. Close ) and Christmas I (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Has also occurred on Cape Verdes (17 Hazevoet, C. J. (2003). Fifth report on birds from the Cape Verde Islands, including records of 15 taxa new to the archipelago. Arquivos do Museu Bocage (Nova Série) 3(19):503–528. Close ), Azores, Iceland, Faeroes, Bear I (5 Snow, D. W., and C. M. Perrins, Editors (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Concise Edition. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), Palau, the Marianas (18 Stinson, D.W., Wiles, G.J. and Reichel, J.D. (1997). Migrant land birds and water birds in the Mariana Islands. Pacific Sci. 51(3): 314–327. Close ), Hawaii and Aleutian Is; also North America (c. 175 records), mainly in spring and autumn, particularly on W coast and in Aleutians (19 Howell, S. N. G., I. Lewington, and W. Russell (2014). Rare Birds of North America. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ), but also inland (e.g. in Idaho, Apr–May 1990, in which spring there were also records in California, Colorado, Alberta, Saskatchewan, North Dakota, Virginia, Quebec, New Brunswick and on Prince Edward I) (20 Grothe, S. (1991). First record of a Garganey in Idaho. Western Birds. 22(3): 139-140. Close ) and in E (almost always in spring) (19 Howell, S. N. G., I. Lewington, and W. Russell (2014). Rare Birds of North America. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ), with a single record from the Revillagigedo archipelago (Mexico), in 1999 (21 Wanless, R.M., Aguirre-Muñoz, A., Angel, A., Jacobsen, J.K., Keitt, B.S. and McCann, J. (2009). Birds of Clarion Island, Revillagigedo archipelago, Mexico. Wilson J. Orn.. 121(4): 745–751. Close ). Possibly regular winter visitor in N Australia and on Maldives (22 Ash, J. S., and A. Shafeeg (1994). Birds of the Maldive Islands, Indian Ocean. Forktail 10:3–32. Close ), but in very small numbers.

Aquatic invertebrates (worms, insects and their larvae, crustaceans, molluscs), amphibians, small fish, seeds, roots, tubers and green parts of sedges, grasses and aquatic plants. Some seasonal and age-related variation in diet, with molluscs being more important in spring, supplemented with smaller quantities of insects (ostracods, phyllopods), whereas in summer vegetative parts of aquatic plants (e.g. Ceratophyllum, Najas) become main food source, combined with insects and crustaceans, and by autumn has shifted to plant-dominated diet comprising mainly seeds of pondweeds, smartweeds, sedges and docks (Rumex); in winter, takes mainly wild rice seeds and grasses, while ducklings reliant almost exclusively on animal diet (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Study in Senegalese winter quarters found that Nymphaea seeds comprised 26% of diet, wild Graminea seeds 39%, Cyperaceae 15%, rice 10% and Characae oogoniums 7% (6 Brown, L. H., E. K. Urban, and K. Newman (1982). The Birds of Africa. Volume 1. Academic Press, London, UK and New York, USA. Close ). Feeds by dabbling, head dipping and picking from surface; also upends in shallow waters. Mainly a nocturnal feeder, but also by day if undisturbed (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ).

Readily vocalizes only during breeding season, when male gives harsh rattling  or crackling note (like breaking ice or stick being drawn across railings) during “Burp” display, e.g. “rrar ... rrar ... rrar”, which may be given on water, land or in flight (5 Snow, D. W., and C. M. Perrins, Editors (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Concise Edition. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), while female utters low quacking note (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), “gack”  , most similar to that of Anas platyrhynchos (5 Snow, D. W., and C. M. Perrins, Editors (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Concise Edition. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), the tempo of calling increasing just prior to take-off; also gives disjointed series of single “gaeg” notes when inciting male to copulate (6 Brown, L. H., E. K. Urban, and K. Newman (1982). The Birds of Africa. Volume 1. Academic Press, London, UK and New York, USA. Close ). Male lacks any pure whistles in repertoire (5 Snow, D. W., and C. M. Perrins, Editors (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Concise Edition. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ).

Starts Apr/May, with main laying period during latter month (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), although young seen as early as mid May and as late as Jul in England (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), and eggs are laid from second half of Apr in W & C Europe, but mainly early May in S & W Russia (5 Snow, D. W., and C. M. Perrins, Editors (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Concise Edition. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Pair-bonds usually commenced in winter, even as early as Sept/Oct, although some females arrive on breeding grounds unpaired; promiscuity unknown (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); natal philopatry apparently low (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). In single pairs or loose groups, with densities of 6–7 pairs/km² recorded in Estonia, but is generally strongly territorial (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); nest (constructed by female) (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ) is a depression (20 cm wide by 8–10 cm deep) (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ) lined with plant material down and some feathers, on ground among grass or reeds, near water (usually within 20 m, exceptionally up to c. 150 m) (5 Snow, D. W., and C. M. Perrins, Editors (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Concise Edition. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Single-brooded (23 Harrison, C. J. O., and P. Castell (2002). Bird Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of Britain and Europe with North Africa and the Middle East. Second revised edition. HarperCollins, London, UK. Close ): no data on replacement clutches and unsuccessful pairs may immediately depart to their moulting grounds (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Usually 8–11 (23 Harrison, C. J. O., and P. Castell (2002). Bird Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of Britain and Europe with North Africa and the Middle East. Second revised edition. HarperCollins, London, UK. Close ) warm buff or pale straw-coloured eggs (6–14), laid at 24-hour intervals, size 40–50 mm × 30–36 mm, estimated mass 27 g (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); incubation 21–23 days, starting on completion of clutch, by female alone guarded by male (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); hatching synchronous (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); chicks have dark brown down above, pale yellow below, with two dark lines from bill to back of head, one through eye and the other below it (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); fledging c. 35–40 days, tended by female alone (23 Harrison, C. J. O., and P. Castell (2002). Bird Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of Britain and Europe with North Africa and the Middle East. Second revised edition. HarperCollins, London, UK. Close ). In a Latvian study, the most significant predator of nests was American mink (Mustela vison) (24 Opermanis, O., Mednis, A. and Bauga, I. (2001). Duck nests and predators: interaction, specialisation and possible management. Wildl. Biol.. 7: 87–96. Close ). Sexual maturity at c. 1 year. Survival greater among males than females, with oldest recorded bird 14·5 years old (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ).

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Common to abundant throughout range, with European population estimated at 640,000–1,100,000 pairs in early 1990s (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), of which probably up to 90% were in Russia (numbers there put at 570,000–960,000 pairs) (5 Snow, D. W., and C. M. Perrins, Editors (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Concise Edition. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Breeding population in W Europe sometimes stated to be broadly stable despite hunting and habitat destruction in its wintering grounds, but most authors consider that species has declined in this region during last 2–3 decades, as well as in Russia, and large declines have been specifically registered in the Netherlands (1250–1750 pairs) and to lesser extent in Poland (2500–4000 pairs), Lithuania (3000–5000 pairs), Germany (4000 pairs), Estonia (2000 pairs) and Latvia (1000–2000) pairs, whereas the situation in Finland (3000 pairs) and Hungary (1300–1500 pairs) is either stable or fluctuating (25 Kauppinen, J. and Väänänen, V.-M. (1999). Factors affecting changes in waterfowl populations in eutrophic wetlands in the Finnish lake district. Wildl. Biol.. 5(2): 73–81. Close ); in countries harbouring fewer than 1000 pairs in early 1990s, Denmark (91–107 pairs in 1989) (5 Snow, D. W., and C. M. Perrins, Editors (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Concise Edition. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), Moldova (300–500 pairs in 1989) (5 Snow, D. W., and C. M. Perrins, Editors (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Concise Edition. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), Croatia (600–800 pairs) (5 Snow, D. W., and C. M. Perrins, Editors (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Concise Edition. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ) and Italy (200–300 pairs in 1980s) (5 Snow, D. W., and C. M. Perrins, Editors (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Concise Edition. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ) supported broadly stable populations, while those in Czech Republic (290–600 pairs in 1970s, 100–180 pairs in 1985–1989) (5 Snow, D. W., and C. M. Perrins, Editors (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Concise Edition. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), Sweden (300–500 pairs in late 1980s) (5 Snow, D. W., and C. M. Perrins, Editors (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Concise Edition. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), France (230–500 pairs) (5 Snow, D. W., and C. M. Perrins, Editors (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Concise Edition. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ) and Belgium (c. 165 pairs in 1972, 70–105 pairs in 1989/91) (5 Snow, D. W., and C. M. Perrins, Editors (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Concise Edition. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ) were decreasing, and that in the UK (maximum 120 pairs in 1989–2000, though more recent mean is 95 pairs) (26 Holling, M., and The Rare Breeding Birds Panel (2013). Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2011. British Birds 106(9):496–554. Close ) was either stable or in slight decline (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Elsewhere within breeding range numbers very poorly known, but up to c. 26,000–29,000 pairs estimated in Ukraine (5 Snow, D. W., and C. M. Perrins, Editors (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Concise Edition. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), c. 100,000 in E & C Siberia and c. 30,000 in W Siberia (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Conservation issues during summer include destruction of nests due to early mowing of meadows, increased human disturbance, lead poisoning, botulism during hot weather, drainage and intensive grassland management, and hunting, especially in S Russia, where > 500,000 may be shot annually, Ukraine, France (c. 15,000 per annum) and Poland (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). In Africa, winter population concentrates especially in Niger Basin; 2,000,000 throughout sub-Saharan W Africa in mid 1980s, with another 500,000 in E Africa (of which c. 20,000 in Kenya) (6 Brown, L. H., E. K. Urban, and K. Newman (1982). The Birds of Africa. Volume 1. Academic Press, London, UK and New York, USA. Close ), whereas by new millenium the W African population had apparently decline to c. 1,500,000 individuals (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); 77,310 in Senegal in partial census in winter 1991 (of which > 60,000 were in Djoudj National Bird Reserve and surrounding wetlands) (27 Triplet, P., Schricke, V. and Treca, B. (1995). L’exploitation de la basse Vallée du Sénégal par les anatidés paléarctiques. Une actualisation des données. Alauda. 63(1): 15-24. Close ), but more than 90,000 in early 1970s, when up to 200,000 birds were wintering in Mali (6 Brown, L. H., E. K. Urban, and K. Newman (1982). The Birds of Africa. Volume 1. Academic Press, London, UK and New York, USA. Close ), with 100,000 at L Aleg, S Mauritania, in autumn 1987 (28 Yésou, P. and Triplet, P. (1996). Un site d’importance internationale pour l'avifaune risque de disparaître : le Lac d’Aleg (République Islamique de Mauritanie). Alauda. 64(4): 455–457. Close ), > 98,500 in N Nigeria in winter 1995/96 (29 Akinsola, O.A., Ezealor, A.U. and Polet, G. (2000). Conservation of waterbirds in the Hadejia-Nguru WetIands, Nigeria: current efforts and problems. Ostrich. 71(1–2): 118–121. Close , 30 Polet, G. (2000). Waterfowl and flood extent in the Hadejia-Nguru wetlands of north-east Nigeria. Bird Conservation International. 10(3): 203–209. Close ) and up to 744,000 birds at the Inner Niger Delta in Jan 2001 (31 Girard, O., J. Thal, and B. Niagaté (2006). Waterbird counts in the inner Niger delta (Mali) in January 1999, 2000, and 2001. Malimbus 28(1):7–17. Close ). No definitive records from Congo (32 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., R. J. Dowsett, and P. Bulens (1993). Additions and corrections to the avifauna of Congo. Malimbus 15:68–80. Close ) and numbers have reportedly declined in Ghana since new millenium (4 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2014). The Birds of Ghana: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press, Liège, Belgium. Close ). Habitat destruction and hunting are principal threats on African wintering grounds. In Israel, 100,000–200,000 in autumn. Only recently recorded for first time in Bhutan (33 Inskipp, C., and T. Inskipp (1993). Birds recorded during a visit to Bhutan in spring 1993. Forktail 9:121–142. Close ). Tens of thousands in partial censuses in India and Thailand; also in Sri Lanka, where notable count of 129,000 in c. 2000 ha of lagoons in S of island, in late 1980s. Overall estimates for Asian winter range suggested 250,000 in S Asia and 100,000–1,000,000 in E & SE Asia in late 1990s (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). CITES III in Ghana.