CURRENT DISTRIBUTION AND STATUS OF RAPTORS OF SINDH Page No: 4719-4732

Syed Ali Ghalib, Ubaid Ullah, Roohi Kanwal, Afsheen Zehra, Babar Hussain, Ghazala Yasmeen, Uzma Manzoor, Saquib Ejaz Hussain, Syed Iftekhar Ahmed, Habibul Hassan and Umer Farooq

Keywords: Birds of prey of Sindh, hotspots, main habitats, distribution, status.

Abstract: Pakistan has 47 species of raptors, out of which, 38 species have so for been recorded from Sindh province. Raptors have gained wide attention due to the fact that over half of the world’s raptors have declining populations. The present paper deals with the status and distribution of raptors in principal habitats of these species in Sindh based on field data collected during 2010 to 2018. It emphasizes the need for the conservation of Falcons and Vultures in particular. As regards the Conservation Status of raptor species in Sindh, eight species are threatened viz. Indian White-backed Vulture (Gyps bengalensis), Long-billed or Indian Vulture (Gyps indicus), Redheaded or King Vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) are Critically Endangered, Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus), Pallas’s Fishing Eagle (Haliaeetus leucoryphus), Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis) are Endangered, while Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) and Greater Spotted Eagle (Aquila clanga) are Vulnerable.



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