Baer's Pochard

Common Name	Baer's Pochard Birdlife International
Species name	Aythya baeriBirdlife International
Family	Anatidae
Genus
Local Name	Country Appearance Local name Brunei Darussalam     Cambodia     China     Indonesia     Japan Yes アカハジロ Lao PDR     Malaysia     Mongolia     Myanmar     Philippines     Republic of Korea     Singapore     Thailand     Vietnam

 

Visual and Sound Image

Photos

Baer's Pochard

Videos

 

Sounds

 

Identification

41-46 cm. Pale-eyed diving duck.
<Similar species> Males are best told from other Aythya ducks by combination of blackish head, upper neck and upperparts, whitish eyes and chestnut-brown and white flanks. In flight, wing pattern like Ferruginous Duck A. nyroca, but white upperwing-band does not extend as far onto outer primaries. Eclipse male resembles female, but retains whitish eyes. Female has combination of domed head without nuchal tuft, contrast between dark head and warm brown breast and white on foreflanks, ruling out A. nyroca and A. fuligula. Juvenile resembles female, but more chestnut-tinged head with darker crown and hindneck and no defined loral patch.

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Range Description

Aythya baeri breeds in the Amur and Ussuri basins in Russia and north-eastern China. It winters mainly in eastern and southern mainland China (c. 850 individuals)1, India, Bangladesh (1,000 - 2,000 individuals)2 and Myanmar (1,000 - 1,500 individuals)3 with smaller numbers in Japan, North Korea, South Korea (very few records in the latter three countries in recent years)4, Hong Kong (China), Taiwan (China), Nepal (now a very rare visitor and absent in some years)5, Bhutan, Thailand (still regular in small numbers, Bung Khong Long is the only site which still has double figure counts)6, Lao PDR (only one confirmed record)6, and Vietnam (very rare in recent years)6 and is a rare migrant to Mongolia. It has declined rapidly in recent years, for instance at Bung Boraphet, Thailand, up to 426 were recorded in 1988 whilst now there are more usually four or five individuals7. The total population is now likely to be less than 5,000 individuals1.

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Ecology

Ecology (Behaviour)

No descriptions

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Habitat

<Breeding> It breeds around lakes with rich aquatic vegetation in dense grass or flooded tussock/shrubby meadows. In Liaoning, China, it is usually found in coastal wetlands with dense vegetation, or on rivers and ponds surrounded by forest. The nest is built on a tussock or under shrubs, sometimes floating, and occasionally amongst branches.
<Non-Breeding> In winter, it occurs on freshwater lakes and reservoirs.

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Diet

No descriptions

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Breeding Site

See Habitat

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References

BirdLife International (2001). 1. M. Barter in litt. (2007). 2. P. Thompson in litt. (2005). 3. G. Chunkino in litt. (2007). 4. N. Moores in litt. (2005). 5. H. S. Baral in litt. (2007). 6. J. Tordoff in litt. (2007). 7. P. Round in litt. (2007).

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Status

International Status

IUCN Red List Category

EN

Justification

This species has been uplisted to Endangered owing to an apparant accelleration in the rate of its decline, as measured by numbers on the wintering grounds. It is now absent or occurs in greatly reduced numbers over much of its former wintering grounds and is common nowhere. It is thought that hunting and wetland destruction are the key reasons for its decline.
<Population justification> Cao Lei and M. Barter in litt. (2007)
<Trend justification > A very rapid population decline over the last ten years is estimated from numbers recorded on wintering grounds, and is thought to be caused by on-going hunting and habitat degradation; hence, the decline is expected to continue at this rate for the next ten years.

 

National Status

Country	Category	Reference
Brunei Darussalam
Cambodia
China
Indonesia
Japan	DD	http://www.biodic.go.jp/rdb/rdb_f.html
Korea	EN	Korean Red List of Threatened Species(NIBR, 2012)
Lao PDR
Malaysia
Mongolia
Myanmar
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Vietnam

 

Management

Threat

Threats are poorly understood, but hunting and wetland destruction in its breeding and wintering grounds are probably the reasons for its decline.

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Information

No descriptions

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Current Conservation

CMS Appendix II. It is legally protected in Russia, Mongolia and Hong Kong (China) and in some provinces in China. Some of its breeding and wintering sites are within protected areas, including Daursky, Khanka lake and Bolon lake (Russia), Sanjiang and Xianghai (China), Mai Po (Hong Kong), Koshi Barrage (Nepal), and Thale Noi (Thailand).

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Current Conservation

Research its population, distribution, ecology and threats in order to produce conservation recommendations. Establish more protected areas in its breeding grounds. Extend the area of the Khanka Lake Reserve (Russia). Designate the Xianghai Nature Reserve (China) as a restricted area during the breeding season. Regulate hunting of all Anatidae species in China. Ensure legal protection of this species in all range states.

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Legal Protection

Country	Status	Reference
Brunei Darussalam
Cambodia
China
Indonesia
Japan
Korea	Category II	Wildlife Protection Act
Lao PDR
Malaysia
Mongolia	Rare Species	Mongolian Law on Fauna
Myanmar	Completely Protected Animals	Protection of Wildlife, Wild Plants and Conservation of Natural Areas Act 15(A), Forest Department Notification No. 583/94
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Vietnam

 

Related Links

• CMS: Convention on Migratory Species

Range

Geographical Information

Migration Route

 

Asian Waterbird Census

Descriptions

The Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) was initiated in 1987 and runs in parallel with other waterbird censuses carried out in Africa, Europe, Central and West Asia and Latin America under the umbrella of the International Waterbird Census (IWC), which is organised by Wetlands International.

The AWC takes place annually, during the second and third weeks of January, and is carried out by volunteers interested in collecting information on waterbirds and wetlands as a basis for contributing to their conservation.

Reference: Li, Z.W.D., Bloem, A., Delany S., Martakis G. and Quintero J. O. 2009. Status of Waterbirds in Asia - Results of the Asian Waterbird Census: 1987-2007. Wetlands International, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Census Data

BRUNEI DARUSSALAM	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)
The total number of count sites	2	3	3	2	4	4	0	4	4	4	4	5	5	0	0	0	9	0	0	1	0	9
CAMBODIA	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	11	0	0	12	12	11	5	1	6	9	6	6
CHINA	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual			330	12	829	2515	351	379		377	553			27			19	6	630	8	8	1
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)			3	1	5	8	5	4		2	2			1			1	2	4	1	1	1
The total number of count sites	0	1	34	12	50	60	67	29	6	14	6	15	21	20	14	10	22	45	80	81	59	72
INDONESIA	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	1	19	8	17	17	15	19	16	0	0	47	12	10	40	34	14	16	15	23
JAPAN	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual					1			1				1	18	1
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)					1			1				1	2	1
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	53	39	52	47	20	50	40	47	37	41	37	107	112	103	109	97	159	142	137
LAO PDR	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	2	4	5	3	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	14	1	0	0	0	1	0	0
MALAYSIA	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	59	68	93	85	17	10	7	10	0	0	20	25	25	25	43	43	82	82	40
MYANMAR	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual					90	512	405	453		150		1000				129	4
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)					1	1	3	3		1		1				3	2
The total number of count sites	0	5	3	12	17	15	21	20	13	12	2	4	2	0	7	32	47	73	24	31	32	19
PHILIPPINES	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	0	19	21	34	39	46	47	39	28	29	32	43	38	50	47	56	54	65	108
SINGAPORE	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	0	4	12	17	15	13	14	10	10	6	11	10	10	8	9	9	8	8	7
REPUBLIC OF KOREA	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual						3										1
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)						1										1
The total number of count sites	0	0	10	12	22	20	20	15	10	22	25	22	14	68	99	112	118	116	117	123	127	127
THAILAND	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual		6	596	179	192	147	8	15	6		14				16		3		2	3	8	7
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)		1	2	9	2	3	2	1	1		1				1		2		1	2	2	1
The total number of count sites	10	8	3	20	26	12	23	16	17	5	9	3	1	1	7	3	9	26	20	82	99	33
VIETNAM	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	1	2	0	1	4	0	1	1	0	1	8	2	2	16	4	4	9	6	11

 

Population

Descriptions

 

Population Trend

 

Additional Information

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Climate change species distributions

 

Other Information

• Detailed species accounts from the Threatened birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book (BirdLife International 2001), together with new information collated since the publication of the Red Data Book