THE N2K GROUP European Economic Interest Group

Contract N° 070202/2014/692494/SER/B3

Principles for update of the Art. 12 checklist (v.2)

Expert Group on Reporting under the Nature Directives

15th March 2016

Prepared by Ecosystems LTD – N2K Group

Principles for update of the Art 12 checklist

2

Introduction

This paper presents principles for the update of the Article 12 species checklist and the main implications of

this update work. It is based on an earlier note prepared for the November 2015 meeting of the Expert

Group on Reporting under the Nature Directives1, but updated to reflect the key feedback received from

Member States therein and in writing following the meeting.

The revised principles are to be discussed at the 15th March 2016 meeting of the Expert Group, with a draft

of the full checklist for the 2013–2018 reporting round – updated to reflect the conclusions of these

discussions – circulated to Member States for detailed comments following the meeting.

Update of taxonomy and nomenclature

An updated version of the list of bird species considered to be covered by Article 1 of the Birds Directive

(List of birds of the European Union; hereafter “EU bird list”2) was published in August 2015. This list, which

has been approved by Member States3, takes into account natural changes in the distribution of species

since the previous version, plus the taxonomic and nomenclatural changes in del Hoyo & Collar (2014)4. The

taxonomy and nomenclature used in the Article 12 checklist will be updated to reflect the latter, plus the

small number of additional changes (relating to passerines) already incorporated in the new EU bird list5.

Although the majority of changes are purely nomenclatural6, in a small number of cases they resulted in the

splitting or lumping of taxonomic units that were treated differently during the 2008–2012 reporting

round7. The EU bird list provides a full comparison of the new taxonomy/nomenclature with that used by

other standard taxonomic sources8. A summary of the key species-level changes in taxonomy and

nomenclature compared with the previous version of the Art. 12 checklist is provided in Table 1.

The publication of volume 2 (passerines) of the HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the

Birds of the World is currently scheduled for December 20169. If this timescale remains unchanged, it may

be possible to incorporate the taxonomic and nomenclatural changes therein into the Art. 12 checklist in

January 2017.

1 https://circabc.europa.eu/sd/a/c253d3fb-090a-47bb-b272-1380fc905b13/4.e%20iii%20Principles%20for%20update%20of%20the%20Art%2012%20checklist.pdf 2 See http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/conservation/wildbirds/eu_species/index_en.htm 3 At the April 2015 meeting of the Expert Group on the Birds and Habitats Directives. 4 del Hoyo, J. & Collar, N.J. (2014) HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-

passerines. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. 5 e.g. the recognition of Hippolais opaca, Sylvia subalpina and Passer italiae as full species. 6 e.g. changes in genus and/or the gender agreement of a species epithet. 7 i.e. Calonectris diomedea [sensu lato] split into Calonectris borealis and Calonectris diomedea [sensu stricto]; Picus viridis [sensu

lato] split into Picus sharpei and Picus viridis [sensu stricto]; Falco pelegrinoides merged with Falco peregrinus [sensu stricto] as Falco peregrinus [sensu lato]; and Hippolais pallida [sensu lato] split into Hippolais opaca and Hippolais pallida [sensu stricto]. 8 i.e. Voous (1973, 1977), Sibley & Monroe (1990, 1993), Dickinson (2003), Clements et al. (2013) and Gill & Donsker (2013). 9 See http://www.lynxeds.com/product/hbw-and-birdlife-international-illustrated-checklist-birds-world-0

Principles for update of the Art 12 checklist

3

Reporting on subspecific units

For the 2008–2012 round of Art. 12 reporting, status and trends reports were requested for nearly 200

‘subspecific units’ (i.e. subspecies and/or distinct populations), according to the following stated criteria10:

subspecies identified in Annex I of the Birds Directive;

subspecies for which international Species Action Plans (SAPs), Management Plans (MPs) or Brief

Management Statements (BMSs) had been prepared;

subspecies or distinct populations listed in Column A of Table 1 of the AEWA11 Status of the Populations

of Migratory Waterbirds (2009–2012) report;

subspecies or distinct populations of species classified as globally threated or Near Threatened,

according to the 2010 IUCN Red List; and

other subspecies or distinct populations proposed by Member States during the consultation on the

checklists – provided that all relevant Member States concerned agree to report on such subspecies /

populations in the same way, to allow EU-level compilation/analysis.

The first criterion – which in practice also included subspecies listed in Annexes II and III of the Directive

(plus their non-Annex counterparts) – covered 42 subspecific units. The second criterion encompassed an

additional six subspecific units (including the counterparts of subspecific units with plans). The majority of

subspecific units related to AEWA populations, although not all of these met the third criterion, or were

counterparts of taxa that did (see later). Seven additional subspecific units met the fourth criterion, and the

remaining 26 presumably mostly fell under the fifth criterion.

When it came to the reporting – and subsequent analysis and presentation – of information for subspecific

units, however, a number of issues arose, most notably: problems with the allocation of national data to

subspecific populations (both in the original checklist12, and in cases where largely indistinguishable

populations occur sympatrically13), and; the mismatch between the taxonomic ‘units’ used for reporting

national data and those used for carrying out the EU-level status assessments (which were done at the

species level, to ensure comparability with the ‘baseline’ assessment used to set Target 1(ii) of the EU

Biodiversity Strategy to 202014) and used in other related data sets15.

In the context of the above – and the request from several Member States to minimise the reporting

burden, and focus on the information needed for status assessments – the decision was made to review

the usefulness of subspecific reporting, and suggest how it could be streamlined and otherwise improved

for the 2013–2018 reporting round. An initial proposal to limit subspecific reporting to 63 subspecific units

meeting four, more restrictive, criteria16 was broadly welcomed by Member States, but concerns were

raised about the potential impact on the information required for reporting on and assessing the status of

10 See p.11 of N2K Group (2011) Assessment and reporting under Article 12 of the Birds Directive. Explanatory notes & guidelines for the period 2008–2012. Final version. https://circabc.europa.eu/sd/a/4fc954f6-61e3-4a0b-8450-ca54e5e4dd53/Art.12%20guidelines%20final%20Dec%2011.pdf 11 African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (http://www.unep-aewa.org/) 12 e.g. the population of Netta rufina breeding in Slovenia was allocated to the ‘Black Sea & East Mediterranean’ subspecific

(AEWA) population, whereas – based on the population boundaries map in the Critical Site Network Tool and the ‘Population size note’ in the Waterbird Population Estimates online database – it should have been allocated to the ‘South-west & Central Europe/West Mediterranean’ population. 13 e.g. certain Member States indicated that they were not able to distinguish between the subspecific (AEWA) populations of Podiceps auritus, Botaurus stellaris, Limosa limosa and Calidris maritima occurring in their territory. 14 i.e. BirdLife International (2004) Birds in the European Union: a status assessment. BirdLife International. Wageningen, The Netherlands. 15 e.g. the EUNIS database and Natura 2000 Standard Data Forms. 16 See p.3 and Table 1 in the original version of this note.

Principles for update of the Art 12 checklist

4

AEWA populations, particularly priority populations listed in Column A of Table 1 of Annex 3 of the

Agreement (i.e. the AEWA ‘Action Plan’)17.

Contracting Parties to AEWA18 are obliged to submit reports on their implementation of the Agreement

every three years, but – based on a sample of national reports submitted for the Sixth Meeting of the

Parties (‘MOP’) in 2015 – the current AEWA reporting format requests information on the status

(population size and trend) of non-native waterbirds, but not on native AEWA species/populations. The

conservation status of the latter within the Agreement area is assessed for each MOP as part of the

Conservation Status Report, the sixth edition of which (‘CSR6’) was prepared for MOP6 by Wetlands

International (under contract to the AEWA Secretariat)19. Although data reported under Art. 12 were used

to update many of the population size and trend estimates in CSR620, other sources of information (e.g.

counts and trends from the International Waterbird Census) were also used21. In cases where AEWA

populations were not distinguished as subspecific units in the Art. 12 checklist (e.g. because they weren't

listed in Column A of Table 1 when the latter was prepared)22, Wetlands International allocated the national

data reported under Art. 12 to the relevant AEWA populations, based on their expert understanding of the

relevant population boundaries23.

In practice, most national species-level data reported under Art. 12 can be reliably allocated to a single

AEWA population because: only one AEWA population (and/or subspecies) occurs regularly in the EU24; the

AEWA populations in the EU are geographically disjunct and easily separable by Member State25, or; the

AEWA populations in the EU are contiguous (or slightly overlapping)26, but still separable by Member State

within the relevant season27. To minimise reporting burden, remove redundancy and keep nomenclature

simple28, while still facilitating the assessment of priority AEWA populations, the proposal is to restrict the

use of subspecific units to instances where two or more AEWA populations, including at least one listed in

Column A of Table 1, occur – and are distinguishable29 – within the same Member State in the relevant

season.

The revised proposal is hence to limit subspecific reporting to the following taxa in 2019:

subspecies identified in Annex I, II or III of the Directive (plus their non-Annex counterparts);

17 See http://www.unep-aewa.org/sites/default/files/document/aewa_mop6_res1_adoption_amend_en.pdf 18 Which include all but four EU Member States (see http://www.unep-aewa.org/en/parties-per-region/238). 19 See http://www.unep-aewa.org/sites/default/files/document/mop6_14_csr6_including%20annexes.pdf 20 Which relate to the entire Agreement area (see http://www.unep-aewa.org/en/legalinstrument/aewa), not just the EU. 21 Particularly for populations occurring largely or entirely outside the EU. 22 Which applied in the majority of cases: of the 153 AEWA species listed in the EU bird list as regularly occurring native species, just

57 have one or more population listed in Column A of Table 1 that occurs regularly in the EU. 23 Most (but not all) of which are mapped on the Critical Site Network Tool: http://csntool.wingsoverwetlands.org/csn/default.html 24 e.g. ‘Sterna dougallii dougallii [Europe (bre)]’ (no other AEWA population or subspecies of Sterna dougallii occurs regularly in the

EU). [There were 37 other subspecific units in the previous version of the Art. 12 checklist that fall into this category.] 25 e.g. ‘Tadorna ferruginea [North-west Africa]’ (which occurs in the Canary Islands) and ‘Tadorna ferruginea [East Mediterranean & Black Sea/North-east Africa]’ (which occurs in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece and Romania). Other examples of this category include the eastern and western populations of, e.g., Oxyura leucocephala and Melanitta fusca. 26 At least based on the population boundaries displayed in the Critical Site Network Tool. 27 e.g. ‘Glareola pratincola pratincola [Western Europe & NW Africa/West Africa]’ (which breeds in France, Italy, Portugal and

Spain) and ‘Glareola pratincola pratincola [Black Sea & E Mediterranean/Eastern Sahel zone]’ (which breeds in Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary and Romania). Numerous populations fall into this category (based on country allocations in the old Art. 12 checklist and Wetlands International's explanatory notes in the Waterbird Population Estimates online database (http://wpe.wetlands.org/). 28 At present, a non-expert user, unfamiliar with all AEWA populations and/or subspecies names, may not realise that certain

‘subspecific units’ in practice represent all individuals of the species occurring in their country or the EU as a whole. 29 See, e.g., footnote 13.

Principles for update of the Art 12 checklist

5

subspecies or distinct populations for which multilateral Species Action Plans, Management Plans or

Brief Management Statements have been, or are in the process of being, prepared (plus their

counterparts);

subspecies or distinct populations listed in Column A of Table 1 of AEWA Annex 3 – and their

counterparts – which occur concurrently (within the same season) in one or more Member State, but

are readily distinguishable30;

introduced subspecies or widespread feral forms of species which also occur naturally within the region

(plus their native counterparts); and

geographically isolated and/or evolutionarily distinct subspecies where all relevant Member States

proposed the retention of subspecific reporting, plus any subspecies or distinct populations whose

taxonomic status is currently under review31.

The 78 subspecific units meeting these revised criteria are listed in Table 2.

Reporting on wintering populations

For the 2008–2012 round of reporting, bird species reports were requested for three seasons: ‘breeding’,

‘winter’ and/or ‘passage’. Although Member States were asked to provide breeding-season reports for all

regularly occurring (native) breeding species, winter reports were only requested for “regularly occurring

wintering waterbirds, especially migratory wildfowl (ducks, geese and swans) and waders (shorebirds)” on

the grounds that their “population size and trend are often best monitored in the winter, when they

congregate in large numbers”32. Population data were not requested as part of passage reports, on the

grounds that they could not be combined reliably across Member States, due to the risk of multiple-

counting. The species (or subspecific populations) for which winter reports were requested were listed for

each Member State in the complete bird species checklist33.

In practice, however, various inconsistencies with winter-season listings were identified during reporting

and the EU-level status assessment process. In some cases, these were corrected during reporting, by

Member States adding or deleting the species in question to/from their national checklist prior to the

completion of the final Article 12 report. In the remaining cases, the result was either: i) an incomplete EU

dataset for a species for which a regional assessment of the winter population was intended (in the case of

omissions from national checklists), or; ii) winter reports from a minority of Member States for a species for

which a regional assessment of the winter population was not intended or appropriate34.

For migratory species that are significantly more abundant in the EU during winter (including some that do

not breed at all in the EU), the first scenario was particularly problematic, as assessment of their EU

population status was based primarily or entirely on the winter dataset. In the second scenario, the

30 Based on plumage and/or geographical location within the Member State. 31 These include passerine taxa currently treated as subspecies in the EU bird list, but which may be elevated to full species before 2019 (e.g. following the publication of volume 2 of the HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World), and so it makes sense to retain them on the draft checklist at the ‘lowest’ taxonomic level for the time being. 32 See p.14 of N2K Group (2011) Assessment and reporting under Article 12 of the Birds Directive. Explanatory notes & guidelines for the period 2008–2012. Final version. https://circabc.europa.eu/sd/a/4fc954f6-61e3-4a0b-8450-ca54e5e4dd53/Art.12%20guidelines%20final%20Dec%2011.pdf 33 Made available via the Art. 12 Reference Portal (http://bd.eionet.europa.eu/activities/Reporting/Article_12/reference_portal)

and also incorporated into the Art. 12 Reporting Tool. 34 e.g. because the population wintering in the EU is significantly smaller than (in the case of migratory species) or essentially the same as (in the case of resident species) the EU breeding population, and/or because national populations of the species in question are not monitored in winter consistently across the EU.

Principles for update of the Art 12 checklist

6

inclusion of winter data from an incomplete and unrepresentative subset of Member States complicated

the analysis and presentation35 of the winter dataset.

In the context of the above, the current proposal is to focus winter reporting in 2019 on species or

subspecific populations that:

do not breed (regularly) within the EU, but regularly winter in one or more Member State36;

both breed and winter regularly in the EU, but have a significantly larger wintering than breeding

population in the region, with the former monitored in a co-ordinated way across the EU37; or

both breed and winter regularly in the EU, but – although the wintering population is broadly

comparable in size to the breeding population – may be better (or as well) monitored in winter38.

For the taxa meeting these proposed criteria (see Table 3), reports would be sought from all Member

States in which they occur regularly during winter, to allow a comprehensive assessment of the EU

wintering population. Member States are invited to highlight any obvious omissions from Table 3, i.e.

additional species for which comprehensive winter reporting is both desirable (in terms of supplementing

breeding-season data) and feasible (in terms of adequate winter data for all relevant/key Member States).

For the remaining taxa (most of which are listed as triggering SPA classification in winter in one or more

Member State), assessment of their regional wintering population is not necessary / appropriate, because

the EU wintering population is significantly smaller39 or less well monitored40 than the breeding population,

and/or because winter data are available only from a minority of relevant Member States41. To prevent

confusion when presenting the results of Art. 12 reporting, no overall winter population size ‘totals’ or

trend direction categories were calculated or presented for these species. In the context of reducing

unnecessary reporting burden, one option – for discussion – could be to treat these taxa in a similar way to

those triggering SPA classification on passage – i.e. to request the completion of sections 1, 6, 7, 8 and 9

(where relevant) of winter reports, but not sections 2 and 3 (as data from these would not be used at EU

level.

35 e.g. in the Art. 12 online data viewer (http://bd.eionet.europa.eu/article12/summary). 36 For which winter reports are the only source of quantitative data for assessment of their EU population status. 37 As wintering populations tend to be more mobile and/or fluctuate more (e.g. in relation to weather conditions and food

availability) than breeding populations, several migratory species (particularly passerines) that are more abundant in the EU during winter are not suitable for assessment of their wintering population, because monitoring is not co-ordinated across the EU. 38 e.g. because individuals congregate in large numbers at a comparatively small number of sites, which are covered by a co-ordinated international monitoring scheme, such as the African-Eurasian Waterbird Census (http://www.wetlands.org/AfricanEurasianWaterbirdCensus/tabid/2788/Default.aspx). 39 e.g. c.1150–1350 individuals of Thalasseus [Sterna] sandvicensis reported overwintering in three Member States, compared with a regional breeding population of c.53800–63700 pairs (across 15 Member States). 40 For example, just six Member States submitted winter reports for Botaurus stellaris in 2013 (equating to <15% of the EU

breeding population), and for half of these the short- and long-term wintering population trends were reported as “unknown”. Similarly, for Falco columbarius, just six Member States submitted winter reports in 2013 (equating to <20% of the EU breeding population), and four of these reported the short- and long-term wintering population trends as “unknown”. 41 e.g. for Fulmarus glacialis, Alcedo atthis, Falco peregrinus and over 20 species of (non-Annex I) passerine, winter reports were

provided by just single Member States in 2013.

Principles for update of the Art 12 checklist

7

Table 1: Key changes in taxonomy and nomenclature since previous version of Art. 12 checklist.

Species name (new) Species name (former) Notes

Pternistis erckelii* Francolinus erckelii Genus change

Lyrurus tetrix Tetrao tetrix Genus change

Anser canagicus* Chen canagica Genus change (and related gender agreement)

Anser caerulescens* Chen caerulescens Genus change

Spatula querquedula Anas querquedula Genus change

Spatula clypeata Anas clypeata Genus change

Mareca strepera Anas strepera Genus change

Mareca penelope Anas penelope Genus change

Spilopelia senegalensis Streptopelia senegalensis Genus change

Zapornia parva Porzana parva Genus change

Zapornia pusilla Porzana pusilla Genus change

Anthropoides virgo Grus virgo Genus change

Hydrobates castro Oceanodroma castro Genus change

Hydrobates monteiroi Oceanodroma monteiroi Genus change

Hydrobates leucorhous Oceanodroma leucorhoa Genus change (and related gender agreement)

Pterodroma deserta Pterodroma feae Taxon deserta split as separate species

Ardenna grisea Puffinus griseus Genus change (and related gender agreement)

Ardenna gravis Puffinus gravis Genus change

Calonectris borealis Calonectris diomedea† Taxon borealis split as separate species

Puffinus lherminieri Puffinus assimilis Species change

Ardea alba Casmerodius albus Genus change (and related gender agreement)

Microcarbo pygmaeus Phalacrocorax pygmeus Genus change and species correction

Calidris pugnax Philomachus pugnax Genus change

Calidris falcinellus Limicola falcinellus Genus change

Hydrocoloeus minutus Larus minutus Genus change

Onychoprion fuscatus Sterna fuscata Genus change (and related gender agreement)

Sternula albifrons Sterna albifrons Genus change

Gelochelidon nilotica Sterna nilotica Genus change

Hydroprogne caspia Sterna caspia Genus change

Thalasseus bengalensis Sterna bengalensis Genus change

Thalasseus sandvicensis Sterna sandvicensis Genus change

Bubo scandiacus Bubo scandiaca Gender agreement

Clanga pomarina Aquila pomarina Genus change

Clanga clanga Aquila clanga Genus change

Aquila fasciata Aquila fasciatus Gender agreement

Picus sharpei Picus viridis† Taxon sharpei split as separate species

Leiopicus medius Dendrocopos medius Genus change

Dryobates minor Dendrocopos minor Genus change

Falco peregrinus Falco pelegrinoides Taxon pelegrinoides relegated to subspecies

Hippolais opaca Hippolais pallida† Taxon opaca split as separate species

Sylvia subalpina Sylvia cantillans† S. c. moltonii elevated to full species (and renamed)

Regulus ignicapilla Regulus ignicapillus Gender agreement

Passer italiae Passer hispaniolensis† P. h. italiae elevated to full species

* Species included in the Art. 12 checklist as a non-native species.

† Sister species with this species name (sensu stricto) also to be retained in the new checklist (see also footnote 7).

Principles for update of the Art 12 checklist

8

Table 2: Subspecific units proposed for reporting in 2019.

Subspecific unit Notes

Alectoris graeca whitakeri Subspecies with Brief Management Statement42.

Alectoris graeca all others43 Counterpart of subspecies with BMS.

Francolinus francolinus asiae Non-native subspecies of species native to the EU.

Francolinus francolinus francolinus Native counterpart of introduced subspecies.

Perdix perdix italica44 Listed in Annex I of the Directive.

Perdix perdix hispaniensis Listed in Annex I of the Directive.

Perdix perdix all others Counterpart of Annex-listed subspecies.

Lagopus lagopus lagopus Listed in Annex II and III of the Directive.

Lagopus lagopus hibernica45 Listed in Annex II and III of the Directive.

Lagopus lagopus scotica46 Listed in Annex II and III of the Directive.

Lagopus lagopus rossica Counterpart of Annex-listed subspecies.

Lagopus muta pyrenaica47 Listed in Annex I of the Directive.

Lagopus muta helvetica48 Listed in Annex I of the Directive.

Lagopus muta all others49 Counterpart of Annex-listed subspecies.

Tetrao urogallus aquitanicus Geographically isolated / evolutionarily distinct subspecies50.

Tetrao urogallus cantabricus Geographically isolated / evolutionarily distinct subspecies51.

Tetrao urogallus all others Counterpart of geographically isolated / evolutionarily distinct subspecies.

Lyrurus tetrix tetrix52 Listed in Annex I of the Directive.

Lyrurus tetrix britannicus53 Listed in Annex III of the Directive.

Cygnus columbianus bewickii Listed in Annex I of the Directive.

Branta bernicla hrota [Canada & Greenland/Ireland]

Population with international Species Action Plan54 and distinct population listed in Column A of AEWA Table 1.

Branta bernicla hrota [Svalbard/Denmark & UK]

Counterpart of population with SAP and distinct population listed in Column A of AEWA Table 1.

Branta bernicla bernicla Counterpart of subspecies/population with SAP and of distinct populations listed in Column A of AEWA Table 1.

Branta leucopsis [Svalbard/South-west Scotland]

Distinct population listed in Column A of AEWA Table 1.

Branta leucopsis [East Greenland/Scotland & Ireland]

Counterpart of distinct population listed in Column A of AEWA Table 1.

Branta leucopsis [Russia/Germany & Netherlands]

Counterpart of distinct population listed in Column A of AEWA Table 1.

42 Palumbo, G. & Lo Valvo, M. (1999) Management Statement for Sicilian Rock Partridge Alectoris graeca whitakeri. BirdLife International on behalf of the European Commission. http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/conservation/wildbirds/action_plans/docs/alectoris_graeca_whitakeri.pdf 43 Includes subspecies graeca and saxatilis (neither of which has a BMS or MP). 44 Form italica subsumed within P. p. perdix by del Hoyo & Collar (2014). 45 Listed in Annex II and III as “Lagopus lagopus hibernicus”. 46 Listed in Annex II and III as “Lagopus lagopus scoticus”. 47 Listed in Annex I as “Lagopus mutus pyrenaicus”. 48 Listed in Annex I as “Lagopus mutus helveticus”. 49 Includes subspecies muta and millaisi (neither of which is listed in Annexes). 50 Retention of subspecific reporting proposed by both France and Spain (the two relevant Member States). 51 Retention of subspecific reporting proposed by Spain (the only relevant Member State). 52 Listed in Annex I as “Tetrao tetrix tetrix”. 53 Listed in Annex III as “Tetrao tetrix britannicus”. 54 Robinson, J.A. & Colhoun, K. (2006) International Single Species Action Plan for the Conservation of the Light-bellied Brent Goose (East Canadian High Arctic population) Branta bernicla hrota. AEWA Technical Series No. 11. Bonn, Germany. http://www.unep-aewa.org/sites/default/files/publication/ts11_ssap_light-bellied_brent_goose_complete_0.pdf

Principles for update of the Art 12 checklist

9

Subspecific unit Notes

Anser fabalis fabalis Subspecies with international Species Action Plan55 and distinct population listed in Column A of AEWA Table 1.

Anser fabalis rossicus Counterpart of subspecies with SAP and of distinct population listed in Column A of AEWA Table 1.

Anser brachyrhynchus [Svalbard/North-west Europe]

Population with international Management Plan56.

Anser brachyrhynchus [East Greenland & Iceland/UK]

Counterpart of population with MP.

Anser albifrons flavirostris Listed in Annex I of the Directive and distinct population listed in Column A of AEWA Table 1.

Anser albifrons albifrons Listed in Annex III of the Directive and counterpart of distinct population listed in Column A of AEWA Table 1.

Columba livia (domestica) Feral form of species native to the EU.

Columba livia livia Native counterpart of feral form.

Columba palumbus azorica Listed in Annex I of the Directive.

Columba palumbus palumbus Counterpart of Annex-listed subspecies.

Porphyrio porphyrio poliocephalus Non-native subspecies of species native to the EU.

Porphyrio porphyrio porphyrio Native counterpart of introduced subspecies.

Phalacrocorax aristotelis desmarestii Listed in Annex I of the Directive.

Phalacrocorax aristotelis aristotelis Counterpart of Annex-listed subspecies.

Numenius arquata arquata Subspecies covered by international SAP and distinct population listed in Column A of AEWA Table 1.

Numenius arquata orientalis Subspecies covered by international SAP and distinct population listed in Column A of AEWA Table 1.

Limosa limosa limosa [Western Europe/NW & West Africa]

Subspecies covered by international SAP57 and distinct population listed in Column A of AEWA Table 1.

Limosa limosa limosa [Eastern Europe/Central & Eastern Africa]

Subspecies covered by international SAP and distinct population listed in Column A of AEWA Table 1.

Limosa limosa islandica Subspecies covered by international SAP and distinct population listed in Column A of AEWA Table 1.

Limosa limosa [all non-breeding populations]

Subspecies/populations not easily distinguishable in parts of non-breeding range.

Calidris alpina schinzii [Baltic/SW Europe & NW Africa]

Subspecies listed in Annex I of the Directive and distinct population listed in Column A of AEWA Table 1.

Calidris alpina schinzii [Britain & Ireland/SW Europe & NW Africa]

Subspecies listed in Annex I of Directive and counterpart of distinct population listed in Column A of AEWA Table 1.

Calidris alpina alpina Counterpart of Annex-listed subspecies.

Calidris alpina [all non-breeding populations]

Subspecies/populations not easily distinguishable outside breeding season.

Uria aalge ibericus58 Listed in Annex I of the Directive.

Uria aalge all others59 Counterpart of Annex-listed subspecies.

Accipiter nisus granti Listed in Annex I of the Directive.

Accipiter nisus all others60 Counterpart of Annex-listed subspecies.

Accipiter gentilis arrigonii Listed in Annex I of the Directive.

55 Adopted in November 2015 by AEWA MOP6 (see http://www.unep-

aewa.org/sites/default/files/document/aewa_mop6_res8_speciesplans_en.pdf). 56 Madsen, J. & Williams, J.H. (2012) International Species Management Plan for the Svalbard Population of the Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus. AEWA Technical Series No. 48. Bonn, Germany. http://www.unep-aewa.org/sites/default/files/publication/ts48_smp_pfg%281%29.pdf 57 Jensen, F.P., Béchet, A. & Wymenga, E. (2008) International Single Species Action Plan for the Conservation of Black-tailed Godwit

Limosa l. limosa & L. l. islandica. AEWA Technical Series No. 37. Bonn, Germany. http://www.unep-aewa.org/sites/default/files/publication/black-tailed_godwit_internet_0.pdf 58 Form ibericus subsumed within U. a. albionis by del Hoyo & Collar (2014). 59 Includes subspecies aalge and albionis (neither of which is listed in Annexes). 60 Changed from “Accipiter nisus nisus”, as subspecies wolterstorffi also occurs within the EU (del Hoyo & Collar 2014).

Principles for update of the Art 12 checklist

10

Subspecific unit Notes

Accipiter gentilis all others61 Counterpart of Annex-listed subspecies.

Dendrocopos major canariensis Listed in Annex I of the Directive.

Dendrocopos major thanneri Listed in Annex I of the Directive.

Dendrocopos major all others Counterpart of Annex-listed subspecies.

Lanius excubitor excubitor Taxonomic status under review.

Lanius excubitor meridionalis Taxonomic status under review.

Corvus corone corone Taxonomic status under review.

Corvus corone cornix Taxonomic status under review.

Parus ater cypriotes Listed in Annex I of the Directive.

Parus ater all others Counterpart of Annex-listed subspecies.

Sylvia cantillans [Western Mediterranean]

Taxonomic status under review.

Sylvia cantillans [Eastern Mediterranean]62

Taxonomic status under review.

Troglodytes troglodytes fridariensis Listed in Annex I of the Directive.

Troglodytes troglodytes all others Counterpart of Annex-listed subspecies.

Certhia brachydactyla dorotheae Listed in Annex I of the Directive.

Certhia brachydactyla all others Counterpart of Annex-listed subspecies.

Fringilla coelebs ombriosa Listed in Annex I of the Directive.

Fringilla coelebs all others Counterpart of Annex-listed subspecies.

Fringilla teydea teydea Geographically isolated / evolutionarily distinct subspecies63.

Fringilla teydea polatzeki Geographically isolated / evolutionarily distinct subspecies64.

Carduelis flammea flammea Taxonomic status under review.

Carduelis flammea cabaret Taxonomic status under review.

Carduelis flammea hornemanni Taxonomic status under review.

61 Changed from “Accipiter gentilis gentilis”, as subspecies buteoides and marginatus also occur within the EU (del Hoyo & Collar 2014). 62 Note that the third taxon in the Sylvia cantillans (sensu lato) ‘complex’, Sylvia subalpina, was elevated to a full species in the EU bird list (see also footnote 5 and Table 1). 63 Retention of subspecific reporting proposed by Spain (the only relevant Member State). 64 Retention of subspecific reporting proposed by Spain (the only relevant Member State).

Principles for update of the Art 12 checklist

11

Table 3: Species / subspecific units proposed for comprehensive winter reporting in 2019.

Species (or subspecific unit) Notes

Oxyura leucocephala Significantly more abundant in EU during winter than breeding season.

Cygnus olor AEWA species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Cygnus cygnus Significantly more abundant in EU during winter than breeding season.

Cygnus columbianus bewickii Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Branta bernicla bernicla Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Branta bernicla hrota [Canada & Greenland/Ireland]

Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Branta bernicla hrota [Svalbard/Denmark & UK]

Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Branta leucopsis [Svalbard/South-west Scotland]

Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Branta leucopsis [East Greenland/Scotland & Ireland]

Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Branta leucopsis [Russia/Germany & Netherlands]

Significantly more abundant in EU during winter than breeding season.

Branta ruficollis Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Anser anser AEWA species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Anser fabalis fabalis Significantly more abundant in EU during winter than breeding season.

Anser fabalis rossicus Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Anser brachyrhynchus [Svalbard/North-west Europe]

Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Anser brachyrhynchus [East Greenland & Iceland/UK]

Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Anser albifrons albifrons Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Anser albifrons flavirostris Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Anser erythropus Significantly more abundant in EU during winter than breeding season.

Clangula hyemalis Significantly more abundant in EU during winter than breeding season.

Somateria mollissima AEWA species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Polysticta stelleri Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Melanitta fusca Significantly more abundant in EU during winter than breeding season.

Melanitta nigra Significantly more abundant in EU during winter than breeding season.

Bucephala clangula AEWA species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Mergellus albellus Significantly more abundant in EU during winter than breeding season.

Mergus merganser AEWA species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Mergus serrator AEWA species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Tadorna tadorna Significantly more abundant in EU during winter than breeding season.

Marmaronetta angustirostris Annex I species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Netta rufina AEWA species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Aythya ferina AEWA species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Aythya fuligula AEWA species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Aythya marila Significantly more abundant in EU during winter than breeding season.

Spatula clypeata65 Significantly more abundant in EU during winter than breeding season.

Mareca strepera66 AEWA species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Mareca penelope67 Significantly more abundant in EU during winter than breeding season.

Anas platyrhynchos AEWA species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Anas acuta Significantly more abundant in EU during winter than breeding season.

Anas crecca AEWA species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Tachybaptus ruficollis AEWA species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

65 Formerly Anas clypeata. 66 Formerly Anas strepera. 67 Formerly Anas penelope.

Principles for update of the Art 12 checklist

12

Species (or subspecific unit) Notes

Podiceps cristatus AEWA species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Podiceps auritus Annex I species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Podiceps nigricollis AEWA species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Phoenicopterus roseus Annex I species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Fulica cristata Annex I species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Fulica atra AEWA species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Grus grus Annex I species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Gavia stellata Significantly more abundant in EU during winter than breeding season.

Gavia arctica Annex I species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Gavia immer Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Platalea leucorodia Annex I species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Ardea alba68 Annex I species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Egretta garzetta Annex I species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Pelecanus crispus Annex I species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Microcarbo pygmaeus69 Annex I species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Haematopus ostralegus AEWA species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Recurvirostra avosetta Annex I species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Pluvialis squatarola Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Pluvialis apricaria Annex I species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Charadrius hiaticula AEWA species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Charadrius alexandrinus Annex I species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Charadrius leschenaultii Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Vanellus spinosus Annex I species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Numenius tenuirostris Does not breed in EU, but at least formerly occurred in winter.

Numenius arquata AEWA species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Limosa lapponica Significantly more abundant in EU during winter than breeding season.

Limosa limosa [all non-breeding populations]

AEWA species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Arenaria interpres Significantly more abundant in EU during winter than breeding season.

Calidris canutus Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Calidris ferruginea Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Calidris alba Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Calidris alpina [all non-breeding populations]

Significantly more abundant in EU during winter than breeding season.

Calidris maritima Significantly more abundant in EU during winter than breeding season.

Calidris minuta Does not breed regularly in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Tringa totanus AEWA species with significant and well-monitored wintering population.

Larus armenicus* Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Larus glaucoides* Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Larus hyperboreus* Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Alle alle* Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

Clanga clanga70 Annex I species with significant (and adequately monitored?) wintering population.

Oenanthe finschii* Does not breed in EU, but regularly occurs in winter.

* Species not reported on / assessed during 2008–2012 reporting round.

68 Formerly Casmerodius albus. 69 Formerly Phalacrocorax pygmeus. 70 Formerly Aquila clanga.