RED BOOK: KGZ32 Western Issyk-Kul Key Biodiversity Area

Red-nosed pochard (Netta rufina)

Description
Quite a large duck, about the size of a mallard, with a dense build. In the spring, the male has a large red head, the upper feathers are elongated and form a golden crest, the beak is juicy red, the neck is rather long, in flight a longitudinal black stripe on the belly is visible from afar, which is not found in other ducks, including the red-headed duck - the most similar in appearance of the species. The female is brownish-gray, its characteristic feature is the light gray color of the cheeks, the beak is gray, with an orange tip. In flight, the male and female have a wide white mirror for the entire length of the wing; the male also has a white stripe along the front edge of the wing. The legs of the male and female are bright red, the eyes of the male are red, those of the female are brown. In the summer plume, the male is similar to the female, differing from her in a darker color of the body, a completely red beak, a red eye, and a brighter mirror. Juveniles look similar to the female, but darker, with more mottled underparts, a completely gray beak, and muddy orange legs. Young males differ from young females in a noticeably larger head (crest). Spring first-year males are in general mating coloration, but duller, with a paler beak, red-brown eyes, a short crest, black on the chest and belly has a clear brown tint. Weight 900-1400 g, length 53-57, wing 23.7-27.5, wingspan 84-88 cm.
Biology
Common, in places numerous, nesting migrant. Inhabits flat fresh and salt lakes, overgrown with reeds, but with large areas of open deep water. Arrives somewhat later than other ducks, rarely at the end of February, mostly in March - mid-April. Migration ends in mid-May. Flies in small (one-two dozen birds) flocks, in pairs and singly. The nest of dry grass stalks and down is located in a shallow hole on the ground under the cover of bushes not far from the water; or more often in reed beds among the water, in which case the nest is built from dry reed leaves and laid out with down. Breeds in separate pairs or in small groups of 5-15 pairs close to each other, often together with white-eyed pochards. Clutch of 5-12 eggs is produced from the second half of April, mainly in May. The female builds a nest and incubates the clutch for about 28 days. Chicks are born from mid-May to early July, and begin to fly in late July - late August. After the females begin to incubate the clutch, the males gather in large numbers for molting on lakes with deep water abundantly overgrown with reeds (end of June - July). Autumn migration (in large flocks up to a hundred or more birds) begins in September. From the southern regions, red-nosed pochards fly away from October until the freezing of water bodies.

Information sources:

Gavrilov E. I., Gavrilov A. E. "The Birds of Kazakhstan". Almaty, 2005. E.I. Gavrilov. "Fauna and distribution of birds in Kazakhstan". Almaty, 1999. V.K. Ryabitsev. "Birds of the Urals, the Urals and Western Siberia". Ekaterinburg. Publishing House of the Ural University, 2000.



Black-throated Loon (Gavia arctica)

Status: III category, Critically Endangered, CR: R. Close to extinction in the territory of Kyrgyzstan.
There is a nominate subspecies.
Number: Present number is not known, probably does not breed at present, meeting only on wintering grounds. Previously 5-6 pairs nested.
Description
A bird the size of a domestic duck. In the black-throated loon in breeding plumage, the upper side of the head and neck are ash-gray; the upper side of the body is black with a purple and green tint and rows of white spots; the throat and upper part of the front of the neck are black with a green and purple tint; a row of white spots across the back of the throat, a narrow row of white stripes along the sides of the neck; the sides of the body are black; underside, including axillae, white. The beak is black; legs are black on the outside, bluish-gray on the inside. The iris is red-brown. In winter plumage, the upper side is blackish-brown, the lower side, including the cheeks and neck feathers, is white; the head above and the neck behind are grey. Young birds wear an outfit generally similar to the winter outfit of older, but dirtier tones. Dimensions: wing 290-350 mm, tail 54-62 mm, metatarsus 80-83 mm, beak 58-70 mm.
Spreading
In Kyrgyzstan, there is a nominative subspecies in Issyk-Kul - it nested in the Tyup and Dzhergalan bays. In winter, it can be found throughout the lake.
In Kazakhstan, the Black-throated Diver inhabits the flat northern, central and eastern regions, south to the lower reaches of the Turgai, Balkhash, Sasykkol and Alakol. Breeds on lakes of Altai (Markakol, Yazevoye) and on Zaysan. In the rest of the territory it occurs during migrations, including Big Almaty Lake. Occasionally winters south of Shymkent and in the Ili delta.
Biology
The black-throated loon is a rare breeding migrant. In spring, it appears from late April to late May. Breeds in large bodies of water with floating vegetation; as well as mountain lakes. Breeds in separate pairs at a distance of 0.5-1.5 km from each other. Nest on lake shore or on old floating reed islands; the nest is built from dry reed stems and leaves; sometimes the eggs are laid directly into a shallow hole in damp ground. Clutch of 2, rarely 3, eggs occurs from mid-May to late June. Incubation lasts 28 days. Often the brood consists of only one chick. Nestlings were observed from late May to mid-September. Autumn departure occurs singly or in flocks of up to 7 birds. Loons fly from the second half of September until the moment of complete freezing of reservoirs (mainly until mid-October - early November). Reaches sexual maturity at the age of three. Breeds from mid-April. The loon feeds on fish and aquatic invertebrates.
Limiting factors. Destruction of habitats in the territory of adjacent states. Death of birds in fishing nets.
Breeding (keeping in captivity). No data.
Security measures are in place. It is protected in the Issyk-Kul nature reserve.

Information sources:

Protective measures are recommended. Find out the current state of the population. Prohibition of fishing with nets in places of concentration.
Source: Red Book of the Kyrgyz Republic. 2nd edition - Bishkek, 2007



Gyrfalcon (Vanellus gregarious)

Status: Category III, Critically Endanagered, CR, A3bc. Endemic to Kazakhstan and Russia. The only representative of the genus, monotypic species.
The distribution is general and in the country. Steppes of Eurasia from Ukraine to East Kazakhstan. In Kyrgyzstan, it has not been studied, there is fragmentary information about the meeting of the lapwing on the western shore of the lake Issyk-Kul in the 70s.
Habitats. It is characteristic of the steppe and semi-desert zones, in fact, the foothills of the Tien Shan, with the steppe nature of vegetation, fall under such requirements. Typical nesting sites are dry steppes with patches of solonchaks, places with very sparse vegetation. During summer and autumn migrations, it can be found everywhere in the steppe areas. On migration it keeps close to water bodies, but in dry areas.
Number. There are no exact data. The number is decreasing everywhere, in Kazakhstan it has decreased by 4 times in comparison with the 70s. In 2003, on May 9, three individuals were encountered in the area with Ananyevo village (northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul).
Lifestyle (life cycles). Depending on the place, features of the year, it arrives at nesting sites from early March to mid-May. Breeds in Kazakhstan in Naurzum and Kurgaldzhinsky nature reserves. It was not found on the territory of Kyrgyzstan on nesting. The nest is arranged in a recess and on a flat surface, often under the cover of a grass patch. They often nest in colonies, sometimes in several dozen nests. The clutch contains 4 eggs, the incubation period is 21-25 days. With the death of the first clutches, there may be repeated ones. Male and female take part in incubation. The basis of nutrition is insects: dark beetles, weevils, locusts, beetles, scoop caterpillars.
Limiting factors. Grazing in nesting areas, ruining nests by rooks.
Breeding (keeping in captivity). In Russia, 3 eggs were incubated, 2 chicks were bred, one of which was grown.
Security measures are in place. Hunting is prohibited. The species is in the Red Book of the USSR and the Red Book of Kazakhstan. Protected at nesting sites in the Naurzum and Kurgaldzhinsky reserves.
Protective measures are recommended. Protection of steppe areas from fires and overgrazing. propaganda among the population. It is necessary to examine the areas characteristic for the stay of this species.

Information sources:

Source: Red Book of the Kyrgyz Republic. 2nd edition - Bishkek, 2007



Red-headed pochard (Aythya ferina)

Description: Medium sized duck. In spring, the male has a bright red head, the chest and the most anterior part of the back are black, the sides of the body and the back are light bluish-gray, with a fine transverse striated pattern. The male sitting on the water has light bluish-gray sides and back. In spring, the male can only be confused with the red-nosed pochard, from which it should be distinguished by its blue and black beak, the absence of white on the wing and the black stripe along the belly. The drake retains its breeding pattern in its summer plumage, but in a strongly "muffled" form, with brown feathers instead of black on the chest and around the tail, the head is browner than in spring, but the reddishness is clearly visible, light blue sides and back are also with a brown coating. The female is mostly brown or reddish-brown, individual variations are very pronounced, with variously expressed lightening around the beak (but not in the form of a white ring!), on the cheeks, near the eyes, on the throat, there may be a light stripe behind the eye. The back and flanks almost always have more or less feathers with a light gray streaked pattern. In all birds, the mirror is light gray, slightly different from the rest of the wing. The eyes of the male are red, those of the female and young are brown. The bill of the male is blue and black, the female is grey. All paws are grey. Juveniles are similar to the female, but with more uniformly pale cheeks and sides of the neck, less gray with a transverse pattern on the back and sides, more striped or spotted underparts. Already in the first autumn, males are grayer than females. The female and all autumn juveniles are well distinguished from other black pochards and red-nosed pochards by the absence of a white «mirror». Males and females are similar in size, the usual weight is 800-1200 g, length 42-49, wing 18.5-22.3, wingspan 72-82 cm.
Biology:
Common on nesting and numerous on migration. It lives on fresh and salty steppe lakes and rivers, which are significantly overgrown with reeds, preferring deep water bodies, and also nests in mountains at altitudes up to 1500 m in Altai. Appears somewhat later than river ducks, in early March - mid-April. It flies in independent flocks from several tens to 100-150 birds. As a rule, the flight ends by mid-May. The nest is in reed beds, in shallow water or on meadow hummocks, and in flooded forests; the nest is built from dry reed leaves and other vegetation and is lined with down. Clutch of 5-14 eggs is laid from late April to late June. The female incubates the clutch for 24-26 days. Chicks are born from late May to early July and begin to fly in late July - late August. After the females begin incubation, the males gather on large and deep lakes for molting (from late May to mid-July). Autumn migration begins in September, the main flow of migration occurs at the end of September - October; individual birds linger until November, when water bodies begin to freeze.

Information sources:
Information sources:

Gavrilov E. I., Gavrilov A. E. "The Birds of Kazakhstan". Almaty, 2005. E.I. Gavrilov. "Fauna and distribution of birds in Kazakhstan". Almaty, 1999. V.K. Ryabitsev. "Birds of the Urals, the Urals and Western Siberia". Ekaterinburg. Publishing House of the Ural University, 2000.


Chezneya (Hesneya villosa)

Status: EN. One of three very rare species of this genus in Kyrgyzstan.
Short description. Perennial herbaceous hairy plant. Roots are taproot, powerful, creeping stems. Leaves with stipules. Leaflets pinnate, tripartite, obovate or broadly triangular. Peduncles single-flowered. The whisk is red. Beans are oblong.
Features of biology. Flowering VII, fruiting VIII. Propagated by seeds.
The distribution is general and in the country. Western part of the Issyk-Kul basin.
Places of growth. Desert and semi-desert, rocky piedmont plain.
Number. Extremely limited, the species is endangered. It occurs singly in its range.
General distribution. Endemic.
Limiting factors. Anthropogenic impact. Grazing in the spring. During drought, many seeds die.
Cultivation. No information available.
Meaning. Decorative plant.
Protection measures existing. Included in the Red Book of the Kirghiz SSR (1985).
Protective measures are recommended. Accounting for the population, introduction to culture in the Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Source: Red Book of the Kyrgyz Republic. 2nd edition - Bishkek, 2007