The State of Persian Wheatear Oenanthe chrysopygia de Filippi, 1863 in Armenia

The monitoring of Persian or Red-tailed Wheatear Oenanthe chrysopygia was conducted during 2003-2019. The species breeds at the foothills of Urts and Meghri mountain ridges at elevation range from 700 to 1,200 meters above sea level and inhabits rocky semideserts. The total suitable habitat for Red-tailed Wheatear is estimated as 128.4 km². The species disappeared at several gorges where larger scale new orchards have been launched. The population of Persian Wheatear makes from 70 to 105 breeding pairs. During last ten years the population shows moderate decline, p < 0.05, which is mostly caused by launching of new orchards which occupy natural breeding habitat of the species. Although the species is evaluated as endangered in Armenian Red List, the existing conservation measures are insufficient and should include the following: (1) lobbying official adoption of the species distribution range into the Emerald Network protected under Bern Convention; (2) development of management plans for these Emerald Sites, which will consider a strict policy towards new orchards in the semi-deserts of Meghri and Urts mountains; (3) obligatory environmental impact assessment of any new orchard projects in those areas; (4) introduction of eco-friendly concepts in the horticulture in these areas.