Habitat
Shallow standing or slow-flowing water with suitable smooth beds that permit unhampered walking and wading. Breeds in damp, vegetated areas near salt or fresh water, and on small vegetated islets or swampy shores of brackish lakes. In non-breeding season rivers, drainage ditches, ponds, jheels (India), coastal lagoons, marshes and flooded or recently dried out grassland. Also on salt-shrub terrain with low, sparse vegetation, on shallow seepage pools by canals and reservoirs, and on irrigated rice fields.
Afghanistan (P), Armenia (B), Azerbaijan (B) (NB), Bahrain, Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Iran [Islamic Republic of] (B) (NB), Iraq (B) (NB), Israel, Jordan (B) (P), Kazakhstan (B), Kuwait, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Romania (B), Russia (European) (B) (NB), Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic (B), Tajikistan (B), Turkey (B), Turkmenistan (B), United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan (B).
Vagrant to Algeria, Austria, Bulgaria, Chad, Cyprus, Denmark, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Malta, Morocco, Netherlands Antilles, Niger, Nigeria, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, United Kingdom, Yemen.
Central and south-eastern Turkey and eastern Syria Neast through Azerbaijan and Transcaspia to L Balkhash, and Seast through Iraq and Iran to western Pakistan. Winters from Sudan through Iraq and Iran to central and eastern Pakistan and north-western and north-central India; also extreme south-western Turkmenistan.
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.
Population
Estimated population is 20,000 - 130,000 (2010).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet