Number: Common, sometimes rare, bird. The global population is estimated at about 160-220 million mature individuals. In Europe, the population is increasing.
Status. A species that is the object of hunting.
Distribution. It lives sedentary in the floodplain forests of southeastern Kazakhstan, in the valley of the Chu River, the Balkash-Alakol and Zaisan basins, settles west to the Shu-Iley Mountains and the Zhetyzhol ridge, as well as in the Syrdarya Valley and the Northern Caspian Region adjacent to the Yedila delta. It enters the mountains (in 2003 it was observed on the Big Almaty Lake, 2500 m). Despite widespread distribution and high numbers in most of the range, populations may be locally declining due to habitat loss and over-hunting.
