Number: The number of breeding pairs is probably less than 1 thousand. The population migrating through Kazakhstan is estimated at 20 thousand individuals and tends to decrease. In the summer, about 2 thousand people gather on the Korgalzhyn and Naurzum lakes. There are about 100-200 wintering individuals. The global population is more than 180 thousand individuals.
Status. A rare and endangered species. Category II. A species with a declining population
Distribution. In Kazakhstan, it inhabits large freshwater or brackish reservoirs of all geographical zones, including the highlands, and is rare everywhere in the breeding grounds. In Kazakhstan, it regularly winters off the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea, including the lake. Karakol near Aktau and on the Sorbulak sewage lake near Almaty.
