The Black-winged Pratincole breeds mainly in the steppe and desert belt of Eurasia from Romania and Ukraine in the west to the Russian part of the Altai and to Kazakhstan in the east. It winters in Africa south of the Sahara desert. Migration through the Middle East countries such as Turkey, Iran, Iraq, etc. is probably transit/flyover, and takes place at high altitudes; as a result the Blackwinged Pratincole is seldom recorded in this region. Population decline of the Black-winged Pratincole started in the end of 19th century, and became more evident in the second half of the 20th century. In recent years, starting from the 1980s-1990s, a marked population decline again took place: in 10 years numbers decreased by half or two thirds. Currently the total population of the Black-winged Pratincole is unlikely to exceed 10,000-15,000 pairs. The Black-winged Pratincole is classified as "Data Deficient" (BirdLife International 2004) at global level, and "Endangered, SPEC 1" at European level (BirdLife International 2004).