email a friend
printable version
LC
Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes

IUCN Red List history

Year Category
2012 Least Concern
2009 Least Concern
2008 Least Concern
2004 Least Concern
2000 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988 Lower Risk/Least Concern

Species attributes

Migratory status full migrant Forest dependency Does not normally occur in forest
Land mass type   Average mass -

Distribution

  Estimate Data quality
Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2) 4,590,000 medium
Extent of Occurrence non-breeding (km2) 20,500,000 medium
Number of locations -
Fragmentation -

Population & trend

  Estimate Data quality Derivation Year of estimate
No. of mature individuals poor Estimated 2009
Population trend Decreasing -
Number of subpopulations - - -
Largest subpopulation - - -
Generation length (yrs) 5.7 - - -
Trend justification: This species has undergone a large and statistically significant decrease over the last 40 years in North America (-94.9% decline over 40 years, equating to a -52.6% decline per decade; data from Breeding Bird Survey and/or Christmas Bird Count: Butcher and Niven 2007) Note, however, that these surveys cover less than 50% of the species's range in North America.

Country/Territory distribution

Country/Territory Occurrence status Extinct Breeding Non-breeding Passage
Anguilla (to UK) Native No      
Antigua and Barbuda Native No      
Argentina Native No      
Aruba (to Netherlands) Native No      
Australia Vagrant No      
Austria Vagrant No      
Bahamas Native No      
Barbados Native No      
Belgium Vagrant No      
Belize Native No   Yes  
Bermuda (to UK) Native No      
Bolivia Native No      
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (to Netherlands) Native No      
Brazil Native No      
Canada Native No Yes   Yes
Cayman Islands (to UK) Native No      
Chile Native No      
Colombia Native No      
Costa Rica Native No   Yes  
Cuba Native No      
Curaçao (to Netherlands) Native No      
Denmark Vagrant No      
Dominica Native No      
Dominican Republic Native No      
Ecuador Native No      
El Salvador Native No      
Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Vagrant No      
Finland Vagrant No      
France Vagrant No      
French Guiana Native No      
Gambia Vagrant No      
Germany Vagrant No      
Ghana Vagrant No      
Greece Vagrant No      
Greenland (to Denmark) Vagrant No      
Grenada Native No      
Guadeloupe (to France) Native No   Yes  
Guatemala Native No      
Guyana Native No      
Haiti Native No      
Honduras Native No      
Hong Kong (China) Vagrant No      
Hungary Vagrant No      
Iceland Vagrant No      
Indonesia Vagrant No      
Ireland Vagrant No      
Israel Vagrant No      
Italy Vagrant No      
Jamaica Native No   Yes  
Japan Vagrant No      
Marshall Islands Vagrant No      
Martinique (to France) Native No      
Mexico Native No      
Montserrat (to UK) Native No      
Morocco Vagrant No      
Netherlands Vagrant No      
New Zealand Vagrant No      
Nicaragua Native No      
Nigeria Vagrant No      
Norway Vagrant No      
Panama Native No      
Paraguay Native No      
Peru Native No      
Poland Vagrant No      
Portugal Vagrant No      
Puerto Rico (to USA) Native No      
Sint Maarten (to Netherlands) Native No      
Slovenia Vagrant No      
South Africa Vagrant No      
Spain Vagrant No      
St Kitts and Nevis Native No      
St Lucia Native No      
St Martin (to France) Native No   Yes  
St Pierre and Miquelon (to France) Native No     Yes
St Vincent and the Grenadines Native No      
Suriname Native No      
Sweden Vagrant No      
Trinidad and Tobago Native No     Yes
Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK) Native No   Yes  
United Kingdom Vagrant No      
United States Minor Outlying Islands (to USA) Native No      
Uruguay Native No   Yes  
USA Native No Yes    
Venezuela Native No      
Virgin Islands (to UK) Native No   Yes  
Virgin Islands (to USA) Native No   Yes  
Zambia Vagrant No      
Zimbabwe Vagrant No      

Important Bird Areas where this species has triggered the IBA criteria

Country/Territory IBA Name IBA link
Argentina Bahía de Samborombón y Punta Rasa site factsheet
Argentina Reserva de Uso Múltiple Bañados del Río Dulce y Laguna Mar Chiquita site factsheet
Barbados St Lucy Shooting Swamps site factsheet
Barbados St Philip Shooting Swamps site factsheet
Canada Sounding Lake site factsheet
Chile Desembocadura del Río Imperial site factsheet
Chile Humedal-Marisma Rocuant Andalién site factsheet
Colombia Ciénaga Grande, Isla de Salamanca and Sabana Grande RAMSAR biosphere reserve site factsheet
Cuba Delta del Cauto site factsheet
Cuba Humedal Sur de Sancti Spiritus site factsheet
French Guiana Amana site factsheet
French Guiana Ile de Cayenne site factsheet
French Guiana Littoral site factsheet
French Guiana Littoral Kourou site factsheet
French Guiana Littoral Macouria site factsheet
French Guiana Littoral Sinnamary site factsheet
French Guiana Plaine Kaw et Pointe Béhague site factsheet
Puerto Rico (to USA) Jobos Bay site factsheet
Puerto Rico (to USA) Suroeste site factsheet
Trinidad and Tobago West Coast Mudflats site factsheet
Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK) Grand Turk Salinas and Shores site factsheet
Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK) North, Middle and East Caicos Ramsar Site site factsheet

Habitats & altitude

Habitat (level 1) Habitat (level 2) Importance Occurrence
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine Seasonally Flooded Agricultural Land suitable non-breeding
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine Wastewater Treatment Areas suitable non-breeding
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine Water Storage Areas (over 8ha) suitable non-breeding
Grassland Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded suitable non-breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes suitable non-breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal Coastal Freshwater Lakes suitable non-breeding
Shrubland Boreal suitable breeding
Wetlands (inland) Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands suitable non-breeding
Wetlands (inland) Tundra Wetlands (incl. pools and temporary waters from snowmelt) suitable breeding
Altitude 0 - 0 m Occasional altitudinal limits  

Threats & impact

Threat (level 1) Threat (level 2) Impact and Stresses
Climate change & severe weather Habitat shifting & alteration Timing Scope Severity Impact
Future Whole (>90%) Unknown Unknown
Stresses
Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

Utilisation

Purpose Primary form used Life stage used Source Scale Level Timing
Pets Whole Adults and juveniles Wild International Non-trivial Recent

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2013) Species factsheet: Tringa flavipes. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 24/05/2013. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2013) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 24/05/2013.

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife

To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums.

Key facts
Current IUCN Red List category Least Concern
Family Scolopacidae (Sandpipers and allies)
Species name author (Gmelin, 1789)
Population size mature individuals
Population trend Decreasing
Distribution size (breeding/resident) 4,590,000 km2
Country endemic? No
Links to further information
- Summary information on this species