Family: Haematopodidae (Oystercatchers)

Authority: Linnaeus, 1758

Red List Category

Criteria: A2ab+3b+4ab

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Justification of Red List category
This species has been uplisted to Near Threatened as it almost meets the requirements for listing as threatened under criteria A2ab+3b+4ab. It has an extremely large range and population size, and the largest flyway population increased strongly between the 1960s and 1990s but subsequently declined moderately rapidly. The recent decline may be part of a longer-term fluctuation and the population should be monitored carefully to ascertain whether it shows signs of stabilising. None of the remaining flyway populations have increased. There is some new information that suggests that actions to benefit the species, such as limiting mechanical shellfishery operations, are not leading to population recoveries, and so the species may merit uplisting to a higher threat category in the future.

Population size:

Population trend: Decreasing

Extent of occurrence (breeding/resident): 124,000,000 km²

Country endemic: No