Family: Scolopacidae (Sandpipers, Snipes, Phalaropes)

Authority: (Gmelin, 1789)

Red List Category

Criteria: A2bcd+3bcd+4bcd

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Justification of Red List category
A moderately rapid to rapid reduction in the population of Lesser Yellowlegs is estimated to be taking place with three-generation reduction rates from migration count data exceeding 50% and Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data for well-covered core regions estimating declines of 23%. There is evidence of potentially unsustainable harvest levels at migration and non-breeding sites which is the greatest current threat, though conversion of migratory stopover and non-breeding habitat may also be contributing to declines. Confidence in the precision of the estimated decline rate is uncertain, and a potentially significant and variable proportion of the population is not available for sampling by the migratory surveys. Moderately rapid reductions are also evident from eBird data and for the small proportion of the non-breeding season population covered by the Christmas Bird Count. Given the lower rates of reduction evident from other sources, the best estimate for the three-generation rate of reduction is considered to fall between 23% and 49%. The population remains large, estimated at 650,000 mature individuals and the range is very large. Based on the rate of population reduction, Lesser Yellowlegs is assessed as Vulnerable.

Population size: 527000-7600000,650000 mature individuals

Population trend: decreasing

Extent of occurrence (breeding/resident): 6,100,000 km²

Country endemic: no

Attributes
Realm - Nearctic
Realm - Neotropical
Realm - Oceanian
Realm - Palearctic
Realm - Antarctic
IUCN System - Freshwater
IUCN System - Terrestrial
IUCN System - Marine