• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic note
Charadrius obscurus and C. aquilonius (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) were previously lumped as C. obscurus following Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993).

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
A4a; C1+2a(ii)	A4a; B1ab(i,ii,iv,v); C1+2a(i,ii); D	A4a; B1ab(i,ii,iv,v); C1+2a(i,ii); D1

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2017	Critically Endangered	A4a; C1+2a(ii)
2016	Endangered	D
2014	Endangered	D

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2)	2,200	medium
Number of locations	11-100	-
Fragmentation		-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
No. of mature individuals	60-80	good	estimated	2017
Population trend	Decreasing	medium	observed	-
Decline (3 years/1 generation past)		-	-	-
Decline (5 years/1 generation past)		-	-	-
Decline (10 years/1 generation past)		-	-	-
Decline (10 years/3 generation future)		-	-	-
Decline (10 years/3 generation past and future)	95	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Largest subpopulations	100	-	-	-
Generation length (yrs)	5	-	-	-

Population justification: The population reached a low of 62 birds in 1992, but following intensive management the post-breeding population has fluctuated between 240 and 290 birds since 2005 (Dowding 2013). Although management has continued, the population has declined catastrophically since 2012 for reasons that are not clear. The population is now approximately 120 individuals, with potentially no more than 30-40 pairs (60-80 mature individuals) (J. Dowding in litt. 2016).

Trend justification: The population has declined catastrophically since 2012 for reasons that are not clear. The recent decline has been 54% in the 4 years 2012-2016 (J. Dowding in litt. 2016), equating to an ongoing decline of c.95% decline over three generations (15 years); c.86% over two generations; and c.62% over one generation. The reason for the sudden decline since 2012 is not known.

Country/Territory	Occurrence status	Presence	Resident	Breeding	Non-breeding	Passage
New Zealand	N	Extant	Yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
New Zealand	Paterson Inlet The Neck
New Zealand	Port Adventure
New Zealand	Port Pegasus
New Zealand	Bluff Harbour Awarua Bay
New Zealand	Omaui Island Oreti Estuary
New Zealand	North Coast Rakiura

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Grassland	Temperate	major	breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Coastal Sand Dunes	suitable	resident
Marine Intertidal	Mud Flats and Salt Flats	suitable	resident
Marine Intertidal	Rocky Shoreline	suitable	resident
Marine Intertidal	Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc	suitable	resident
Marine Intertidal	Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches	suitable	resident
Marine Intertidal	Tidepools	suitable	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands	major	resident
Altitude	0 - 1000 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Human intrusions & disturbance	Recreational activities	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species disturbance
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Ammophila arenaria	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Canis familiaris	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Erinaceus europaeus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Felis catus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Mustela erminea	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Residential & commercial development	Commercial & industrial areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Residential & commercial development	Housing & urban areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

Purpose	Primary form used	Life stage used	Source	Scale	Level	Timing
Pets/display animals, horticulture	-	-		International	Non-trivial	Recent

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2021) Species factsheet: Charadrius obscurus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 22/01/2021. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2021) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 22/01/2021.