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

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.
SACC. 2005 and updates. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Least Concern
2021	Least Concern
2016	Least Concern
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

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	8,970,000 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	8,870,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	460000 mature individuals	good	estimated	2023
Population trend	unknown	-	-	-
Generation length	4.75 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population is estimated to number 460,000 mature individuals (Partners in Flight 2023).

Trend justification: Considering its population trend over three generations (c. 14 years), the data presented in Smith et al. (2023) indicate a slow decline of c. 16% (with a wide confidence interval), although the underlying interannual trend data suggest a fluctuating population. There is some evidence of recent declines from the western USA and Mexico (Migratory Shorebird Project, unpublished data) and from eBird (Fink et al. 2023), but also consistent evidence of a modest overall recent increase in North America from both the Christmas Bird Count (Meehan et al. 2022) and the Breeding Bird Survey (Ziolkowski et al. 2022). Because of the inconsistencies in the data available, the trend is considered unknown.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Bahamas	extant	native				yes
Canada	extant	native		yes
Costa Rica	extant	native			yes
Cuba	extant	native	yes			yes
El Salvador	extant	native			yes
Guatemala	extant	native			yes
Honduras	extant	native			yes
Mexico	extant	native	yes		yes	yes
Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK)	extant	native				yes
USA	extant	native	yes	yes	yes	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Mexico	Ensenada de Pabellones
Mexico	Marismas Nacionales
Mexico	Sistema Lagunario Huizache - Caimanero
Mexico	Sistema Tóbari
Mexico	Zonas Húmedas de Yávaros
USA	Bear River Bay UT02
USA	Farmington Bay UT04
USA	Gilbert Bay/South Arm UT05
USA	Ogden Bay UT03
USA	Port Bolivar Bird Sanctuaries - Bolivar Flats
USA	Salton Sea

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Canals and Drainage Channels, Ditches	suitable	resident
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Ponds (below 8ha)	suitable	resident
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Salt Exploitation Sites	suitable	resident
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Seasonally Flooded Agricultural Land	suitable	resident
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Wastewater Treatment Areas	suitable	resident
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Water Storage Areas (over 8ha)	suitable	resident
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes	suitable	resident
Marine Intertidal	Mud Flats and Salt Flats	major	resident
Marine Intertidal	Salt Marshes (Emergent Grasses)	major	resident
Marine Intertidal	Tidepools	suitable	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha)	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Lakes	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Marshes/Pools	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Seasonal/Intermittent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Lakes and Flats	suitable	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Seasonal/Intermittent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Marshes/Pools	suitable	resident
Altitude	0 - 2500 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Species mortality
Natural system modifications	Dams & water management/use - Abstraction of ground water (agricultural use)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Natural system modifications	Dams & water management/use - Abstraction of surface water (agricultural use)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Unknown		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Pollution	Industrial & military effluents - Seepage from mining	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Residential & commercial development	Housing & urban areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Transportation & service corridors	Utility & service lines	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		No decline		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species mortality

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: American Avocet Recurvirostra americana. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/american-avocet-recurvirostra-americana on 23/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/11/2024.