VU
Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea



Taxonomy

Taxonomic note
Formerly placed in genus Erolia. Specific name formerly listed as testacea, but ferruginea has priority. Form described as C. paramelanotos (“Cox’s Sandpiper”) shown to be a hybrid between present species and (almost certainly) C. melanotos; C. (Pisobia) cooperi (“Cooper’s Sandpiper”) probably a hybrid between present species and C. acuminata. Monotypic.

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.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Critically Endangered Endangered Vulnerable
- - A2bcd+4bcd

Red List history
Year Category Criteria
2024 Vulnerable A2bcd+4bcd
2016 Near Threatened A4abc
2015 Near Threatened A4abc
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 -
Range

Estimate Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) 3,000,000 km2 medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding) 132,000,000 km2 medium
Severely fragmented? no -
Population
Estimate Data quality Derivation Year of estimate
Population size 420000-960000 mature individuals medium estimated 2023
Population trend decreasing - estimated 2012-2027
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods) 30-49% - - -
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods) 30-49% - - -
Generation length 5.14 years - - -
Number of subpopulations 1 - - -
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation 100% - - -

Population justification: Populations breeding in Western Siberia and wintering in West Africa are estimated to total are estimated to number 300,000-400,000 birds, while those breeding in Central Siberia and wintering in south-west Asia, East and southern Africa probably total an additional c.400,000 (van Roomen et al. 2022). A further 200,000 birds are estimated wintering in South Asia, although this may be an overestimate. The East Asian-Australasian Flyway population was estimated to be c.90,000 in 2016 (Hansen et al. 2016, 2022; Mundkur and Langendoen 2022), but has probably declined sharply since then. In total, the global population size is estimated at c.990,000-1,090,000 birds. To account for considerable uncertainty in the calculations of these estimates (with added uncertainty on the extent to which populations have declined since they were made), the total global population is placed in broad bracket of 700,000-1,200,000 birds. Approximately 60-80% are suspected to be mature individuals, leaving a population of 420,000-960,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification: Thought to be declining rapidly in response to a myriad of threats across its range (the relative importance of which are not completely known). While there are inherent uncertainties with each dataset used, that each separately provides evidence of rapid declines over the past 2-3 decades lends weight to the suggestion made here that the global population has reduced substantially in this time.

The most recent data from West Africa (c.35% of global wintering population) indicate the species has declined catastrophically: between 2011-2020 at a rate equivalent to c.80% over three generations (Nagy and Langendoen 2020, van Roomen et al. 2022), although earlier data showed more modest declines (c.30% decline between 1979 and 2014; see van Roomen et al. 2014), or no population decline at all (e.g. Dodman 2014). Data from south-west Asia, East and southern Africa (also c.35% of the global population) are uncertain but also point to rapid declines. Based on data from 18 countries in this region, Nagy and Langendoen (2020) reported a moderate decrease (0.9664) for 1992-2017, but an uncertain trend (lacking statistical power) for 2001-2017 (0.9400) and 2008-2017 (0.8686). Nonetheless, based on the smoothed imputed totals, the population was estimated to have decreased by c.63% over the past three generations, with rates of declining increasingly rapid. The trend of birds wintering in South Asia is uncertain, but reporting rates of citizen science data indicate that here too it may be declining, although there is considerable uncertainty with the rate (SoIB 2023). Moreover, numbers are thought to fluctuate here in this region due to annually variable monsoon rains (S. Balachandran in litt. 2024).

In the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, which comprises 8-10% of the global population, Rogers et al. (2023) reported a decline of 51.6% over three generations (value differs marginally from that published due to a minor difference in the generation length used) from data in Australia, a rate of reduction broadly supported by previous data (e.g. Studds et al. 2017), but not by Langendoen et al. (2021), who reported a relatively stable trend 2011-2020 (1.0402) and 2004-2020 (0.9803); these latter results, however, may reflect changes in coverage of sites across regions (unlike the more standardised counting protocols of the data used by Rogers et al. 2023). In Myanmar, a decline from 6,000 birds in 2012, to 2,200-4,500 in recent years in the Gulf of Mottama has been reported (C. Zöckler in litt. 2024), and in Singapore, more than 1,000 birds were regularly seen in the 1990s, but apparently only individuals have been spotted in recent years (D. Li in litt. 2024).
Breeding data are sparse, however, the species no longer breeds on Ayon Island (Chukotka, Russia), with other declines noted elsewhere from the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (D. Solovyeva in litt. 2024).

Reconciling all available data to generate global rates of decline is difficult, but weighting trends appropriately according to the proportion of the global population strongly suggests that the global population has declined by more than 30% over the past three generations, but is probably unlikely to have declined by more than 50%. The rate of decline is therefore placed into the band 30-49% over the past three generations (15 years). There is currently no indication that these rates of decline are slowing in much of its range (although perhaps in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway trends are beginning to stabilise: Roger et al. 2023), but a projection of possible decline into the next three generations is not made because of the uncertainty over the most acute threats affecting the species and the relatively long generation length.


Country/territory distribution
Country/Territory Presence Origin Resident Breeding visitor Non-breeding visitor Passage migrant
Afghanistan extant native yes
Albania extant native yes
Algeria extant native yes
Angola extant native yes
Anguilla (to UK) extant vagrant
Antigua and Barbuda extant vagrant
Armenia extant native yes
Australia extant native yes yes
Austria extant native yes
Azerbaijan extant native yes
Bahrain extant native yes yes
Bangladesh extant native yes yes
Barbados extant vagrant
Belarus extant native yes
Belgium extant native yes
Benin extant native yes yes
Bermuda (to UK) extant vagrant
Bhutan extant vagrant
Bosnia and Herzegovina extant native yes
Botswana extant native yes yes
British Indian Ocean Territory extant native yes yes
Brunei extant native yes yes
Bulgaria extant native yes
Burkina Faso extant native yes
Burundi extant native yes yes
Cambodia extant native yes yes
Cameroon extant native yes yes
Canada extant vagrant
Cape Verde extant native yes yes
Central African Republic extant native yes
Chad extant native yes
Chile extant native yes yes
China (mainland) extant native yes yes
Christmas Island (to Australia) extant native yes yes
Comoros extant native yes yes
Congo extant native yes yes
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the extant native yes yes
Costa Rica extant vagrant yes
Côte d'Ivoire extant native yes yes
Croatia extant native yes
Cyprus extant native yes
Czechia extant native yes
Denmark extant native yes
Djibouti extant native yes yes
Dominica extant vagrant
Ecuador extant vagrant
Egypt extant native yes yes
Equatorial Guinea extant native yes yes
Eritrea extant native yes yes
Estonia extant native yes
Eswatini extant native yes yes
Ethiopia extant native yes yes
Finland extant native yes
France extant native yes
French Southern Territories extant native yes yes
Gabon extant native yes yes
Gambia extant native yes yes
Georgia extant native yes
Germany extant native yes
Ghana extant native yes yes
Gibraltar (to UK) extant native yes yes
Greece extant native yes
Grenada extant vagrant
Guadeloupe (to France) extant vagrant
Guinea extant native yes yes
Guinea-Bissau extant native yes yes
Hong Kong (China) extant native yes yes
Hungary extant native yes
Iceland extant vagrant
India extant native yes yes
Indonesia extant native yes yes
Iran, Islamic Republic of extant native yes yes
Iraq extant native yes yes
Ireland extant native yes
Israel extant native yes yes
Italy extant native yes
Japan extant native yes
Jordan extant native yes yes
Kazakhstan extant native yes
Kenya extant native yes yes
Kuwait extant native yes yes
Kyrgyzstan extant native yes
Laos extant native yes
Latvia extant native yes
Lebanon extant native yes
Lesotho extant native yes yes
Liberia extant native yes yes
Libya extant native yes yes
Luxembourg extant native yes
Macao (China) extant native yes yes
Madagascar extant native yes yes
Malawi extant native yes yes
Malaysia extant native yes yes
Maldives extant native yes yes
Mali extant native yes
Malta extant native yes yes
Marshall Islands extant vagrant
Martinique (to France) extant vagrant
Mauritania extant native yes yes
Mauritius extant native yes
Mayotte (to France) extant native yes yes
Mexico extant vagrant
Micronesia, Federated States of extant native yes
Moldova extant native yes
Mongolia extant native yes
Montenegro extant native yes
Montserrat (to UK) extant vagrant
Morocco extant native yes yes
Mozambique extant native yes yes
Myanmar extant native yes yes
Namibia extant native yes yes
Nepal extant native yes
Netherlands extant native yes
New Caledonia (to France) extant native yes
New Zealand extant native yes yes
Niger extant native yes
Nigeria extant native yes yes
North Korea extant native yes
North Macedonia extant native yes
Norway extant native yes
Oman extant native yes yes
Pakistan extant native yes yes
Palau extant native yes
Palestine extant native yes yes
Papua New Guinea extant native yes yes
Peru extant vagrant
Philippines extant native yes yes
Poland extant native yes
Portugal extant native yes yes
Puerto Rico (to USA) extant vagrant
Qatar extant native yes yes
Réunion (to France) extant native yes
Romania extant native yes
Russia extant native yes yes
Russia (Asian) extant native yes yes
Russia (Central Asian) extant native yes yes
Russia (European) extant native yes yes
Rwanda extant native yes yes
São Tomé e Príncipe extant native yes yes
Saudi Arabia extant native yes yes
Senegal extant native yes yes
Serbia extant native yes
Seychelles extant native yes yes
Sierra Leone extant native yes yes
Singapore extant native yes yes
Slovakia extant native yes
Solomon Islands extant native yes
Somalia extant native yes yes
South Africa extant native yes yes
South Korea extant native yes
South Sudan extant native yes yes
Spain extant native yes yes
Sri Lanka extant native yes yes
St Kitts and Nevis extant vagrant
St Lucia extant vagrant
St Pierre and Miquelon (to France) extant vagrant
St Vincent and the Grenadines extant vagrant
Sudan extant native yes yes
Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (to Norway) extant vagrant
Sweden extant native yes
Switzerland extant native yes
Syria extant native yes
Taiwan, China extant native yes yes
Tajikistan extant native yes
Tanzania extant native yes yes
Thailand extant native yes yes
Timor-Leste extant native yes yes
Togo extant native yes yes
Trinidad and Tobago extant vagrant yes
Tunisia extant native yes yes
Türkiye extant native yes
Turkmenistan extant native yes
Uganda extant native yes yes
Ukraine extant native yes
United Arab Emirates extant native yes yes
United Kingdom extant native yes
Uzbekistan extant native yes
Vietnam extant native yes yes
Virgin Islands (to UK) extant vagrant
Western Sahara extant native yes yes
Yemen extant native yes yes
Zambia extant native yes
Zimbabwe extant native yes yes

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Country/Territory IBA Name
Australia Lake MacLeod
France Bassin d'Arcachon et Banc d'Arguin
France Camargue
Gabon Akanda
Germany Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park (includes the Halligs, Kniepsand/Amrum, Lister Koog, Rantumbecken, Rickelsb
Ghana Keta Lagoon Ramsar Site
Ghana Songor Ramsar Site
Greece Amvrakikos gulf
Guinea-Bissau Arquipélago dos Bijagós
Guinea-Bissau Cantanhez forests
Guinea-Bissau Ilha de Bolama - Rio Grande de Buba
Guinea-Bissau Lagoas de Cufada
Guinea-Bissau Rio Cacheu
Guinea-Bissau Rio Mansôa and Gêba estuary
Guinea-Bissau Rio Tombali, Rio Cumbijã and Ilha de Melo
India Kaliveli Tank and Yeduyanthittu estuary
Kazakhstan Kushmurun Lake
Kenya Tana River Delta
Malaysia North-central Selangor coast
Malaysia Sadong-Saribas coast
Mauritania Aftout Es Sâheli
Mauritania Banc d'Arguin National Park
Mauritania Chott Boul
Mauritania Diawling National Park
Montenegro Ulcinj saltpans
Myanmar Gulf of Mottama
Namibia Sandwich Harbour
Namibia Walvis Bay
Netherlands Wadden Sea
Oman Barr al Hikman
Romania Danube Delta
Russia (Asian) Gusikha river basin and lower Balakhnya river
Russia (Asian) Lower Nizhnyaya Taymyra river
Russia (European) Torna-Shoina watershed
Saudi Arabia Sabkhat al-Fasl lagoons
Senegal Delta du Saloum
Senegal Djoudj wetlands
Senegal Guembeul Avifaunal Reserve and St Louis lagoons
Senegal Kalissaye Avifaunal Reserve
Senegal La Petite Côte
Senegal Niayes (from Dakar to St Louis)
Senegal Parc National de Basse Casamance
Senegal Parc National de la Langue de Barbarie
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone River Estuary
Sierra Leone Yawri Bay
South Africa Berg River Estuary
South Africa Olifants river estuary
South Africa West Coast National Park and Saldanha Bay islands
Spain Ebro delta
Sri Lanka Amaipaddukkai
Sri Lanka Araly South-Punalai
Sri Lanka Periyakalapuwa mouth
Sri Lanka Seguwantive mudflats
Tanzania Rufiji Delta
Tunisia Îles Kneiss
Tunisia Salines de Thyna

Habitats & altitude
Habitat (level 1) Habitat (level 2) Importance Occurrence
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine Artificial/Aquatic - Irrigated Land (includes irrigation channels) suitable non-breeding
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine Artificial/Aquatic - Salt Exploitation Sites suitable non-breeding
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine Artificial/Aquatic - Seasonally Flooded Agricultural Land suitable non-breeding
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine Artificial/Aquatic - Water Storage Areas (over 8ha) suitable non-breeding
Grassland Tundra major breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes suitable non-breeding
Marine Intertidal Mud Flats and Salt Flats major non-breeding
Marine Intertidal Rocky Shoreline suitable non-breeding
Marine Intertidal Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc suitable non-breeding
Marine Intertidal Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches suitable non-breeding
Marine Intertidal Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches suitable breeding
Marine Intertidal Tidepools suitable non-breeding
Marine Neritic Coral Reef - Back Slope suitable non-breeding
Marine Neritic Coral Reef - Foreslope (Outer Reef Slope) suitable non-breeding
Marine Neritic Coral Reef - Inter-Reef Rubble Substrate suitable non-breeding
Marine Neritic Coral Reef - Inter-Reef Soft Substrate suitable non-breeding
Marine Neritic Coral Reef - Lagoon suitable non-breeding
Marine Neritic Coral Reef - Outer Reef Channel suitable non-breeding
Marine Neritic Estuaries suitable non-breeding
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) suitable non-breeding
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Lakes suitable non-breeding
Wetlands (inland) Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) suitable non-breeding
Wetlands (inland) Tundra Wetlands (incl. pools and temporary waters from snowmelt) major breeding
Altitude 0 - 2000 m Occasional altitudinal limits (max) 5000 m

Threats & impact
Threat (level 1) Threat (level 2) Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Unknown Unknown
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture Marine & freshwater aquaculture - Industrial aquaculture Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Unknown Unknown
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest] Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Unknown Unknown
Stresses
Indirect ecosystem effects
Biological resource use Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest] Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Unknown Unknown
Stresses
Indirect ecosystem effects
Biological resource use Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target) Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Unknown Unknown
Stresses
Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather Habitat shifting & alteration Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Whole (>90%) Unknown Unknown
Stresses
Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation, Reduced reproductive success
Human intrusions & disturbance Recreational activities Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Unknown Unknown
Stresses
Species disturbance
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Clostridium botulinum Timing Scope Severity Impact
Future Minority (<50%) Unknown Unknown
Stresses
Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Spartina maritima Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Slow, Significant Declines Low Impact: 5
Stresses
Species disturbance, Ecosystem conversion
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases Viral/prion-induced diseases - Avian Influenza Virus (H5N1 subtype) Timing Scope Severity Impact
Future Majority (50-90%) Rapid Declines Low Impact: 5
Stresses
Species mortality
Natural system modifications Dams & water management/use - Abstraction of surface water (commercial use) Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Unknown Unknown
Stresses
Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation
Natural system modifications Dams & water management/use - Abstraction of surface water (unknown use) Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Unknown Unknown
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation
Natural system modifications Dams & water management/use - Dams (size unknown) Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Unknown Unknown
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation
Pollution Agricultural & forestry effluents - Herbicides and pesticides Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Negligible declines Low Impact: 4
Stresses
Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation
Pollution Industrial & military effluents - Oil spills Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Negligible declines Low Impact: 4
Stresses
Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation
Residential & commercial development Commercial & industrial areas Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Unknown Unknown
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Residential & commercial development Housing & urban areas Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Unknown Unknown
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Transportation & service corridors Roads & railroads Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Negligible declines Low Impact: 4
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

Utilisation
Purpose Scale
Food - human subsistence, national
Sport hunting/specimen collecting subsistence, national

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/curlew-sandpiper-calidris-ferruginea on 26/12/2024.
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 26/12/2024.



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