Data Zone
Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
Cramp, S. and Simmons, K.E.L. (eds). 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
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.
| Critically Endangered | Endangered | Vulnerable |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | - |
| Year | Category | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Near Threatened | A2bd |
| 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 | low |
| Land-mass type | Average mass | 171 g |
| Estimate | Data quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) | 9,000,000 km2 | medium |
| Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding) | 54,000,000 km2 | medium |
| Severely fragmented? | no | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population size | 137000-6860000 mature individuals | poor | estimated | 2023 |
| Population trend | decreasing | - | suspected | - |
| Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods) | 0-29% | - | - | - |
| Generation length | 4.93 years | - | - | - |
| Number of subpopulations | 1 | - | - | - |
| Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation | 100% | - | - | - |
Population justification: The global population is currently estimated at 137,000 mature individuals (Andres et al. 2012). A modelling approach suggested 6.86 million mature individuals in Canada alone (BAM 2020). However, COSEWIC (2020) considered this approach when applied to Lesser Yellowlegs to likely overestimate true density because of birds approaching observers during point counts. The species is not covered by the Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring (PRISM) surveys (Bart and Smith 2012) as it breeds further south, but the observation that these systematic surveys typically increased estimates significantly suggests the population size given by Andres et al. (2012) may be a considerable underestimate.
Trend justification:
Trends from the sources available are contradictory, making the true trajectory of the population uncertain. North American Breeding Bird Survey data indicate a recent three-generation increase of 13%, but with wide credible intervals (-36 to +81% for 2.5% and 97.5% CI) (Ziolkowski Jr. et al. 2022): none of the Bird Conservation Region trends are rated as having good credibility and the survey coverage for the species is poor (ECCC 2019). But this positive trend is consistent through the whole span of the BBS data back to 1966 and certainly since 1990 when confidence intervals have been narrower. In contrast, recent migratory count data estimates a rapid reduction over three generations of 43% (95% CI -15 to -63%) (Smith et al. 2023), when earlier migration data indicated a positive annual trend between 1970 and 2016 (ECCC 2019, Ziolkowski Jr. et al. 2022). It has previously been noted that many individuals may not be detected at count sites as they prefer smaller wetland areas potentially reducing the accuracy of this survey for the species (ECCC 2019). But the abrupt change in trajectory after around 2004 is evident in this earlier data (but not noticeable at the time in context) and the recent analysis demonstrates this downturn has become a sustained decline in the numbers being recorded at the migration sites network (Smith et al. 2023).
North American Christmas Bird Count (CBC) data cover only a small proportion of the non-breeding population, with most far to the south. But this data also shows an increasing trend, but again with high uncertainty with a three-generation rate of 8% but within a range of -23 to +86% (Meehan et al. 2022). It is possible that increases in non-breeding counts in the northern part of the range may relate to ‘short-stopping’, where fewer individuals complete the expected full distance of their migration and instead stay in sites closer to breeding areas. In this context, another very rapid decline recorded from counts at non-breeding sites in Central America between 2012-2020 (van Dort et al. 2023) may help to explain some of the conflict in the data.
Overall, and taking a precautionary approach noting that each dataset has weaknesses for this species, a moderately rapid rate of reduction of 0-29% is suspected for the past three generations. The rate is not projected forwards due to the level of uncertainty.
| Country/Territory | Presence | Origin | Resident | Breeding visitor | Non-breeding visitor | Passage migrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anguilla (to UK) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Antigua and Barbuda | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Argentina | extant | native | yes | |||
| Aruba (to Netherlands) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Bahamas | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Barbados | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Belgium | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Belize | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Bermuda (to UK) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Bolivia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (to Netherlands) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Brazil | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Canada | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Cayman Islands (to UK) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Chile | extant | native | yes | |||
| Colombia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Costa Rica | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Cuba | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Curaçao (to Netherlands) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Czechia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Denmark | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Dominica | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Dominican Republic | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Ecuador | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| El Salvador | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Falkland Islands (Malvinas) | extant | vagrant | ||||
| France | extant | vagrant | ||||
| French Guiana | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Greenland (to Denmark) | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Grenada | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Guadeloupe (to France) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Guatemala | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Guyana | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Haiti | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Honduras | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Iceland | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Ireland | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Italy | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Jamaica | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Japan | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Marshall Islands | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Martinique (to France) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Mexico | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Montserrat (to UK) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Netherlands | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Nicaragua | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Northern Mariana Islands (to USA) | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Norway | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Panama | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Paraguay | extant | native | yes | |||
| Peru | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Poland | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Portugal | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Puerto Rico (to USA) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Sint Maarten (to Netherlands) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| South Korea | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Spain | extant | vagrant | ||||
| St Barthelemy (to France) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| St Kitts and Nevis | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| St Lucia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| St Martin (to France) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| St Pierre and Miquelon (to France) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| St Vincent and the Grenadines | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Suriname | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Sweden | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Trinidad and Tobago | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| United Kingdom | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Uruguay | extant | native | yes | |||
| USA | extant | native | yes | yes | yes | |
| Venezuela | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Virgin Islands (to UK) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Virgin Islands (to USA) | extant | native | yes | yes |
| Country/Territory | IBA Name |
|---|---|
| Argentina | Reserva de Uso Múltiple Bañados del Río Dulce y Laguna Mar Chiquita |
| Barbados | St Lucy Shooting Swamps |
| Barbados | St Philip Shooting Swamps |
| Costa Rica | Nicoya Gulf mangroves and coastal areas |
| French Guiana | Amana |
| French Guiana | Ile de Cayenne |
| French Guiana | Littoral |
| French Guiana | Littoral Kourou |
| French Guiana | Littoral Macouria |
| French Guiana | Littoral Sinnamary |
| French Guiana | Plaine Kaw et Pointe Béhague |
| Mexico | Istmo de Tehuantepec - Mar Muerto |
| Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK) | Grand Turk Salinas and Shores |
| Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK) | North, Middle and East Caicos Ramsar Site |
| Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Forest | Boreal | suitable | breeding |
| Forest | Temperate | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Intertidal | Mud Flats and Salt Flats | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Intertidal | Salt Marshes (Emergent Grasses) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Shrubland | Boreal | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Lakes | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Tundra Wetlands (incl. pools and temporary waters from snowmelt) | suitable | breeding |
| Altitude | 0 - 4100 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 | Minority (<50%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
|||||||||
| Biological resource use | Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target) | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
|||||||||
| Climate change & severe weather | Habitat shifting & alteration | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
|||||||||
| Purpose | Scale |
|---|---|
| Food - human | subsistence, national |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/greater-yellowlegs-tringa-melanoleuca 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.