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.
Christidis, L. and Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Australia.
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.
Turbott, E.G. 1990. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand. Ornithological Society of New Zealand, Wellington.
Critically Endangered | Endangered | Vulnerable |
---|---|---|
- | - | A2bcd+4bcd |
Year | Category | Criteria |
---|---|---|
2024 | Vulnerable | A2bcd+4bcd |
2019 | Least Concern | |
2016 | Least Concern | |
2012 | Least Concern | |
2011 | 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) | 19,000,000 km2 | medium |
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding) | 290,000,000 km2 | medium |
Severely fragmented? | no | - |
Estimate | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Population size | 1000000-2500000 mature individuals | poor | estimated | 2023 |
Population trend | decreasing | - | estimated | 2005-2028 |
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 | 7.55 years | - | - | - |
Number of subpopulations | 1-3 | - | - | - |
Population justification: Spans all major flyways with a vast breeding range that covers much of Arctic Russia and the Nearctic.
Breeding populations in western Siberia winter in Western Europe and West Africa where estimated to number c.200,000 (von Roomen et al. 2014, Nagy and Langendoen 2020). Numbers wintering in south-west Asia and eastern Africa less certain, but suspected to be c.90,000 (Wetlands International 2012). An additional 30,000 suspected to winter in South Asia (Wetlands International 2012). Numbers in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway estimated at c.80,000 in 2016 (Hansen et al. 2023). The total number breeding in Siberia is therefore estimated to be c.240,000-280,000, assuming not all of the estimates discussed previously, which are made from non-breeding areas, refer to mature individuals (which are assumed to make up 60-70% of the population).
Larger numbers breed in the Nearctic. Andres et al. (2012) previously estimated 262,700 across Alaska and Arctic Canada, however this noted that the estimate would increase as the PRISM surveys were incomplete. A draft status review of shorebirds reports a final PRISM estimate of at least 1 million birds, based on c.725,000 (353,000-1,100,000) in Arctic Canada (Bart et al. in prep.) and an additional c.260,000 from Alaska, but the latter covers only a proportion of the species' Alaskan breeding range, and the number in Alaska may be closer to that from Arctic Canada. Accordingly, the number of birds in the Nearctic is estimated at c.1,000,000-2,000,000, most of which are probably mature individuals given they are from breeding season surveys.
Combining estimates yields a total population of c.1,250,000-2,250,000 mature individuals. The total population estimate used here is a broader bracket of 1,000,000-2,500,000 mature individuals, acknowledging that there are several elements of uncertainty, including the extent to which populations have declined since population estimates were made, and the possibility that the Siberian population may be underestimated.
Trend justification: By far the greatest populations of this species are in the Americas (potentially up to c.90%), where trends from Smith et al. (2023) indicate a rapid reduction between 1980 and 2019, equivalent to 47.6% (21.9-65.7) over three generations (23 years), a trend also reflected by Partners in Flight (2021) who report a decline of c.30% (6.6-53.2%) over the most recent three generations. eBird data report declines of 14% (8.3-18.4) between 2011 and 2021 (Fink et al. 2023), a rate equivalent to c.30% (19-42) over three generations. In Tomales Bay (California, USA), there has been an 81% decrease over the past 30 years, but trends are apparently stable in Oregon and Washington, and increasing in British Columbia (N. Warnock in litt. 2024), suggesting great variation in local trends.
In other flyways, data are somewhat similar. In the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, Rogers et al. (2023) report declines of 36.7% in the three generations to 2021 in Australia (note this figure is based on a revised generation length not used by Rogers et al.), although this was not statistically significant. In Myanmar, the species has declined at several wintering grounds (Aung et al. 2023). From Western Europe and West Africa, Nagy and Langendoen (2020) report declines of 35% over three generations based on data from between 2008 and 2016, and declines of 52% from south-west Asia, East and southern Africa based on data from between 2008 and 2017. Additional data from the East Atlantic Flyways assessment (van Roomen et al. 2022) shows an increasing trend when data from the 1980s are compared, but a steady decline (0.973) from c.2008. Trends based on reporting rate of complete eBird checklists in India similarly show rapid declines (albeit with large confidence margins) in the most recent years when the underlying data are most robust, equivalent to an annual rate of decline of 1.38-5.35% between 2015 and 2022 (SoIB 2023). Data reported by Lagendoen et al. (2021) from the East Asian-Australasian Flyway report a highly highly mixed picture, with rapid declines estimated for Australia (thus congruent with Rogers et al. 2023), but an overall stable trend for the Flyway, mostly because of increases in China, Japan and Viet Nam (although in all these countries this may to some extent be because of increased observer effort).
Data from the species' breeding grounds is almost wholly lacking, but it has reportedly disappeared from the Chaun delta, Chukotka, Russia, with no breeding record since 2011 (D. Solovyeva in litt. 2024).
Uncertainty is presented in all the above data by the fact that some data sources require extrapolation into the most recent years (particularly data from Nagy and Langendoen 2020), and the fact that an amalgamation of them to calculate a global trend requires weighting trends depending on the proportion of the global population they are thought to represent (for which there is considerable uncertainty). Nonetheless, the congruence of data suggests that the species is highly likely to have declined rapidly over the past three generations, set here to 30-49%. Given this species' long generation length and uncertainty over the key mechanisms driving declines, the rate of decline over the next three generations is not set but there are some indications that in some flyways rates of population decline may be slowing (e.g. Rogers et al. 2023).
Country/Territory | Presence | Origin | Resident | Breeding visitor | Non-breeding visitor | Passage migrant |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Afghanistan | extant | native | yes | |||
Albania | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Algeria | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Angola | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Anguilla (to UK) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Antigua and Barbuda | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Argentina | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Armenia | extant | native | yes | |||
Aruba (to Netherlands) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Australia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Austria | extant | native | yes | |||
Azerbaijan | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Bahamas | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Bahrain | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Bangladesh | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Barbados | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Belarus | extant | native | yes | |||
Belgium | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Belize | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Benin | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Bermuda (to UK) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Bolivia | extant | native | yes | |||
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (to Netherlands) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Bosnia and Herzegovina | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Botswana | extant | native | yes | |||
Brazil | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
British Indian Ocean Territory | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Brunei | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Bulgaria | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Burundi | extant | native | yes | |||
Cambodia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Cameroon | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Canada | extant | native | yes | yes | yes | |
Cape Verde | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Cayman Islands (to UK) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Chad | extant | native | yes | |||
Chile | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
China (mainland) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Christmas Island (to Australia) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Colombia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Comoros | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Congo | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Cook Islands | extant | native | yes | |||
Costa Rica | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Côte d'Ivoire | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Croatia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Cuba | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Curaçao (to Netherlands) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Cyprus | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Czechia | extant | native | yes | |||
Denmark | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Djibouti | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Dominica | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Dominican Republic | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Ecuador | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Egypt | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
El Salvador | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Equatorial Guinea | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Eritrea | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Estonia | extant | native | yes | |||
Eswatini | extant | native | yes | |||
Ethiopia | extant | native | yes | |||
Faroe Islands (to Denmark) | extant | native | yes | |||
Fiji | extant | native | yes | |||
Finland | extant | native | yes | |||
France | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
French Guiana | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
French Southern Territories | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Gabon | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Gambia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Georgia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Germany | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Ghana | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Gibraltar (to UK) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Greece | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Greenland (to Denmark) | extant | native | yes | |||
Grenada | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Guadeloupe (to France) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Guam (to USA) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Guatemala | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Guinea | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Guinea-Bissau | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Guyana | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Haiti | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Honduras | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Hong Kong (China) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Hungary | extant | native | yes | |||
Iceland | extant | native | yes | |||
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 | yes | ||
Israel | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Italy | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Jamaica | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Japan | extant | native | yes | 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 | yes | ||
Lesotho | extant | native | yes | |||
Liberia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Libya | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Luxembourg | extant | native | yes | |||
Madagascar | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Malawi | extant | native | yes | |||
Malaysia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Maldives | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Mali | extant | native | yes | |||
Malta | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Marshall Islands | extant | native | yes | |||
Martinique (to France) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Mauritania | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Mauritius | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Mayotte (to France) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Mexico | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Micronesia, Federated States of | extant | native | yes | |||
Monaco | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Mongolia | extant | native | yes | |||
Montenegro | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Montserrat (to UK) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Morocco | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Mozambique | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Myanmar | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Namibia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Nauru | extant | native | yes | |||
Nepal | extant | native | yes | |||
Netherlands | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
New Caledonia (to France) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Nicaragua | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Niger | extant | native | yes | |||
Nigeria | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
North Korea | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
North Macedonia | extant | native | yes | |||
Northern Mariana Islands (to USA) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Norway | extant | native | yes | |||
Oman | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Pakistan | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Palau | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Palestine | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Panama | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Papua New Guinea | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Paraguay | extant | native | yes | |||
Peru | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Philippines | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Poland | extant | native | yes | |||
Portugal | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Puerto Rico (to USA) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Qatar | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Réunion (to France) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Romania | extant | native | yes | 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 | |||
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 | ||
Sint Maarten (to Netherlands) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Slovakia | extant | native | yes | |||
Slovenia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Solomon Islands | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Somalia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
South Africa | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
South Korea | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
South Sudan | extant | native | yes | |||
Spain | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Sri Lanka | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
St Barthelemy (to France) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
St Helena (to UK) | extant | native | 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 | |||
St Vincent and the Grenadines | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Sudan | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Suriname | 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 | 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 | native | yes | yes | ||
Tunisia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Türkiye | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Turkmenistan | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Uganda | extant | native | yes | |||
Ukraine | extant | native | yes | |||
United Arab Emirates | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
United Kingdom | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Uruguay | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
USA | extant | native | yes | yes | yes | |
Venezuela | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Vietnam | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Virgin Islands (to UK) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Virgin Islands (to USA) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Western Sahara | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Yemen | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
Zambia | extant | native | yes | |||
Zimbabwe | extant | native | yes |
Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
---|---|---|---|
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Aquaculture Ponds | suitable | non-breeding |
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Seasonally Flooded Agricultural Land | suitable | passage |
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Wastewater Treatment Areas | suitable | passage |
Grassland | Tundra | major | breeding |
Marine Coastal/Supratidal | Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes | suitable | non-breeding |
Marine Coastal/Supratidal | Coastal Freshwater 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 | Tidepools | suitable | non-breeding |
Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) | suitable | passage |
Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) | suitable | passage |
Wetlands (inland) | Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) | suitable | passage |
Wetlands (inland) | Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) | suitable | passage |
Wetlands (inland) | Tundra Wetlands (incl. pools and temporary waters from snowmelt) | suitable | breeding |
Altitude | Occasional altitudinal limits |
Threat (level 1) | Threat (level 2) | Impact and Stresses | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Agriculture & aquaculture | Marine & freshwater aquaculture - Industrial aquaculture | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
|||||||||
Agriculture & aquaculture | Marine & freshwater aquaculture - Subsistence/artisinal aquaculture | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
|||||||||
Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest] | 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 | Majority (50-90%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
|||||||||
Biological resource use | Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Unintentional effects (species is not the target) | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
|||||||||
Climate change & severe weather | Habitat shifting & alteration | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
Ongoing | Whole (>90%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
|||||||||
Energy production & mining | Oil & gas drilling | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
|||||||||
Energy production & mining | Renewable energy | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
|||||||||
Human intrusions & disturbance | Recreational activities | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
|||||||||
Human intrusions & disturbance | Work & other activities | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
|||||||||
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Spartina alterniflora | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
|||||||||
Pollution | Domestic & urban waste water - Sewage | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
|||||||||
Pollution | Industrial & military effluents - Type Unknown/Unrecorded | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
|||||||||
Residential & commercial development | Commercial & industrial areas | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
|||||||||
Residential & commercial development | Housing & urban areas | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
Purpose | Scale |
---|---|
Food - human | subsistence, national |
Sport hunting/specimen collecting | subsistence, national |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/grey-plover-pluvialis-squatarola on 18/12/2024.
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 18/12/2024.