Tryngites subruficollis

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

Bibliography

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	CHARADRIIFORMES	SCOLOPACIDAE

Scientific Name:

Tryngites subruficollis

Species Authority:

(Vieillot, 1819)

Common Name/s:

English	–	Buff-breasted Sandpiper
French	–	Bécasseau roussâtre
Spanish	–	Correlimos Canelo

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Near Threatened ver 3.1

Year Published:

2008

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Bird, J., Butchart, S.

Contributor/s:

Casañas, H., Harrington, B., Lanctot, R., Russell, B.

Justification:
This species underwent rapid historical declines. Its moderately small remaining population continues to decline and as a result it is considered Near-Threatened.

History:

2006	–	Near Threatened
2004	–	Near Threatened

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Tryngites subruficollis breeds sporadically along arctic coasts from central Alaska, USA to Devon Island, Canada, with a relict population on Wrangel Island and west Chukotka, Russia. Also reported from St Pierre and Miquelon (to France) as a non-breeder. Birds winter in eastern South America including Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia after passing through the Greater and Lesser Antilles or around the Gulf coast of Central America. Originally numbering in the hundreds of thousands to millions (1890s-1900s), the species was brought to near extinction in the early 1920s by hunting. It has not recovered, with the current population estimated at 16,000-84,000 individuals based on various estimates from birds passing through the Rainwater Basin in Nebraska and the Gulf coastal plain in Louisiana and Texas⁵. It is difficult to monitor, as it is not faithful to breeding sites (and possibly not to wintering sites), but data from North American migration sites suggests that declines are continuing.
Countries:	Native: Antigua and Barbuda; Argentina; Barbados; Belize; Bermuda; Bolivia; Brazil; Canada; Colombia; Costa Rica; Ecuador; El Salvador; Grenada; Guadeloupe; Guatemala; Guyana; Haiti; Honduras; Martinique; Mexico; Netherlands Antilles; Nicaragua; Panama; Paraguay; Peru; Puerto Rico; Russian Federation; Saint Lucia; Saint Pierre and Miquelon; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Suriname; Trinidad and Tobago; United States; Uruguay; Venezuela Vagrant: Australia; Austria; Bahamas; Belgium; Bulgaria; Cuba; Denmark; Egypt; Faroe Islands; Finland; France; French Polynesia; Gabon; Gambia; Germany; Ghana; Hungary; Iceland; India; Ireland; Italy; Jamaica; Japan; Kenya; Korea, Republic of; Malta; Marshall Islands; Morocco; Namibia; Netherlands; Norway; Oman; Papua New Guinea; Poland; Portugal; Saudi Arabia; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; South Africa; Spain; Sri Lanka; Svalbard and Jan Mayen; Sweden; Switzerland; Taiwan, Province of China; Tunisia; Ukraine; United Kingdom; United States Minor Outlying Islands; Virgin Islands, U.S.
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	Morrison et al. (in press).
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	It breeds in the high Arctic on well drained tundra with tussocks and scant vegetation. It is generally not near the sea and avoids marshes. It appears to depend heavily upon intensive grazing by livestock in its wintering grounds to creat short grassland⁴, but also uses flooded Pampas grasslands. During migration it is found on many short grass habitats. It is a lekking species.
Systems:	Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	It was severely overhunted in the early part of the 1900s reportedly declining to near extinction from a population which may have number in the millions. Immediate threats are the matter of some conjecture. The breeding grounds may be affected by habitat loss and degradation and environmental contaminants³. Previously, ongoing declines were attributed to widespread and continuing destruction of grasslands in the wintering range^1,2, but there seems little evidence to support this, although environmental contaminants may be playing a part there³. Exposure on migration ot toxic chemicals and pollutants may pose a threat and is being investigated further⁶.

Major Threat(s):

It was severely overhunted in the early part of the 1900s reportedly declining to near extinction from a population which may have number in the millions. Immediate threats are the matter of some conjecture. The breeding grounds may be affected by habitat loss and degradation and environmental contaminants³. Previously, ongoing declines were attributed to widespread and continuing destruction of grasslands in the wintering range^1,2, but there seems little evidence to support this, although environmental contaminants may be playing a part there³. Exposure on migration ot toxic chemicals and pollutants may pose a threat and is being investigated further⁶.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Conservation Actions Underway CMS Appendix I and II. A symposium was held in 2005-2006 to identify priority actions for the conservation of the species. Conservation Actions Proposed Implement priority actions identified at the Buff-breasted Sandpiper symposium. Ascertain the population size and trend for the species. Complete a species action plan. Conserve key staging and wintering grasslands.

Conservation Actions:

Conservation Actions Underway
CMS Appendix I and II. A symposium was held in 2005-2006 to identify priority actions for the conservation of the species.

Conservation Actions Proposed
Implement priority actions identified at the Buff-breasted Sandpiper symposium. Ascertain the population size and trend for the species. Complete a species action plan. Conserve key staging and wintering grasslands.

Bibliography [top]

	Lanctot, R. 2006. Buff-breasted Sandpiper symposium. Wader Study Group Bulletin: 20-22. Lanctot, R. B. 1995. A closer look: Buff-breasted Sandpiper. Birding 27: 384-390. Lanctot, R. B.; Blanco, D. E.; Dias, R. A.; Isacch, J. P.; Gill, V. A.; Almeida, J. B.; Delhey, K.; Petracci, P. F.; Bencke, G. A.; Balbueno, R. A. 2002. Conservation status of the Buff-breasted Sandpiper: historic and contemporary distribution and abundance in South America. Wilson Bulletin 114: 44-72. Lanctot, R. B.; Laredo, C. D. 1994. Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Tryngites subruficollis). In: Poole, A.; Gill, F. (ed.), The birds of North America, No. 91, pp. 1-20. The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia and The American Ornithologists' Union, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. Morrison, R. I. G.; McCaffery, B.J.; Skagen, S.; Andres, B.; Page, G.; Jones, S.; Gill, R.E. in prep. Population estimates of North American shorebirds.

Lanctot, R. 2006. Buff-breasted Sandpiper symposium. Wader Study Group Bulletin: 20-22.

Lanctot, R. B. 1995. A closer look: Buff-breasted Sandpiper. Birding 27: 384-390.

Lanctot, R. B.; Blanco, D. E.; Dias, R. A.; Isacch, J. P.; Gill, V. A.; Almeida, J. B.; Delhey, K.; Petracci, P. F.; Bencke, G. A.; Balbueno, R. A. 2002. Conservation status of the Buff-breasted Sandpiper: historic and contemporary distribution and abundance in South America. Wilson Bulletin 114: 44-72.

Lanctot, R. B.; Laredo, C. D. 1994. Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Tryngites subruficollis). In: Poole, A.; Gill, F. (ed.), The birds of North America, No. 91, pp. 1-20. The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia and The American Ornithologists' Union, Philadelphia and Washington, DC.

Morrison, R. I. G.; McCaffery, B.J.; Skagen, S.; Andres, B.; Page, G.; Jones, S.; Gill, R.E. in prep. Population estimates of North American shorebirds.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2008. Tryngites subruficollis. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 21 May 2012.
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