Top 10 of the world's rarest waders.

When it comes to rare you don't get much rarer than extinct. The following four species, although on the Critically Endangered list, are all in all probability extinct now and so they have an unfair advantage in this case (if being extinct can be considered an advantage). So we'll not include them in the top ten but suffice to say that they exist, or not, as the case may be.

These birds were last seen alive; Javan Lapwing 1940, Eskimo Curlew 1963, Slender-billed Curlews 2001, Jerdon's Courser 2009 

So that then leaves us with the Top 10 of the world's rarest wader species that, if money and time are no object, you could actually go and see. All photos by Elis Simpson - Wader Quest unless otherwise stated.

Nº 10
This slot is shared by Diademed Sandpiper Plover, Magellanic Plover and Fuegian Snipe. Each has a population estimate of between 1,500 and 7,000 individuals.
There are also some rare Asia and Pacific Woodcocks that do not have population estimates that we could have included here too.

Nº 9

Name: Swinhoe's (White-faced) Plover

Charadrius dealbatus

IUCN: Data Deficient

Population: ?

Region: Asia

Nº 8

Nordmann's (Spotted) Greenshank

Tringa guttifer

IUCN: Endangered

Population: 60-1300 (1,100 China 2017)

Region: Arctic/Asia

Nº 7

Name: Tuamotu Sandpiper

Prosobonia parvirostris

IUCN: Endangered

Population: 900

Region: Pacific

Photo by Steve Smith:  http://birdingpooleharbourandbeyond.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Nº 6

Name: St. Helena Plover

Charadrius sanctaehelenae

IUCN: Vulnerable

Population: 560

Region: Atlantic

Photo by Andrew Darlow.

Nº 5

Name: Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Calidris pygmaea

IUCN: Critically Endangered

Population: 240-500 (250 in china 2017)

Region: Arctic/Asia

Nº 4

Name: Chatham Oystercatcher

Haematopus chathamensis

IUCN: Endangered

Population: 50-249

Region: Australasia

Photo by Alan Tennyson - New Zealand Birds Online.

Nº 3

Name: Shore Plover

Thinornis novaeseelandiae

IUCN: Endangered

Population: 156-220

Region: Australasia

Nº 2

Name: Southern Red-breasted Plover

Charadrius aquilonius

IUCN: Endangered

Population: 160-190

Region: Australasia

Photo by Matt Jones - www.mattjoneswildlifeimages.com

And the world's rarest wader is.....................................................

Nº 1

Name: Black Stilt

Himantopus novaezelandiae

IUCN: Critically Endangered

Population: 106 

Region: Australasia

 BirdLife International (2017) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 27/09/2017