diff --git a/wp-includes/post.php b/wp-includes/post.php
index 061276f29f..26382356eb 100644
--- a/wp-includes/post.php
+++ b/wp-includes/post.php
@@ -2254,9 +2254,11 @@ function wp_get_post_terms( $post_id = 0, $taxonomy = 'post_tag', $args = array(
  */
 function wp_get_recent_posts( $args = array(), $output = ARRAY_A ) {
 
-	if ( is_numeric( $args ) )
+	if ( is_numeric( $args ) ) {
+		_deprecated_argument( __FUNCTION__, '3.1', __('Passing an integer number of posts is deprecated pass an array instead.' ) );
 		$args = array( 'numberposts' => absint( $args ) );
-
+	}
+	
 	// Set default arguments
 	$defaults = array(
 		'numberposts' => 10, 'offset' => 0,