BirdAnalyst
Bird Conservation Region 25

West Gulf Coastal Plain / Ouachitas

An ecological region spanning Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, with 110 survey routes. BCRs are the natural unit for bird trends.

What Is Moving HereNotable signalsLong-arc shifts the engine flags automatically — sustained declines or increases large enough to stand out from year-to-year noise.Full methodology →

long arc declinecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Loggerhead Shrike has collapsed in West Gulf Coastal Plain / Ouachitas: down 97% on the route-weighted index since 1969.

long arc increasecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Cliff Swallow has surged in West Gulf Coastal Plain / Ouachitas: up 33× on the route-weighted index since 1976.

long arc declinecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Field Sparrow has collapsed in West Gulf Coastal Plain / Ouachitas: down 96% on the route-weighted index since 1969.

long arc increasecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Mississippi Kite has surged in West Gulf Coastal Plain / Ouachitas: up 15× on the route-weighted index since 1970.

long arc declinecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Northern Bobwhite has collapsed in West Gulf Coastal Plain / Ouachitas: down 95% on the route-weighted index since 1969.

long arc increasecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Eastern Towhee has surged in West Gulf Coastal Plain / Ouachitas: up 13× on the route-weighted index since 1969.

How Guilds Are FaringGuild trendA mean-index aggregate across the species in this group — the structural direction of the guild, with individual-species noise smoothed out.Full methodology →

-97%

Game birds

2 species
-85%

Grassland birds

6 species
-77%

Shorebirds

1 species
-73%

Wetland birds

17 species
-64%

Generalists

13 species
-39%

Aerial insectivores

16 species
-18%

Arid-land birds

1 species
+33%

Forest birds

58 species
+34%

Waterfowl

4 species
+103%

Birds of prey

15 species

Survey Routes

Species By FamilyTrendPercent change in the route-weighted abundance index between a smoothed baseline window and the most recent one. It tracks direction, not absolute population.Full methodology →

Hawks, Eagles & Kites Accipitridae

Bald Eagle +122%Broad-winged Hawk +154%Cooper's Hawk +109%Mississippi Kite 15×Red-shouldered Hawk +281%Red-tailed Hawk +47%Sharp-shinned Hawk -36%Swallow-tailed Kite -49%

Larks Alaudidae

Horned Lark +109%

Kingfishers Alcedinidae

Belted Kingfisher -59%

Ducks, Geese & Waterfowl Anatidae

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck +274%Canada Goose +48%Mallard +15%Wood Duck +19%

Anhingas Anhingidae

Anhinga -73%

Swifts Apodidae

Chimney Swift -71%

Herons, Egrets & Bitterns Ardeidae

Black-crowned Night Heron -36%Great Blue Heron +38%Great Egret +66%Green Heron -83%Little Blue Heron -92%Snowy Egret +11%Tricolored Heron -32%Western Cattle-Egret +422%Yellow-crowned Night Heron -52%

Nightjars & Nighthawks Caprimulgidae

Chuck-will's-widow -47%Common Nighthawk -84%Eastern Whip-poor-will +4%

Cardinals & Grosbeaks Cardinalidae

Blue Grosbeak +32%Dickcissel -66%Indigo Bunting +56%Northern Cardinal +23%Painted Bunting -44%Scarlet Tanager +270%Summer Tanager +40%

New World Vultures Cathartidae

Black Vulture +453%Turkey Vulture +33%

Plovers & Lapwings Charadriidae

Killdeer -77%

Pigeons & Doves Columbidae

Eurasian Collared-Dove +782%Inca Dove +162%Mourning Dove -25%Rock Pigeon -72%White-winged Dove +854%

Crows, Jays & Magpies Corvidae

American Crow +25%Blue Jay +4%Fish Crow +202%

Cuckoos, Roadrunners & Anis Cuculidae

Greater Roadrunner -18%Yellow-billed Cuckoo -27%

Falcons & Caracaras Falconidae

American Kestrel -71%

Finches Fringillidae

American Goldfinch -72%House Finch +686%

Swallows & Martins Hirundinidae

Barn Swallow +63%Cliff Swallow 33×Northern Rough-winged Swallow -37%Purple Martin -61%Tree Swallow +48%

Blackbirds & Orioles Icteridae

Baltimore Oriole -91%Brown-headed Cowbird -54%Common Grackle -94%Eastern Meadowlark -93%Great-tailed Grackle +163%Orchard Oriole -68%Red-winged Blackbird -90%

Yellow-breasted Chat Icteriidae

Yellow-breasted Chat +52%

Shrikes Laniidae

Loggerhead Shrike -98%

Mockingbirds & Thrashers Mimidae

Brown Thrasher -40%Gray Catbird -59%Northern Mockingbird -47%

New World Quail Odontophoridae

Northern Bobwhite -95%

Osprey Pandionidae

Osprey -36%

Chickadees & Titmice Paridae

Carolina Chickadee +68%Tufted Titmouse +68%

Wood-Warblers Parulidae

American Redstart -79%Black-and-white Warbler +48%Black-throated Green Warbler +544%Cerulean Warbler -71%Common Yellowthroat -54%Hooded Warbler +489%Kentucky Warbler -34%Louisiana Waterthrush -31%Northern Parula +49%Ovenbird -4%Pine Warbler +203%Prairie Warbler +95%Prothonotary Warbler -35%Swainson's Warbler +748%Worm-eating Warbler -27%Yellow Warbler -58%Yellow-throated Warbler +110%

New World Sparrows Passerellidae

Bachman's Sparrow -78%Chipping Sparrow -23%Eastern Towhee 13×Field Sparrow -96%Grasshopper Sparrow -11%Lark Sparrow -84%

Old World Sparrows Passeridae

House Sparrow -90%

Cormorants Phalacrocoracidae

Double-crested Cormorant -47%

Pheasants, Grouse & Turkeys Phasianidae

Wild Turkey +132%

Woodpeckers Picidae

Downy Woodpecker +109%Hairy Woodpecker +97%Pileated Woodpecker +25%Red-bellied Woodpecker +95%Red-cockaded Woodpecker -56%Red-headed Woodpecker -35%

Grebes Podicipedidae

Pied-billed Grebe -62%

Gnatcatchers Polioptilidae

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher +103%

Rails, Gallinules & Coots Rallidae

Common Gallinule +1%

Nuthatches Sittidae

Brown-headed Nuthatch -14%White-breasted Nuthatch +231%

Owls Strigidae

Barred Owl +5%Eastern Screech-Owl +12%Great Horned Owl -50%

Starlings & Mynas Sturnidae

European Starling -71%

Ibises & Spoonbills Threskiornithidae

White Ibis +76%

Hummingbirds Trochilidae

Ruby-throated Hummingbird -17%

Wrens Troglodytidae

Bewick's Wren -71%Carolina Wren +81%Northern House Wren -30%

Thrushes Turdidae

American Robin -69%Eastern Bluebird -41%Wood Thrush -25%

Tyrant Flycatchers Tyrannidae

Acadian Flycatcher +9%Eastern Kingbird -69%Eastern Phoebe -2%Eastern Wood-Pewee -47%Great Crested Flycatcher -30%Scissor-tailed Flycatcher -51%Western Kingbird -41%

Vireos Vireonidae

Bell's Vireo -88%Red-eyed Vireo +183%Warbling Vireo -7%White-eyed Vireo +153%Yellow-throated Vireo +312%

Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22.