BirdAnalyst
Bird Conservation Region 26

Mississippi Alluvial Valley

An ecological region spanning Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, with 73 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 →

Bank Swallow has collapsed in Mississippi Alluvial Valley: down 97% on the route-weighted index since 1980.

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 Mississippi Alluvial Valley: up 155× on the route-weighted index since 1995.

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 →

Laughing Gull has collapsed in Mississippi Alluvial Valley: down 95% on the route-weighted index since 1989.

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 →

Snowy Egret has surged in Mississippi Alluvial Valley: up 28× on the route-weighted index since 1975.

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 →

Chuck-will's-widow has collapsed in Mississippi Alluvial Valley: down 93% 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 →

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck has surged in Mississippi Alluvial Valley: up 20× on the route-weighted index since 2008.

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 →

-92%

Game birds

2 species
-75%

Generalists

15 species
-69%

Wetland birds

23 species
-63%

Grassland birds

6 species
+9%

Forest birds

54 species
+20%

Aerial insectivores

17 species
+102%

Waterfowl

6 species
+125%

Shorebirds

2 species
+268%

Birds of prey

14 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 +526%Broad-winged Hawk +16%Cooper's Hawk +18%Mississippi Kite +287%Red-shouldered Hawk +626%Red-tailed Hawk 13×Swallow-tailed Kite -47%

Larks Alaudidae

Horned Lark -34%

Kingfishers Alcedinidae

Belted Kingfisher +35%

Ducks, Geese & Waterfowl Anatidae

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 20×Blue-winged Teal -72%Canada Goose +148%Mallard -89%Mottled Duck -36%Wood Duck +134%

Anhingas Anhingidae

Anhinga +682%

Swifts Apodidae

Chimney Swift -35%

Herons, Egrets & Bitterns Ardeidae

Black-crowned Night Heron +94%Great Blue Heron +639%Great Egret +445%Green Heron +19%Little Blue Heron +18%Snowy Egret 28×Tricolored Heron +146%Western Cattle-Egret 19×Yellow-crowned Night Heron +149%

Waxwings Bombycillidae

Cedar Waxwing -31%

Nightjars & Nighthawks Caprimulgidae

Chuck-will's-widow -93%Common Nighthawk +13%Eastern Whip-poor-will -77%

Cardinals & Grosbeaks Cardinalidae

Blue Grosbeak +845%Dickcissel -13%Indigo Bunting +6%Northern Cardinal +10%Painted Bunting +35%Scarlet Tanager -42%Summer Tanager +86%

New World Vultures Cathartidae

Black Vulture +336%Turkey Vulture 13×

Plovers & Lapwings Charadriidae

Killdeer +319%

Storks Ciconiidae

Wood Stork +21%

Pigeons & Doves Columbidae

Common Ground Dove -87%Eurasian Collared-Dove +640%Inca Dove +143%Mourning Dove -26%Rock Pigeon -33%White-winged Dove 20×

Crows, Jays & Magpies Corvidae

American Crow +25%Blue Jay -2%Fish Crow +174%

Cuckoos, Roadrunners & Anis Cuculidae

Yellow-billed Cuckoo +16%

Falcons & Caracaras Falconidae

American Kestrel +386%

Finches Fringillidae

American Goldfinch +26%House Finch +327%

Swallows & Martins Hirundinidae

Bank Swallow -97%Barn Swallow -13%Cliff Swallow 155×Northern Rough-winged Swallow 18×Purple Martin +18%Tree Swallow +138%

Blackbirds & Orioles Icteridae

Baltimore Oriole -65%Boat-tailed Grackle -73%Bronzed Cowbird -51%Brown-headed Cowbird +42%Common Grackle -85%Eastern Meadowlark -86%Orchard Oriole -67%Red-winged Blackbird -19%

Yellow-breasted Chat Icteriidae

Yellow-breasted Chat -37%

Shrikes Laniidae

Loggerhead Shrike -70%

Gulls, Terns & Skimmers Laridae

Laughing Gull -95%Least Tern -67%

Mockingbirds & Thrashers Mimidae

Brown Thrasher -42%Gray Catbird -77%Northern Mockingbird -44%

New World Quail Odontophoridae

Northern Bobwhite -90%

Osprey Pandionidae

Osprey +140%

Chickadees & Titmice Paridae

Carolina Chickadee +210%Tufted Titmouse +123%

Wood-Warblers Parulidae

American Redstart -36%Black-and-white Warbler +93%Cerulean Warbler -77%Common Yellowthroat -67%Hooded Warbler +738%Kentucky Warbler -8%Louisiana Waterthrush -41%Northern Parula +259%Pine Warbler +396%Prairie Warbler -49%Prothonotary Warbler +147%Swainson's Warbler +123%Worm-eating Warbler -2%Yellow Warbler -25%Yellow-throated Warbler +211%

New World Sparrows Passerellidae

Chipping Sparrow +2%Eastern Towhee -18%Field Sparrow -91%Grasshopper Sparrow -84%Lark Sparrow +241%Song Sparrow -19%

Old World Sparrows Passeridae

House Sparrow -91%

Cormorants Phalacrocoracidae

Double-crested Cormorant +981%Neotropic Cormorant +231%

Pheasants, Grouse & Turkeys Phasianidae

Wild Turkey +69%

Woodpeckers Picidae

Downy Woodpecker +222%Hairy Woodpecker -26%Pileated Woodpecker +301%Red-bellied Woodpecker +202%Red-headed Woodpecker -45%

Grebes Podicipedidae

Pied-billed Grebe +10%

Gnatcatchers Polioptilidae

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher +120%

Rails, Gallinules & Coots Rallidae

Common Gallinule +283%

Avocets & Stilts Recurvirostridae

Black-necked Stilt +596%

Nuthatches Sittidae

White-breasted Nuthatch +675%

Owls Strigidae

Barred Owl +306%Eastern Screech-Owl -57%Great Horned Owl +167%

Starlings & Mynas Sturnidae

European Starling -35%

Ibises & Spoonbills Threskiornithidae

Roseate Spoonbill +164%White Ibis +75%White-faced Ibis +72%

Hummingbirds Trochilidae

Ruby-throated Hummingbird -44%

Wrens Troglodytidae

Carolina Wren +368%Northern House Wren +61%

Thrushes Turdidae

American Robin +181%Eastern Bluebird +54%Wood Thrush -43%

Tyrant Flycatchers Tyrannidae

Acadian Flycatcher +300%Eastern Kingbird -56%Eastern Phoebe +26%Eastern Wood-Pewee +14%Great Crested Flycatcher +92%Scissor-tailed Flycatcher +484%Willow Flycatcher -47%

Vireos Vireonidae

Bell's Vireo -60%Red-eyed Vireo +140%Warbling Vireo +7%White-eyed Vireo +206%Yellow-throated Vireo +192%

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