BirdAnalyst
Bird Conservation Region 33

Sonoran and Mojave Deserts

An ecological region spanning Arizona, California, Nevada, with 89 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 →

Eared Grebe has collapsed in Sonoran and Mojave Deserts: down 98% 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 →

Common Yellowthroat has surged in Sonoran and Mojave Deserts: up 12× 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 →

LeConte's Thrasher has collapsed in Sonoran and Mojave Deserts: down 97% on the route-weighted index since 1970.

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 →

Great-tailed Grackle has surged in Sonoran and Mojave Deserts: up 969% 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 →

Brewer's Blackbird has collapsed in Sonoran and Mojave Deserts: down 97% on the route-weighted index since 1970.

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 Phoebe has surged in Sonoran and Mojave Deserts: up 827% on the route-weighted index since 1971.

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 →

-83%

Wetland birds

23 species
-49%

Grassland birds

5 species
-38%

Forest birds

46 species
-35%

Arid-land birds

21 species
-26%

Generalists

15 species
-18%

Game birds

4 species
+25%

Aerial insectivores

20 species
+46%

Birds of prey

16 species
+101%

Waterfowl

3 species
+123%

Shorebirds

3 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

Cooper's Hawk -18%Golden Eagle -43%Harris's Hawk +24%Northern Harrier +49%Red-shouldered Hawk -49%Red-tailed Hawk +18%Swainson's Hawk -54%

Bushtits Aegithalidae

Bushtit -48%

Larks Alaudidae

Horned Lark -53%

Ducks, Geese & Waterfowl Anatidae

Cinnamon Teal -63%Mallard +247%Ruddy Duck -77%

Swifts Apodidae

White-throated Swift -92%

Herons, Egrets & Bitterns Ardeidae

Black-crowned Night Heron -42%Great Blue Heron +121%Great Egret -57%Green Heron -16%Least Bittern -41%Snowy Egret -58%Western Cattle-Egret -79%

Nightjars & Nighthawks Caprimulgidae

Common Nighthawk -81%Common Poorwill -66%Lesser Nighthawk +83%

Cardinals & Grosbeaks Cardinalidae

Black-headed Grosbeak -36%Blue Grosbeak -45%Lazuli Bunting -45%Northern Cardinal +24%Pyrrhuloxia +7%Summer Tanager +126%Western Tanager -89%

New World Vultures Cathartidae

Black Vulture +176%Turkey Vulture +301%

Plovers & Lapwings Charadriidae

Killdeer +315%

Pigeons & Doves Columbidae

Band-tailed Pigeon -91%Common Ground Dove -85%Eurasian Collared-Dove +318%Inca Dove -90%Mourning Dove -23%Rock Pigeon +469%White-winged Dove +3%

Crows, Jays & Magpies Corvidae

American Crow +391%California Scrub-Jay +66%Common Raven -8%Pinyon Jay -76%Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay -54%

Cuckoos, Roadrunners & Anis Cuculidae

Greater Roadrunner -60%

Falcons & Caracaras Falconidae

American Kestrel +11%Prairie Falcon -73%

Finches Fringillidae

House Finch -36%Lawrence's Goldfinch -80%Lesser Goldfinch +87%

Swallows & Martins Hirundinidae

Barn Swallow -19%Cliff Swallow +4%Northern Rough-winged Swallow +35%Purple Martin -92%Tree Swallow -34%Violet-green Swallow -72%

Blackbirds & Orioles Icteridae

Brewer's Blackbird -97%Bronzed Cowbird -88%Brown-headed Cowbird -37%Bullock's Oriole -51%Great-tailed Grackle +969%Hooded Oriole -37%Red-winged Blackbird -38%Scott's Oriole -87%Tricolored Blackbird -88%Western Meadowlark +25%Yellow-headed Blackbird +142%

Yellow-breasted Chat Icteriidae

Yellow-breasted Chat +182%

Shrikes Laniidae

Loggerhead Shrike -84%

Gulls, Terns & Skimmers Laridae

California Gull -96%Caspian Tern -90%Ring-billed Gull -89%

Mockingbirds & Thrashers Mimidae

Bendire's Thrasher -23%California Thrasher -29%Crissal Thrasher -79%Curve-billed Thrasher +18%LeConte's Thrasher -97%Northern Mockingbird -18%

New World Quail Odontophoridae

California Quail +10%Gambel's Quail +32%

Chickadees & Titmice Paridae

Juniper Titmouse -37%Oak Titmouse -45%

Wood-Warblers Parulidae

Common Yellowthroat 12×Lucy's Warbler +159%Wilson's Warbler -49%Yellow Warbler +89%

New World Sparrows Passerellidae

Abert's Towhee +209%Bell's Sparrow +23%Black-chinned Sparrow -63%Black-throated Sparrow -37%Brewer's Sparrow -80%California Towhee +23%Canyon Towhee -32%Chipping Sparrow -65%Green-tailed Towhee +106%Lark Sparrow +54%Rufous-crowned Sparrow +173%Savannah Sparrow -48%Song Sparrow +99%Spotted Towhee +19%

Old World Sparrows Passeridae

House Sparrow -58%

Cormorants Phalacrocoracidae

Double-crested Cormorant -34%

Pheasants, Grouse & Turkeys Phasianidae

Chukar +573%Ring-necked Pheasant +215%

Woodpeckers Picidae

Downy Woodpecker -47%Gila Woodpecker +229%Gilded Flicker +26%Hairy Woodpecker +176%Ladder-backed Woodpecker -5%Nuttall's Woodpecker -61%

Grebes Podicipedidae

Eared Grebe -98%Pied-billed Grebe +227%Western Grebe +99%

Gnatcatchers Polioptilidae

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher -55%Blue-gray Gnatcatcher +13%

Silky-flycatchers Ptiliogonatidae

Phainopepla +264%

Rails, Gallinules & Coots Rallidae

American Coot -34%Common Gallinule -36%Ridgway's Rail +83%Virginia Rail +24%

Avocets & Stilts Recurvirostridae

American Avocet -74%Black-necked Stilt -77%

Penduline Tits Remizidae

Verdin -6%

Nuthatches Sittidae

White-breasted Nuthatch +38%

Owls Strigidae

Burrowing Owl +87%Elf Owl -45%Great Horned Owl +99%Western Screech-Owl -59%

Starlings & Mynas Sturnidae

European Starling +14%

Sylviid Warblers Sylviidae

Wrentit -74%

Ibises & Spoonbills Threskiornithidae

White-faced Ibis +131%

Hummingbirds Trochilidae

Anna's Hummingbird -9%Black-chinned Hummingbird -20%Costa's Hummingbird +47%

Wrens Troglodytidae

Bewick's Wren +68%Cactus Wren -55%Canyon Wren -39%Marsh Wren -22%Northern House Wren -55%Rock Wren +22%

Thrushes Turdidae

American Robin -33%Western Bluebird -76%

Tyrant Flycatchers Tyrannidae

Ash-throated Flycatcher +75%Black Phoebe +827%Brown-crested Flycatcher +203%Cassin's Kingbird -34%Olive-sided Flycatcher -34%Say's Phoebe +19%Vermilion Flycatcher +61%Western Kingbird -59%Western Wood-Pewee -57%Willow Flycatcher -9%

Barn-Owls Tytonidae

American Barn Owl -27%

Vireos Vireonidae

Bell's Vireo +58%Warbling Vireo -51%

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