American Pipit
American Pipit has surged: up 20× on the route-weighted index since 1976.
About the American Pipit
The American Pipit (Anthus rubescens) is a North American member of the Wagtails & Pipits (Motacillidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the grassland birds.
- Size
- 6–8 in long (15–20 cm) — a slim, walking songbird (typical for the family)
- Habitat
- Open grasslands, prairie, pasture and hayfields.
- Diet
- Seeds and insects gathered from grasses and the ground.
- Range
- Recorded on 57 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 8 states, most concentrated in the Southern Rockies / Colorado Plateau.
- Family
- Motacillidae · Grassland birds
Notable American Pipit Trends
No notable trend signals for American Pipit. See the full index history below.
American Pipit Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, American Pipit is projected to stay roughly flat through 2029, near 0.03 (95% range 0.00–0.05). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±71.4%, with 100% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.03 | 0.00 | 0.05 |
| 2026 | 0.03 | 0.00 | 0.05 |
| 2027 | 0.03 | 0.00 | 0.05 |
| 2028 | 0.03 | 0.00 | 0.05 |
| 2029 | 0.03 | 0.00 | 0.05 |
Where the American Pipit Is Detected
BBS routes recording American Pipit, sized by most recent count.
American Pipit Population Trend by State
| Alaska | -48% | 1984 | 22 |
| California | insufficient data | n/a | 2 |
| Colorado | +311% | 1991 | 16 |
| Montana | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| New Mexico | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Utah | insufficient data | n/a | 5 |
| Washington | insufficient data | n/a | 2 |
| Wyoming | +37% | 1983 | 8 |
American Pipit Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| BCR 2 | -17% | 1987 | 7 |
| BCR 4 | -92% | 1986 | 10 |
| Northern Pacific Rainforest | -65% | 1995 | 4 |
| Northern Rockies | -77% | 1983 | 6 |
| Southern Rockies / Colorado Plateau | +17% | 1986 | 23 |
American Pipit Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it up about 1901% since 1976. Grassland birds are North America's steepest-declining group, down roughly 50% since 1970 as prairie and pasture were lost.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.