Baird's Sparrow
Baird's Sparrow has fallen sharply: down 71% on the route-weighted index since 1969.
About the Baird's Sparrow
The Baird's Sparrow (Centronyx bairdii) is a North American member of the New World Sparrows (Passerellidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the grassland birds.
- Size
- 4.5–7.5 in long (12–19 cm) — a small 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 116 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 5 states, most concentrated in the Badlands and Prairies.
- Family
- Passerellidae · Grassland birds
Notable Baird's Sparrow Trends
Baird's Sparrow has fallen sharply in surveyed states: down 71% on the route-weighted index since 1969.
Baird's Sparrow Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Baird's Sparrow is projected to stay roughly flat through 2029, near 0.01 (95% range 0.00–0.07). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±72.3%, with 80% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.08 |
| 2026 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.08 |
| 2027 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.07 |
| 2028 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.07 |
| 2029 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.07 |
Where the Baird's Sparrow Is Detected
BBS routes recording Baird's Sparrow, sized by most recent count.
Baird's Sparrow Population Trend by State
| Minnesota | insufficient data | n/a | 3 |
| Montana | +64% | 1971 | 54 |
| North Dakota | -95% | 1969 | 37 |
| South Dakota | -29% | 1970 | 14 |
| Wyoming | -40% | 1995 | 8 |
Baird's Sparrow Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Northern Rockies | -67% | 1978 | 9 |
| Prairie Potholes | -70% | 1969 | 50 |
| Badlands and Prairies | -61% | 1969 | 55 |
Baird's Sparrow Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it down about 71% since 1969. 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.