Bobolink
Bobolink has fallen sharply: down 70% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
About the Bobolink
A grassland songbird that makes one of the longest migrations of any American songbird, the Bobolink has declined steeply with the loss of hayfields and prairie.
- Size
- 6–8.5 in long, about 1.3 oz (15–21 cm, 37 g)
- Habitat
- Open grasslands, prairie, pasture and hayfields.
- Diet
- Seeds and grain, with insects in the breeding season.
- Range
- Recorded on 1,278 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 36 states, most concentrated in the Eastern Tallgrass Prairie.
- Family
- Icteridae · Grassland birds
- Conservation
- Declining
Notable Bobolink TrendsNotable signalsLong-arc shifts the engine flags automatically — sustained declines or increases large enough to stand out from year-to-year noise.Full methodology →
Bobolink has fallen sharply in surveyed states: down 70% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
Bobolink Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Bobolink is projected to fall about 34% by 2029 — from 1.3 in 2024 to a central estimate of 0.82 (95% range 0.26–1.4). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±12.6%, with 100% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
Where the Bobolink Is Detected
BBS routes recording Bobolink, sized by most recent count.
Bobolink Population Trend by State
Bobolink Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
Bobolink Conservation Status
Declining
Long-term surveys document a steep, sustained decline for this species, a recognized conservation concern. Our route-weighted index shows it down about 70% since 1968. 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.