Botteri's Sparrow
Botteri's Sparrow has surged: up 317% on the route-weighted index since 1971.
About the Botteri's Sparrow
The Botteri's Sparrow (Peucaea botterii) 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 19 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 3 states, most concentrated in the Sierra Madre Occidental.
- Family
- Passerellidae · Grassland birds
Notable Botteri's Sparrow Trends
No notable trend signals for Botteri's Sparrow. See the full index history below.
Botteri's Sparrow Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Botteri's Sparrow is projected to stay roughly flat through 2029, near 0.01 (95% range 0.00–0.02). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±166.5%, with 60% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.02 |
| 2026 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.02 |
| 2027 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.02 |
| 2028 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.02 |
| 2029 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.02 |
Where the Botteri's Sparrow Is Detected
BBS routes recording Botteri's Sparrow, sized by most recent count.
Botteri's Sparrow Population Trend by State
| Arizona | +218% | 1972 | 10 |
| New Mexico | insufficient data | n/a | 2 |
| Texas | -56% | 1974 | 7 |
Botteri's Sparrow Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Sierra Madre Occidental | +33% | 1972 | 10 |
| Gulf Coastal Prairie | -58% | 1974 | 4 |
Botteri's Sparrow Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it up about 317% since 1971. 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.