Dickcissel
Dickcissel has edged down: down 22% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
About the Dickcissel
The Dickcissel (Spiza americana) is a North American member of the Cardinals & Grosbeaks (Cardinalidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the grassland birds.
- Size
- 4.5–8.5 in long (12–22 cm) — a medium 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 1,503 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 34 states, most concentrated in the Eastern Tallgrass Prairie.
- Family
- Cardinalidae · Grassland birds
Notable Dickcissel Trends
No notable trend signals for Dickcissel. See the full index history below.
Dickcissel Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Dickcissel is projected to stay roughly flat through 2029, near 6.1 (95% range 3.0–9.2). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±25.7%, with 100% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6.2 | 3.0 | 9.3 |
| 2026 | 6.2 | 3.0 | 9.3 |
| 2027 | 6.1 | 3.0 | 9.3 |
| 2028 | 6.1 | 3.0 | 9.3 |
| 2029 | 6.1 | 3.0 | 9.2 |
Where the Dickcissel Is Detected
BBS routes recording Dickcissel, sized by most recent count.
Dickcissel Population Trend by State
| Alabama | +4% | 1968 | 38 |
| Arkansas | +30% | 1969 | 52 |
| Colorado | +434% | 1974 | 41 |
| Delaware | insufficient data | n/a | 4 |
| Georgia | +212% | 1980 | 20 |
| Illinois | -37% | 1968 | 105 |
| Indiana | -56% | 1968 | 66 |
| Iowa | -36% | 1969 | 39 |
| Kansas | +31% | 1969 | 67 |
| Kentucky | -66% | 1968 | 46 |
| Louisiana | -81% | 1969 | 59 |
| Maryland | +197% | 1970 | 18 |
| Michigan | -63% | 1968 | 43 |
| Minnesota | -20% | 1969 | 62 |
| Mississippi | +121% | 1968 | 34 |
| Missouri | -28% | 1969 | 95 |
| Montana | +859% | 1994 | 17 |
| Nebraska | -3% | 1969 | 75 |
| New Jersey | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| New Mexico | -76% | 1984 | 15 |
| New York | insufficient data | n/a | 3 |
| North Carolina | -21% | 1994 | 13 |
| North Dakota | -53% | 1969 | 45 |
| Ohio | +75% | 1968 | 49 |
| Oklahoma | +43% | 1969 | 68 |
| Pennsylvania | insufficient data | n/a | 9 |
| South Carolina | -52% | 1987 | 6 |
| South Dakota | -34% | 1969 | 56 |
| Tennessee | -24% | 1968 | 32 |
| Texas | -20% | 1969 | 203 |
| Virginia | -33% | 1983 | 13 |
| West Virginia | insufficient data | n/a | 2 |
| Wisconsin | -65% | 1968 | 86 |
| Wyoming | +73% | 1990 | 21 |
Dickcissel Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Prairie Potholes | -35% | 1969 | 99 |
| Boreal Hardwood Transition | -19% | 1968 | 43 |
| Badlands and Prairies | -77% | 1969 | 81 |
| Shortgrass Prairie | -12% | 1969 | 102 |
| Central Mixed Grass Prairie | +23% | 1969 | 129 |
| Edwards Plateau | +7% | 1969 | 20 |
| Oaks and Prairies | -37% | 1969 | 74 |
| Eastern Tallgrass Prairie | -12% | 1968 | 277 |
| Prairie Hardwood Transition | -64% | 1968 | 139 |
| Central Hardwoods | +43% | 1968 | 153 |
| West Gulf Coastal Plain / Ouachitas | -66% | 1969 | 75 |
| Mississippi Alluvial Valley | -13% | 1968 | 61 |
| Southeastern Coastal Plain | -16% | 1968 | 70 |
| Appalachian Mountains | -54% | 1968 | 42 |
| Piedmont | +58% | 1980 | 30 |
| New England / Mid-Atlantic Coast | +18% | 1970 | 18 |
| Chihuahuan Desert | -89% | 1981 | 9 |
| Tamaulipan Brushlands | -2% | 1970 | 25 |
| Gulf Coastal Prairie | -18% | 1969 | 40 |
Dickcissel Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it down about 22% 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.