Smith's Longspur
Smith's Longspur has surged: up 19× on the route-weighted index since 1997.
About the Smith's Longspur
The Smith's Longspur (Calcarius pictus) is a North American member of the Longspurs & Snow Buntings (Calcariidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the grassland birds.
- Size
- 5.5–7 in long (14–18 cm) — a small ground 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 5 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 1 state.
- Family
- Calcariidae · Grassland birds
Notable Smith's Longspur Trends
No notable trend signals for Smith's Longspur. See the full index history below.
Smith's Longspur Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Smith's Longspur is projected to stay roughly flat through 2029, near 0.01 (95% range 0.00–0.03). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±76.1%, with 20% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.03 |
| 2026 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.03 |
| 2027 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.03 |
| 2028 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.03 |
| 2029 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.03 |
Where the Smith's Longspur Is Detected
BBS routes recording Smith's Longspur, sized by most recent count.
Smith's Longspur Population Trend by State
| Alaska | 12× | 1997 | 5 |
Smith's Longspur Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it up about 1832% since 1997. 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.