Thick-billed Longspur
Thick-billed Longspur has surged: up 15× on the route-weighted index since 1969.
About the Thick-billed Longspur
The Thick-billed Longspur (Rhynchophanes mccownii) 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 92 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 5 states, most concentrated in the Badlands and Prairies.
- Family
- Calcariidae · Grassland birds
Notable Thick-billed Longspur Trends
No notable trend signals for Thick-billed Longspur. See the full index history below.
Thick-billed Longspur Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Thick-billed Longspur is projected to fall about 36% by 2029 — from 0.34 in 2024 to a central estimate of 0.22 (95% range 0.13–0.30). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±30.8%, with 40% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.20 | 0.12 | 0.29 |
| 2026 | 0.21 | 0.12 | 0.29 |
| 2027 | 0.21 | 0.12 | 0.30 |
| 2028 | 0.21 | 0.13 | 0.30 |
| 2029 | 0.22 | 0.13 | 0.30 |
Where the Thick-billed Longspur Is Detected
BBS routes recording Thick-billed Longspur, sized by most recent count.
Thick-billed Longspur Population Trend by State
| Colorado | +60% | 1972 | 12 |
| Montana | +232% | 1970 | 35 |
| Nebraska | -77% | 1993 | 4 |
| North Dakota | -82% | 1971 | 3 |
| Wyoming | +192% | 1970 | 38 |
Thick-billed Longspur Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Northern Rockies | +1% | 1970 | 22 |
| Prairie Potholes | +371% | 1972 | 16 |
| Badlands and Prairies | 27× | 1969 | 33 |
| Shortgrass Prairie | +209% | 1970 | 19 |
Thick-billed Longspur Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it up about 1381% 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.