BirdAnalyst
State · BBS 2025 Release · 1966–2024

California Breeding Birds

317 species recorded across 272 survey routes, 1968 to 2024. Browse by family or guild below.

California Bird Population TrendsNotable signalsLong-arc shifts the engine flags automatically — sustained declines or increases large enough to stand out from year-to-year noise.Full methodology →

long arc declinecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Common Murre has collapsed in California: down 98% on the route-weighted index since 1975.

long arc increasecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Eurasian Collared-Dove has surged in California: up 95× on the route-weighted index since 2006.

long arc declinecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

LeConte's Thrasher has collapsed in California: down 97% on the route-weighted index since 1970.

long arc increasecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

White-faced Ibis has surged in California: up 24× on the route-weighted index since 1981.

long arc declinecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Heermann's Gull has collapsed in California: down 95% on the route-weighted index since 1981.

long arc increasecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Gray Flycatcher has surged in California: up 13× on the route-weighted index since 1973.

How Bird Guilds Are Faring in CaliforniaGuild trendA mean-index aggregate across the species in this group — the structural direction of the guild, with individual-species noise smoothed out.Full methodology →

-94%

Seabirds

3 species
-73%

Grassland birds

7 species
-65%

Shorebirds

10 species
-46%

Wetland birds

39 species
-45%

Arid-land birds

20 species
-38%

Game birds

8 species
-32%

Generalists

16 species
-20%

Birds of prey

22 species
-18%

Aerial insectivores

24 species
+3%

Forest birds

94 species
+65%

Waterfowl

17 species

California Bird Survey Routes

Browse California Birds By FamilyTrendPercent change in the route-weighted abundance index between a smoothed baseline window and the most recent one. It tracks direction, not absolute population.Full methodology →

Each species links to its trend in California.

Hawks, Eagles & Kites Accipitridae

American Goshawk -37%Bald Eagle +895%Cooper's Hawk +11%Golden Eagle -44%Northern Harrier -71%Red-shouldered Hawk +521%Red-tailed Hawk +32%Sharp-shinned Hawk -57%Swainson's Hawk 24×White-tailed Kite -81%

Bushtits Aegithalidae

Bushtit -49%

Larks Alaudidae

Horned Lark -74%

Kingfishers Alcedinidae

Belted Kingfisher -13%

Auks, Murres & Puffins Alcidae

Common Murre -98%Marbled Murrelet +14%Pigeon Guillemot -87%

Ducks, Geese & Waterfowl Anatidae

American Wigeon -75%Blue-winged Teal +165%Bufflehead +112%Canada Goose +524%Canvasback -9%Cinnamon Teal -79%Common Merganser -53%Gadwall 11×Green-winged Teal +235%Lesser Scaup +24%Mallard +135%Northern Pintail -59%Northern Shoveler +20%Redhead +122%Ring-necked Duck +903%Ruddy Duck +42%Wood Duck +24%

Swifts Apodidae

Black Swift -30%Vaux's Swift -37%White-throated Swift -57%

Herons, Egrets & Bitterns Ardeidae

American Bittern -34%Black-crowned Night Heron +152%Great Blue Heron +19%Great Egret 43×Green Heron -10%Snowy Egret +95%Western Cattle-Egret +116%

Waxwings Bombycillidae

Cedar Waxwing -35%

Nightjars & Nighthawks Caprimulgidae

Common Nighthawk +214%Common Poorwill -43%Lesser Nighthawk -23%

Cardinals & Grosbeaks Cardinalidae

Black-headed Grosbeak -8%Blue Grosbeak +16%Indigo Bunting -22%Lazuli Bunting +7%Summer Tanager -22%Western Tanager +74%

New World Vultures Cathartidae

Turkey Vulture +85%

Treecreepers Certhiidae

Brown Creeper +308%

Plovers & Lapwings Charadriidae

Killdeer -32%Snowy Plover +106%

Dippers Cinclidae

American Dipper -32%

Pigeons & Doves Columbidae

Band-tailed Pigeon +66%Common Ground Dove -73%Eurasian Collared-Dove 95×Mourning Dove -19%Rock Pigeon +39%Spotted Dove -86%White-winged Dove +105%

Crows, Jays & Magpies Corvidae

American Crow +40%Black-billed Magpie +101%California Scrub-Jay -17%Canada Jay -42%Clark's Nutcracker -64%Common Raven +81%Pinyon Jay +84%Steller's Jay +9%Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay -8%Yellow-billed Magpie -40%

Cuckoos, Roadrunners & Anis Cuculidae

Greater Roadrunner -80%

Falcons & Caracaras Falconidae

American Kestrel -71%Peregrine Falcon +17%Prairie Falcon +17%

Finches Fringillidae

American Goldfinch -10%Cassin's Finch -50%Evening Grosbeak -49%House Finch -35%Lawrence's Goldfinch -9%Lesser Goldfinch +38%Pine Grosbeak -35%Pine Siskin -42%Purple Finch -23%Red Crossbill +126%

Cranes Gruidae

Sandhill Crane +51%

Oystercatchers Haematopodidae

Black Oystercatcher +44%

Swallows & Martins Hirundinidae

Bank Swallow +505%Barn Swallow +90%Cliff Swallow -14%Northern Rough-winged Swallow -54%Purple Martin -57%Tree Swallow +63%Violet-green Swallow -62%

Blackbirds & Orioles Icteridae

Brewer's Blackbird -70%Brown-headed Cowbird +35%Bullock's Oriole -44%Great-tailed Grackle 46×Hooded Oriole +368%Red-winged Blackbird -5%Scott's Oriole -86%Tricolored Blackbird -58%Western Meadowlark -57%Yellow-headed Blackbird -39%

Yellow-breasted Chat Icteriidae

Yellow-breasted Chat -3%

Shrikes Laniidae

Loggerhead Shrike -88%

Gulls, Terns & Skimmers Laridae

Black Tern -77%California Gull +26%Caspian Tern -33%Forster's Tern -60%Franklin's Gull +45%Glaucous-winged Gull -26%Heermann's Gull -95%Least Tern +26%Ring-billed Gull +8%Western Gull -84%

Mockingbirds & Thrashers Mimidae

Bendire's Thrasher -88%California Thrasher -4%Crissal Thrasher +0%LeConte's Thrasher -97%Northern Mockingbird +18%Sage Thrasher +286%

New World Quail Odontophoridae

California Quail +11%Gambel's Quail -66%Mountain Quail +49%

Osprey Pandionidae

Osprey +117%

Chickadees & Titmice Paridae

Black-capped Chickadee +119%Chestnut-backed Chickadee -46%Juniper Titmouse -61%Mountain Chickadee +42%Oak Titmouse +48%

Wood-Warblers Parulidae

Black-throated Gray Warbler +87%Common Yellowthroat +922%Hermit Warbler +446%Lucy's Warbler +101%MacGillivray's Warbler +219%Nashville Warbler +435%Orange-crowned Warbler +32%Wilson's Warbler -57%Yellow Warbler +7%

New World Sparrows Passerellidae

Abert's Towhee +57%Bell's Sparrow -21%Black-chinned Sparrow -68%Black-throated Sparrow -59%Brewer's Sparrow +138%California Towhee -1%Chipping Sparrow -57%Fox Sparrow +233%Grasshopper Sparrow +197%Green-tailed Towhee +110%Lark Sparrow -50%Lincoln's Sparrow -46%Rufous-crowned Sparrow +486%Sagebrush Sparrow -62%Savannah Sparrow +65%Song Sparrow +29%Spotted Towhee +26%Vesper Sparrow +638%White-crowned Sparrow -62%

Old World Sparrows Passeridae

House Sparrow -55%

Pelicans Pelecanidae

American White Pelican +213%Brown Pelican +525%

Cormorants Phalacrocoracidae

Brandt's Cormorant +109%Double-crested Cormorant +69%Pelagic Cormorant -74%

Pheasants, Grouse & Turkeys Phasianidae

Chukar +548%Greater Sage-Grouse +397%Ring-necked Pheasant -91%Sooty Grouse +62%Wild Turkey 37×

Woodpeckers Picidae

Acorn Woodpecker +54%Black-backed Woodpecker +177%Downy Woodpecker +33%Gila Woodpecker +144%Hairy Woodpecker +134%Ladder-backed Woodpecker +18%Lewis's Woodpecker -75%Nuttall's Woodpecker +49%Pileated Woodpecker +177%Red-breasted Sapsucker +150%White-headed Woodpecker +117%Williamson's Sapsucker +40%

Grebes Podicipedidae

Clark's Grebe -34%Eared Grebe +83%Pied-billed Grebe +3%Western Grebe -80%

Gnatcatchers Polioptilidae

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher -74%Blue-gray Gnatcatcher +532%California Gnatcatcher +58%

Silky-flycatchers Ptiliogonatidae

Phainopepla +17%

Rails, Gallinules & Coots Rallidae

American Coot +23%Common Gallinule -82%Ridgway's Rail -30%Sora +94%Virginia Rail +64%

Avocets & Stilts Recurvirostridae

American Avocet -20%Black-necked Stilt -87%

Kinglets Regulidae

Golden-crowned Kinglet +592%Ruby-crowned Kinglet -75%

Penduline Tits Remizidae

Verdin -66%

Sandpipers & Allies Scolopacidae

Long-billed Curlew -95%Spotted Sandpiper -50%Willet -43%Wilson's Phalarope -8%Wilson's Snipe +11%

Nuthatches Sittidae

Pygmy Nuthatch -65%Red-breasted Nuthatch +347%White-breasted Nuthatch +66%

Owls Strigidae

Burrowing Owl -85%Great Horned Owl +193%Northern Pygmy-Owl -36%Short-eared Owl +74%Spotted Owl -62%Western Screech-Owl +24%

Starlings & Mynas Sturnidae

European Starling +34%

Sylviid Warblers Sylviidae

Wrentit -22%

Ibises & Spoonbills Threskiornithidae

White-faced Ibis 24×

Hummingbirds Trochilidae

Allen's Hummingbird -27%Anna's Hummingbird +145%Black-chinned Hummingbird -52%Broad-tailed Hummingbird -21%Calliope Hummingbird -43%Costa's Hummingbird +6%Rufous Hummingbird +27%

Wrens Troglodytidae

Bewick's Wren +14%Cactus Wren -82%Canyon Wren +4%Marsh Wren +811%Northern House Wren +24%Pacific Wren +353%Rock Wren +46%

Thrushes Turdidae

American Robin +33%Hermit Thrush +11%Mountain Bluebird -31%Swainson's Thrush -19%Townsend's Solitaire +11%Varied Thrush -65%Western Bluebird -18%

Tyrant Flycatchers Tyrannidae

Ash-throated Flycatcher +59%Black Phoebe +283%Cassin's Kingbird +223%Dusky Flycatcher +245%Gray Flycatcher 13×Hammond's Flycatcher +493%Olive-sided Flycatcher -56%Say's Phoebe +66%Western Kingbird +7%Western Wood-Pewee -22%Willow Flycatcher -52%

Barn-Owls Tytonidae

American Barn Owl -45%

Vireos Vireonidae

Bell's Vireo +725%Cassin's Vireo +287%Gray Vireo -83%Hutton's Vireo +17%Plumbeous Vireo -63%Warbling Vireo +34%

Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22.