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 Trends

long arc declinecomputed index

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

long arc declinecomputed index

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

long arc declinecomputed index

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

long arc declinecomputed index

Long-billed Curlew has collapsed in California: down 95% on the route-weighted index since 1972.

long arc declinecomputed index

Ring-necked Pheasant has collapsed in California: down 91% on the route-weighted index since 1970.

long arc declinecomputed index

Loggerhead Shrike has collapsed in California: down 88% on the route-weighted index since 1970.

How Bird Guilds Are Faring in California

-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 Family

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.