BirdAnalyst
State · BBS 2025 Release · 1966–2024

Colorado Breeding Birds

257 species recorded across 158 survey routes, 1968 to 2024. Browse by family or guild below.

Colorado 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 →

Mountain Plover has collapsed in Colorado: down 96% 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 →

California Gull has surged in Colorado: up 148× on the route-weighted index since 1986.

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 →

Ring-necked Pheasant has collapsed in Colorado: down 95% 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 →

American White Pelican has surged in Colorado: up 33× on the route-weighted index since 1991.

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 →

Chestnut-collared Longspur has collapsed in Colorado: down 95% on the route-weighted index since 1977.

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 Colorado: up 26× on the route-weighted index since 2005.

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

-97%

Game birds

10 species
-74%

Wetland birds

23 species
-67%

Grassland birds

15 species
-63%

Shorebirds

8 species
-43%

Generalists

14 species
-42%

Birds of prey

18 species
-24%

Aerial insectivores

23 species
-10%

Arid-land birds

7 species
-2%

Waterfowl

14 species
+18%

Forest birds

79 species

Colorado Bird Survey Routes

Browse Colorado 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 Colorado.

Hawks, Eagles & Kites Accipitridae

American Goshawk -60%Bald Eagle +40%Cooper's Hawk -21%Ferruginous Hawk -58%Golden Eagle -16%Northern Harrier -83%Red-tailed Hawk +372%Sharp-shinned Hawk -70%Swainson's Hawk +44%

Bushtits Aegithalidae

Bushtit +261%

Larks Alaudidae

Horned Lark -50%

Kingfishers Alcedinidae

Belted Kingfisher -76%

Ducks, Geese & Waterfowl Anatidae

American Wigeon -5%Blue-winged Teal +17%Canada Goose +329%Cinnamon Teal -32%Common Merganser +232%Gadwall +128%Green-winged Teal -36%Lesser Scaup +568%Mallard -11%Northern Pintail -91%Northern Shoveler +42%Redhead -17%Ring-necked Duck -47%Ruddy Duck +120%

Swifts Apodidae

Chimney Swift -82%White-throated Swift +244%

Herons, Egrets & Bitterns Ardeidae

American Bittern -81%Black-crowned Night Heron -94%Great Blue Heron +219%Snowy Egret -65%

Waxwings Bombycillidae

Cedar Waxwing +371%

Longspurs & Snow Buntings Calcariidae

Chestnut-collared Longspur -95%Thick-billed Longspur +60%

Nightjars & Nighthawks Caprimulgidae

Common Nighthawk +83%Common Poorwill -16%

Cardinals & Grosbeaks Cardinalidae

Black-headed Grosbeak +216%Blue Grosbeak +74%Dickcissel +434%Indigo Bunting -64%Lazuli Bunting +340%Western Tanager +122%

New World Vultures Cathartidae

Turkey Vulture +359%

Treecreepers Certhiidae

Brown Creeper -29%

Plovers & Lapwings Charadriidae

Killdeer -66%Mountain Plover -96%

Dippers Cinclidae

American Dipper -46%

Pigeons & Doves Columbidae

Band-tailed Pigeon -94%Eurasian Collared-Dove 26×Mourning Dove -21%Rock Pigeon -35%

Crows, Jays & Magpies Corvidae

American Crow -25%Black-billed Magpie -46%Blue Jay +27%Canada Jay +47%Chihuahuan Raven +285%Clark's Nutcracker 20×Common Raven +717%Pinyon Jay +260%Steller's Jay -26%Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay +110%

Cuckoos, Roadrunners & Anis Cuculidae

Greater Roadrunner -76%Yellow-billed Cuckoo -77%

Falcons & Caracaras Falconidae

American Kestrel -29%Peregrine Falcon +257%Prairie Falcon -67%

Finches Fringillidae

American Goldfinch +186%Cassin's Finch +514%Evening Grosbeak +43%House Finch +64%Lesser Goldfinch +313%Pine Grosbeak +26%Pine Siskin +10%Red Crossbill +161%

Cranes Gruidae

Sandhill Crane +165%

Swallows & Martins Hirundinidae

Bank Swallow -54%Barn Swallow -47%Cliff Swallow -32%Northern Rough-winged Swallow -43%Purple Martin +15%Tree Swallow +40%Violet-green Swallow +46%

Blackbirds & Orioles Icteridae

Baltimore Oriole -74%Bobolink -80%Brewer's Blackbird -55%Brown-headed Cowbird +391%Bullock's Oriole +121%Common Grackle +176%Great-tailed Grackle +239%Orchard Oriole -8%Red-winged Blackbird -31%Western Meadowlark -47%Yellow-headed Blackbird +353%

Yellow-breasted Chat Icteriidae

Yellow-breasted Chat +3%

Shrikes Laniidae

Loggerhead Shrike -69%

Gulls, Terns & Skimmers Laridae

Black Tern -6%California Gull 148×Forster's Tern -77%Ring-billed Gull +59%

Mockingbirds & Thrashers Mimidae

Brown Thrasher -81%Curve-billed Thrasher +46%Gray Catbird -23%Northern Mockingbird +207%Sage Thrasher +798%

Wagtails & Pipits Motacillidae

American Pipit +311%

New World Quail Odontophoridae

Gambel's Quail +135%Northern Bobwhite -75%Scaled Quail -65%

Osprey Pandionidae

Osprey +247%

Chickadees & Titmice Paridae

Black-capped Chickadee +84%Juniper Titmouse -42%Mountain Chickadee +119%

Wood-Warblers Parulidae

Black-throated Gray Warbler +215%Common Yellowthroat +168%Grace's Warbler +151%MacGillivray's Warbler +8%Orange-crowned Warbler +416%Virginia's Warbler +321%Wilson's Warbler -8%Yellow Warbler -9%

New World Sparrows Passerellidae

Black-throated Sparrow +37%Brewer's Sparrow +103%Canyon Towhee -41%Cassin's Sparrow +215%Chipping Sparrow +152%Fox Sparrow +395%Grasshopper Sparrow -63%Green-tailed Towhee +69%Lark Bunting -86%Lark Sparrow +207%Lincoln's Sparrow +141%Sagebrush Sparrow +40%Savannah Sparrow +49%Song Sparrow -13%Spotted Towhee 19×Vesper Sparrow 19×White-crowned Sparrow +440%

Old World Sparrows Passeridae

House Sparrow -76%

Pelicans Pelecanidae

American White Pelican 33×

Cormorants Phalacrocoracidae

Double-crested Cormorant 19×

Pheasants, Grouse & Turkeys Phasianidae

Chukar -66%Dusky Grouse -78%Greater Prairie-Chicken +81%Greater Sage-Grouse -84%Gunnison Sage-Grouse -77%Ring-necked Pheasant -95%Wild Turkey +779%

Woodpeckers Picidae

American Three-toed Woodpecker +8%Downy Woodpecker -47%Hairy Woodpecker +251%Ladder-backed Woodpecker -34%Lewis's Woodpecker -46%Red-headed Woodpecker -47%Red-naped Sapsucker +211%Williamson's Sapsucker +164%

Grebes Podicipedidae

Eared Grebe +15%Pied-billed Grebe -27%Western Grebe +3%

Gnatcatchers Polioptilidae

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher +647%

Rails, Gallinules & Coots Rallidae

American Coot -7%Sora +77%Virginia Rail -73%

Avocets & Stilts Recurvirostridae

American Avocet +5%Black-necked Stilt -9%

Kinglets Regulidae

Golden-crowned Kinglet -20%Ruby-crowned Kinglet +823%

Sandpipers & Allies Scolopacidae

Long-billed Curlew -92%Spotted Sandpiper -25%Upland Sandpiper -94%Wilson's Phalarope -74%Wilson's Snipe +87%

Nuthatches Sittidae

Pygmy Nuthatch -27%Red-breasted Nuthatch +440%White-breasted Nuthatch +210%

Owls Strigidae

Burrowing Owl -59%Great Horned Owl -51%Northern Pygmy-Owl -5%Short-eared Owl -69%

Starlings & Mynas Sturnidae

European Starling +20%

Ibises & Spoonbills Threskiornithidae

White-faced Ibis -94%

Hummingbirds Trochilidae

Black-chinned Hummingbird +68%Broad-tailed Hummingbird -5%

Wrens Troglodytidae

Bewick's Wren +92%Canyon Wren -35%Marsh Wren -66%Northern House Wren +69%Rock Wren +252%

Thrushes Turdidae

American Robin +20%Eastern Bluebird -74%Hermit Thrush +277%Mountain Bluebird +166%Swainson's Thrush +200%Townsend's Solitaire +93%Veery -87%Western Bluebird +52%

Tyrant Flycatchers Tyrannidae

Ash-throated Flycatcher +839%Cassin's Kingbird -8%Dusky Flycatcher +557%Eastern Kingbird -75%Eastern Phoebe -9%Gray Flycatcher +435%Hammond's Flycatcher +390%Olive-sided Flycatcher -40%Say's Phoebe +30%Western Kingbird -7%Western Wood-Pewee +25%Willow Flycatcher -61%

Vireos Vireonidae

Gray Vireo +374%Plumbeous Vireo +41%Warbling Vireo +332%

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