BirdAnalyst
State · BBS 2026 Release · 1966–2025

Colorado Breeding Birds

261 species recorded across 159 survey routes, 1968 to 2025. 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 →

White-faced Ibis has collapsed in Colorado: down 96% on the route-weighted index since 1991.

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 140× 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 →

Chestnut-collared Longspur has collapsed in Colorado: down 96% 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 →

American White Pelican has surged in Colorado: up 37× 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 →

Ring-necked Pheasant 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 →

Eurasian Collared-Dove has surged in Colorado: up 27× 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
-75%

Wetland birds

23 species
-66%

Grassland birds

15 species
-65%

Shorebirds

8 species
-41%

Birds of prey

19 species
-41%

Generalists

14 species
-21%

Waterfowl

14 species
-21%

Aerial insectivores

23 species
-20%

Arid-land birds

7 species
+20%

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 -59%Bald Eagle +70%Cooper's Hawk -18%Ferruginous Hawk -66%Golden Eagle -13%Northern Harrier -82%Red-tailed Hawk +381%Sharp-shinned Hawk -67%Swainson's Hawk +47%

Bushtits Aegithalidae

Bushtit +341%

Larks Alaudidae

Horned Lark -51%

Kingfishers Alcedinidae

Belted Kingfisher -70%

Ducks, Geese & Waterfowl Anatidae

American Wigeon -10%Blue-winged Teal +30%Canada Goose +219%Cinnamon Teal -23%Common Merganser +221%Gadwall +99%Green-winged Teal -42%Lesser Scaup +356%Mallard -15%Northern Pintail -87%Northern Shoveler +65%Redhead -20%Ring-necked Duck -49%Ruddy Duck +60%

Swifts Apodidae

Chimney Swift -87%White-throated Swift +370%

Herons, Egrets & Bitterns Ardeidae

American Bittern -79%Black-crowned Night Heron -95%Great Blue Heron +241%Snowy Egret -83%

Waxwings Bombycillidae

Cedar Waxwing +315%

Longspurs & Snow Buntings Calcariidae

Chestnut-collared Longspur -96%Thick-billed Longspur +41%

Nightjars & Nighthawks Caprimulgidae

Common Nighthawk +67%Common Poorwill -23%

Cardinals & Grosbeaks Cardinalidae

Black-headed Grosbeak +263%Blue Grosbeak +76%Dickcissel +896%Indigo Bunting -64%Lazuli Bunting +289%Western Tanager +133%

New World Vultures Cathartidae

Turkey Vulture +434%

Treecreepers Certhiidae

Brown Creeper -22%

Plovers & Lapwings Charadriidae

Killdeer -64%Mountain Plover -95%

Dippers Cinclidae

American Dipper -54%

Pigeons & Doves Columbidae

Band-tailed Pigeon -93%Eurasian Collared-Dove 27×Mourning Dove -18%Rock Pigeon -17%

Crows, Jays & Magpies Corvidae

American Crow -26%Black-billed Magpie -48%Blue Jay +34%Canada Jay +35%Chihuahuan Raven +461%Clark's Nutcracker 21×Common Raven +716%Pinyon Jay +355%Steller's Jay -23%Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay +90%

Cuckoos, Roadrunners & Anis Cuculidae

Greater Roadrunner -70%Yellow-billed Cuckoo -89%

Falcons & Caracaras Falconidae

American Kestrel -31%Peregrine Falcon +118%Prairie Falcon -65%

Finches Fringillidae

American Goldfinch +192%Cassin's Finch +488%Evening Grosbeak +15%House Finch +76%Lesser Goldfinch +290%Pine Grosbeak +12%Pine Siskin +30%Red Crossbill +135%

Cranes Gruidae

Sandhill Crane +138%

Swallows & Martins Hirundinidae

Bank Swallow -46%Barn Swallow -47%Cliff Swallow -35%Northern Rough-winged Swallow -30%Purple Martin +28%Tree Swallow +22%Violet-green Swallow +70%

Blackbirds & Orioles Icteridae

Baltimore Oriole -74%Bobolink -89%Brewer's Blackbird -58%Brown-headed Cowbird +415%Bullock's Oriole +140%Common Grackle +193%Great-tailed Grackle +239%Orchard Oriole -4%Red-winged Blackbird -32%Western Meadowlark -48%Yellow-headed Blackbird +345%

Yellow-breasted Chat Icteriidae

Yellow-breasted Chat -7%

Shrikes Laniidae

Loggerhead Shrike -73%

Gulls, Terns & Skimmers Laridae

Black Tern -6%California Gull 140×Forster's Tern -77%Ring-billed Gull +46%

Mockingbirds & Thrashers Mimidae

Brown Thrasher -81%Curve-billed Thrasher +29%Gray Catbird -11%Northern Mockingbird +128%Sage Thrasher +735%

Wagtails & Pipits Motacillidae

American Pipit +221%

New World Quail Odontophoridae

Gambel's Quail +167%Northern Bobwhite -50%Scaled Quail -67%

Osprey Pandionidae

Osprey +393%

Chickadees & Titmice Paridae

Black-capped Chickadee +81%Juniper Titmouse -37%Mountain Chickadee +111%

Wood-Warblers Parulidae

Black-throated Gray Warbler +206%Common Yellowthroat +192%Grace's Warbler +185%MacGillivray's Warbler +19%Orange-crowned Warbler +532%Virginia's Warbler +356%Wilson's Warbler -23%Yellow Warbler -5%

New World Sparrows Passerellidae

Black-throated Sparrow -0%Brewer's Sparrow +93%Canyon Towhee -51%Cassin's Sparrow +263%Chipping Sparrow +172%Fox Sparrow +433%Grasshopper Sparrow -58%Green-tailed Towhee +68%Lark Bunting -80%Lark Sparrow +177%Lincoln's Sparrow +150%Sagebrush Sparrow +26%Savannah Sparrow +37%Song Sparrow -7%Spotted Towhee 20×Vesper Sparrow 17×White-crowned Sparrow +557%

Old World Sparrows Passeridae

House Sparrow -75%

Pelicans Pelecanidae

American White Pelican 37×

Cormorants Phalacrocoracidae

Double-crested Cormorant 18×

Pheasants, Grouse & Turkeys Phasianidae

Chukar -66%Dusky Grouse -61%Greater Prairie-Chicken +81%Greater Sage-Grouse -89%Gunnison Sage-Grouse -34%Ring-necked Pheasant -96%Wild Turkey +655%

Woodpeckers Picidae

American Three-toed Woodpecker -10%Downy Woodpecker -42%Hairy Woodpecker +241%Ladder-backed Woodpecker -34%Lewis's Woodpecker -14%Red-headed Woodpecker -48%Red-naped Sapsucker +243%Williamson's Sapsucker +143%

Grebes Podicipedidae

Eared Grebe -3%Pied-billed Grebe -67%Western Grebe +2%

Gnatcatchers Polioptilidae

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher +651%

Rails, Gallinules & Coots Rallidae

American Coot -38%Sora +102%Virginia Rail -76%

Avocets & Stilts Recurvirostridae

American Avocet -28%Black-necked Stilt -26%

Kinglets Regulidae

Golden-crowned Kinglet -14%Ruby-crowned Kinglet +763%

Sandpipers & Allies Scolopacidae

Long-billed Curlew -92%Spotted Sandpiper -17%Upland Sandpiper -94%Wilson's Phalarope -76%Wilson's Snipe +68%

Nuthatches Sittidae

Pygmy Nuthatch -32%Red-breasted Nuthatch +452%White-breasted Nuthatch +222%

Owls Strigidae

Burrowing Owl -45%Great Horned Owl -59%Northern Pygmy-Owl -5%Short-eared Owl -57%

Starlings & Mynas Sturnidae

European Starling +27%

Ibises & Spoonbills Threskiornithidae

White-faced Ibis -96%

Hummingbirds Trochilidae

Black-chinned Hummingbird +60%Broad-tailed Hummingbird -1%

Wrens Troglodytidae

Bewick's Wren +122%Canyon Wren -30%Marsh Wren -69%Northern House Wren +67%Rock Wren +266%

Thrushes Turdidae

American Robin +17%Eastern Bluebird -74%Hermit Thrush +247%Mountain Bluebird +166%Swainson's Thrush +255%Townsend's Solitaire +89%Veery -88%Western Bluebird +71%

Tyrant Flycatchers Tyrannidae

Ash-throated Flycatcher +900%Cassin's Kingbird +13%Dusky Flycatcher +590%Eastern Kingbird -70%Eastern Phoebe -9%Gray Flycatcher +455%Hammond's Flycatcher +571%Olive-sided Flycatcher -40%Say's Phoebe +26%Western Kingbird -8%Western Wood-Pewee +41%Willow Flycatcher -61%

Barn-Owls Tytonidae

American Barn Owl -27%

Vireos Vireonidae

Gray Vireo +323%Plumbeous Vireo +50%Warbling Vireo +353%

Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-08-14.