BirdAnalyst
State · BBS 2025 Release · 1966–2024

North Dakota Breeding Birds

208 species recorded across 51 survey routes, 1967 to 2024. Browse by family or guild below.

North Dakota Bird Population Trends

long arc declinecomputed index

Lark Bunting has collapsed in North Dakota: down 99% on the route-weighted index since 1969.

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Baird's Sparrow has collapsed in North Dakota: down 95% on the route-weighted index since 1969.

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Short-eared Owl has collapsed in North Dakota: down 94% on the route-weighted index since 1972.

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Sprague's Pipit has collapsed in North Dakota: down 86% on the route-weighted index since 1969.

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Chestnut-collared Longspur has collapsed in North Dakota: down 82% on the route-weighted index since 1969.

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Thick-billed Longspur has collapsed in North Dakota: down 82% on the route-weighted index since 1971.

How Bird Guilds Are Faring in North Dakota

-48%

Grassland birds

18 species
+1%

Birds of prey

15 species
+31%

Wetland birds

28 species
+56%

Generalists

12 species
+88%

Forest birds

43 species
+89%

Aerial insectivores

18 species
+103%

Shorebirds

8 species
+321%

Waterfowl

16 species
+487%

Game birds

4 species

North Dakota Bird Survey Routes

Browse North Dakota Birds By Family

Each species links to its trend in North Dakota.

Hawks, Eagles & Kites Accipitridae

Bald Eagle +402%Cooper's Hawk +11%Ferruginous Hawk +4%Golden Eagle -33%Northern Harrier -18%Red-tailed Hawk +210%Sharp-shinned Hawk +57%Swainson's Hawk +114%

Larks Alaudidae

Horned Lark -32%

Kingfishers Alcedinidae

Belted Kingfisher -53%

Ducks, Geese & Waterfowl Anatidae

American Wigeon -39%Blue-winged Teal +173%Bufflehead 11×Canada Goose 704×Canvasback +254%Gadwall +267%Green-winged Teal +160%Hooded Merganser 11×Lesser Scaup +927%Mallard +317%Northern Pintail +26%Northern Shoveler +500%Redhead +755%Ring-necked Duck +443%Ruddy Duck +240%Wood Duck +518%

Swifts Apodidae

Chimney Swift -46%

Herons, Egrets & Bitterns Ardeidae

American Bittern +104%Black-crowned Night Heron +11%Great Blue Heron +224%Great Egret +363%Western Cattle-Egret +734%

Waxwings Bombycillidae

Cedar Waxwing +173%

Longspurs & Snow Buntings Calcariidae

Chestnut-collared Longspur -82%Thick-billed Longspur -82%

Nightjars & Nighthawks Caprimulgidae

Common Nighthawk +92%

Cardinals & Grosbeaks Cardinalidae

Black-headed Grosbeak +352%Blue Grosbeak +146%Dickcissel -53%Indigo Bunting +10%Lazuli Bunting -66%Rose-breasted Grosbeak +242%

New World Vultures Cathartidae

Turkey Vulture +149%

Plovers & Lapwings Charadriidae

Killdeer +73%

Pigeons & Doves Columbidae

Eurasian Collared-Dove 16×Mourning Dove +70%Rock Pigeon +327%

Crows, Jays & Magpies Corvidae

American Crow -38%Black-billed Magpie -33%Blue Jay +207%Common Raven +578%

Cuckoos, Roadrunners & Anis Cuculidae

Black-billed Cuckoo -68%

Falcons & Caracaras Falconidae

American Kestrel -21%Merlin +169%Prairie Falcon -52%

Finches Fringillidae

American Goldfinch +5%House Finch -30%Pine Siskin +118%

Swallows & Martins Hirundinidae

Bank Swallow -0%Barn Swallow +2%Cliff Swallow +203%Northern Rough-winged Swallow +109%Purple Martin +241%Tree Swallow +952%

Blackbirds & Orioles Icteridae

Baltimore Oriole +5%Bobolink +24%Brewer's Blackbird +207%Brown-headed Cowbird +82%Bullock's Oriole +36%Common Grackle +477%Orchard Oriole +798%Red-winged Blackbird +72%Western Meadowlark -38%Yellow-headed Blackbird +410%

Yellow-breasted Chat Icteriidae

Yellow-breasted Chat -76%

Shrikes Laniidae

Loggerhead Shrike -68%

Gulls, Terns & Skimmers Laridae

Black Tern +69%California Gull +59%Common Tern +174%Forster's Tern 11×Franklin's Gull +452%Ring-billed Gull +855%

Mockingbirds & Thrashers Mimidae

Brown Thrasher -44%Gray Catbird +42%

Wagtails & Pipits Motacillidae

Sprague's Pipit -86%

Chickadees & Titmice Paridae

Black-capped Chickadee -13%

Wood-Warblers Parulidae

American Redstart +356%Black-and-white Warbler +925%Common Yellowthroat +63%Ovenbird -53%Yellow Warbler +240%

New World Sparrows Passerellidae

Baird's Sparrow -95%Chipping Sparrow +616%Clay-colored Sparrow +34%Field Sparrow -49%Grasshopper Sparrow -34%Lark Bunting -99%Lark Sparrow +348%LeConte's Sparrow -78%Nelson's Sparrow +289%Savannah Sparrow -16%Song Sparrow +256%Spotted Towhee -58%Swamp Sparrow +708%Vesper Sparrow +27%

Old World Sparrows Passeridae

House Sparrow -33%

Pelicans Pelecanidae

American White Pelican +250%

Cormorants Phalacrocoracidae

Double-crested Cormorant +686%

Pheasants, Grouse & Turkeys Phasianidae

Gray Partridge +189%Ring-necked Pheasant 11×Sharp-tailed Grouse +12%Wild Turkey +476%

Woodpeckers Picidae

Downy Woodpecker +129%Hairy Woodpecker +190%Pileated Woodpecker +275%Red-headed Woodpecker -30%Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 13×

Grebes Podicipedidae

Eared Grebe 35×Horned Grebe -32%Pied-billed Grebe +143%Red-necked Grebe 26×Western Grebe +149%

Rails, Gallinules & Coots Rallidae

American Coot -32%Sora +231%Virginia Rail +123%Yellow Rail +3%

Avocets & Stilts Recurvirostridae

American Avocet +317%

Sandpipers & Allies Scolopacidae

Long-billed Curlew +24%Marbled Godwit +51%Spotted Sandpiper +380%Upland Sandpiper +143%Willet +101%Wilson's Phalarope +47%Wilson's Snipe 35×

Nuthatches Sittidae

White-breasted Nuthatch +300%

Owls Strigidae

Burrowing Owl -70%Great Horned Owl -7%Short-eared Owl -94%

Starlings & Mynas Sturnidae

European Starling +20%

Ibises & Spoonbills Threskiornithidae

White-faced Ibis +238%

Hummingbirds Trochilidae

Ruby-throated Hummingbird +1%

Wrens Troglodytidae

Marsh Wren +924%Northern House Wren +98%Rock Wren +142%Sedge Wren +568%

Thrushes Turdidae

American Robin +257%Eastern Bluebird +28%Mountain Bluebird +317%Veery +9%

Tyrant Flycatchers Tyrannidae

Alder Flycatcher -1%Eastern Kingbird +70%Eastern Phoebe +78%Eastern Wood-Pewee +161%Great Crested Flycatcher +202%Least Flycatcher +257%Say's Phoebe +385%Western Kingbird +55%Western Wood-Pewee +2%Willow Flycatcher +171%

Vireos Vireonidae

Red-eyed Vireo +428%Warbling Vireo +333%Yellow-throated Vireo +191%

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