BirdAnalyst
State · BBS 2025 Release · 1966–2024

Pennsylvania Breeding Birds

188 species recorded across 138 survey routes, 1966 to 2024. Browse by family or guild below.

Pennsylvania 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 →

Northern Bobwhite has collapsed in Pennsylvania: down 99% on the route-weighted index since 1968.

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 →

Canada Goose has surged in Pennsylvania: up 75× on the route-weighted index since 1970.

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 Pennsylvania: down 99% on the route-weighted index since 1968.

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 →

House Finch has surged in Pennsylvania: up 70× on the route-weighted index since 1973.

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 →

Vesper Sparrow has collapsed in Pennsylvania: down 96% on the route-weighted index since 1968.

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 →

Red-bellied Woodpecker has surged in Pennsylvania: up 45× on the route-weighted index since 1968.

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

-89%

Game birds

4 species
-72%

Grassland birds

8 species
-68%

Wetland birds

12 species
-54%

Generalists

11 species
-11%

Aerial insectivores

17 species
-10%

Shorebirds

3 species
+30%

Forest birds

78 species
+169%

Birds of prey

15 species
+380%

Waterfowl

7 species

Pennsylvania Bird Survey Routes

Browse Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania.

Hawks, Eagles & Kites Accipitridae

American Goshawk -61%Bald Eagle +618%Broad-winged Hawk +52%Cooper's Hawk +366%Northern Harrier -29%Red-shouldered Hawk +344%Red-tailed Hawk +520%Sharp-shinned Hawk -48%

Larks Alaudidae

Horned Lark -62%

Kingfishers Alcedinidae

Belted Kingfisher -52%

Ducks, Geese & Waterfowl Anatidae

American Black Duck -75%Canada Goose 75×Common Merganser +935%Hooded Merganser -4%Mallard +1%Mute Swan +47%Wood Duck +111%

Swifts Apodidae

Chimney Swift -36%

Herons, Egrets & Bitterns Ardeidae

American Bittern -66%Black-crowned Night Heron -46%Great Blue Heron +343%Great Egret -2%Green Heron -54%Western Cattle-Egret +59%

Waxwings Bombycillidae

Cedar Waxwing +348%

Nightjars & Nighthawks Caprimulgidae

Common Nighthawk -73%Eastern Whip-poor-will -40%

Cardinals & Grosbeaks Cardinalidae

Blue Grosbeak -77%Indigo Bunting +15%Northern Cardinal +80%Rose-breasted Grosbeak +62%Scarlet Tanager +65%Summer Tanager -53%

New World Vultures Cathartidae

Black Vulture +490%Turkey Vulture +337%

Treecreepers Certhiidae

Brown Creeper +682%

Plovers & Lapwings Charadriidae

Killdeer -3%

Pigeons & Doves Columbidae

Mourning Dove +108%Rock Pigeon -62%

Crows, Jays & Magpies Corvidae

American Crow -6%Blue Jay +37%Common Raven 21×Fish Crow +172%

Cuckoos, Roadrunners & Anis Cuculidae

Black-billed Cuckoo -73%Yellow-billed Cuckoo +49%

Falcons & Caracaras Falconidae

American Kestrel +85%

Finches Fringillidae

American Goldfinch -25%House Finch 70×Purple Finch -45%

Swallows & Martins Hirundinidae

Bank Swallow -85%Barn Swallow -21%Cliff Swallow -36%Northern Rough-winged Swallow +84%Purple Martin -58%Tree Swallow +198%

Blackbirds & Orioles Icteridae

Baltimore Oriole -43%Bobolink -36%Brown-headed Cowbird -38%Common Grackle -75%Eastern Meadowlark -88%Orchard Oriole +252%Red-winged Blackbird -63%

Yellow-breasted Chat Icteriidae

Yellow-breasted Chat -95%

Gulls, Terns & Skimmers Laridae

Ring-billed Gull -7%

Mockingbirds & Thrashers Mimidae

Brown Thrasher -35%Gray Catbird +87%Northern Mockingbird +32%

New World Quail Odontophoridae

Northern Bobwhite -99%

Osprey Pandionidae

Osprey +481%

Chickadees & Titmice Paridae

Black-capped Chickadee +158%Carolina Chickadee +763%Tufted Titmouse +137%

Wood-Warblers Parulidae

American Redstart +143%Black-and-white Warbler +246%Black-throated Blue Warbler 18×Black-throated Green Warbler 24×Blackburnian Warbler +774%Blue-winged Warbler -9%Canada Warbler +46%Cerulean Warbler -1%Chestnut-sided Warbler +107%Common Yellowthroat +44%Golden-winged Warbler -96%Hooded Warbler +720%Kentucky Warbler -90%Louisiana Waterthrush +364%Magnolia Warbler +628%Mourning Warbler -14%Nashville Warbler -68%Northern Parula +170%Northern Waterthrush -61%Ovenbird +520%Pine Warbler +904%Prairie Warbler -14%Prothonotary Warbler -25%Worm-eating Warbler +142%Yellow Warbler +26%Yellow-throated Warbler +64%

New World Sparrows Passerellidae

Chipping Sparrow +1%Eastern Towhee -9%Field Sparrow -62%Grasshopper Sparrow -87%Henslow's Sparrow -94%Savannah Sparrow -70%Song Sparrow +9%Swamp Sparrow +57%Vesper Sparrow -96%White-throated Sparrow -94%

Old World Sparrows Passeridae

House Sparrow -72%

Cormorants Phalacrocoracidae

Double-crested Cormorant -1%

Pheasants, Grouse & Turkeys Phasianidae

Ring-necked Pheasant -99%Ruffed Grouse -82%Wild Turkey 11×

Woodpeckers Picidae

Downy Woodpecker +76%Hairy Woodpecker +79%Pileated Woodpecker +440%Red-bellied Woodpecker 45×Red-headed Woodpecker +51%Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 44×

Grebes Podicipedidae

Pied-billed Grebe -60%

Gnatcatchers Polioptilidae

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher +204%

Kinglets Regulidae

Golden-crowned Kinglet -17%

Sandpipers & Allies Scolopacidae

American Woodcock -40%Spotted Sandpiper -93%Upland Sandpiper -95%

Nuthatches Sittidae

Red-breasted Nuthatch +269%White-breasted Nuthatch +277%

Owls Strigidae

Barred Owl +122%Eastern Screech-Owl -72%Great Horned Owl -36%

Starlings & Mynas Sturnidae

European Starling -38%

Hummingbirds Trochilidae

Ruby-throated Hummingbird +404%

Wrens Troglodytidae

Carolina Wren 32×Marsh Wren -73%Northern House Wren +4%Winter Wren 13×

Thrushes Turdidae

American Robin -7%Eastern Bluebird +263%Hermit Thrush +170%Swainson's Thrush -29%Veery +93%Wood Thrush -25%

Tyrant Flycatchers Tyrannidae

Acadian Flycatcher +257%Alder Flycatcher +287%Eastern Kingbird +15%Eastern Phoebe +36%Eastern Wood-Pewee +101%Great Crested Flycatcher -39%Least Flycatcher -41%Willow Flycatcher +96%

Vireos Vireonidae

Blue-headed Vireo 63×Red-eyed Vireo +212%Warbling Vireo +181%White-eyed Vireo +65%Yellow-throated Vireo +290%

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