BirdAnalyst
State · BBS 2025 Release · 1966–2024

South Dakota Breeding Birds

223 species recorded across 65 survey routes, 1967 to 2024. Browse by family or guild below.

South Dakota 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 →

Black-billed Cuckoo has collapsed in South Dakota: down 94% on the route-weighted index since 1969.

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 South Dakota: up 45× on the route-weighted index since 1972.

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 →

Eastern Meadowlark has collapsed in South Dakota: down 92% on the route-weighted index since 1996.

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 →

Eared Grebe has surged in South Dakota: up 24× on the route-weighted index since 1971.

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 →

Pine Siskin has collapsed in South Dakota: down 90% on the route-weighted index since 1969.

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 South Dakota: up 18× on the route-weighted index since 2010.

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

-59%

Game birds

6 species
-44%

Grassland birds

17 species
-38%

Wetland birds

24 species
-34%

Generalists

12 species
-20%

Arid-land birds

1 species
-16%

Shorebirds

8 species
-15%

Birds of prey

16 species
-1%

Waterfowl

14 species
+19%

Aerial insectivores

20 species
+45%

Forest birds

60 species

South Dakota Bird Survey Routes

Browse South Dakota 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 South Dakota.

Hawks, Eagles & Kites Accipitridae

Bald Eagle +664%Cooper's Hawk +127%Ferruginous Hawk +616%Golden Eagle +35%Northern Harrier -49%Red-tailed Hawk +206%Sharp-shinned Hawk +30%Swainson's Hawk +16%

Larks Alaudidae

Horned Lark -72%

Kingfishers Alcedinidae

Belted Kingfisher -44%

Ducks, Geese & Waterfowl Anatidae

American Wigeon -49%Blue-winged Teal -56%Canada Goose 45×Canvasback +55%Gadwall +7%Green-winged Teal -33%Lesser Scaup -21%Mallard -9%Northern Pintail -66%Northern Shoveler -26%Redhead -66%Ring-necked Duck +37%Ruddy Duck -51%Wood Duck +115%

Swifts Apodidae

Chimney Swift +48%White-throated Swift +105%

Herons, Egrets & Bitterns Ardeidae

American Bittern -45%Black-crowned Night Heron -87%Great Blue Heron +2%Great Egret +73%Green Heron +42%Western Cattle-Egret +69%

Waxwings Bombycillidae

Cedar Waxwing +582%

Longspurs & Snow Buntings Calcariidae

Chestnut-collared Longspur -77%

Nightjars & Nighthawks Caprimulgidae

Common Nighthawk +195%

Cardinals & Grosbeaks Cardinalidae

Black-headed Grosbeak +603%Blue Grosbeak +149%Dickcissel -34%Indigo Bunting +106%Lazuli Bunting +31%Northern Cardinal +206%Rose-breasted Grosbeak +241%Western Tanager +206%

New World Vultures Cathartidae

Turkey Vulture +56%

Treecreepers Certhiidae

Brown Creeper +54%

Plovers & Lapwings Charadriidae

Killdeer -18%

Pigeons & Doves Columbidae

Eurasian Collared-Dove 18×Mourning Dove -6%Rock Pigeon +46%

Crows, Jays & Magpies Corvidae

American Crow -19%Black-billed Magpie -4%Blue Jay -64%Canada Jay +259%Clark's Nutcracker -79%Pinyon Jay -18%

Cuckoos, Roadrunners & Anis Cuculidae

Black-billed Cuckoo -94%Yellow-billed Cuckoo -36%

Falcons & Caracaras Falconidae

American Kestrel +26%Prairie Falcon +24%

Finches Fringillidae

American Goldfinch -12%Cassin's Finch -36%House Finch -39%Pine Siskin -90%Red Crossbill -5%

Swallows & Martins Hirundinidae

Bank Swallow -81%Barn Swallow -2%Cliff Swallow +57%Northern Rough-winged Swallow +219%Purple Martin -52%Tree Swallow +612%Violet-green Swallow +19%

Blackbirds & Orioles Icteridae

Baltimore Oriole +25%Bobolink +34%Brewer's Blackbird +308%Brown-headed Cowbird +32%Bullock's Oriole +394%Common Grackle -52%Eastern Meadowlark -92%Orchard Oriole +22%Red-winged Blackbird -25%Western Meadowlark -28%Yellow-headed Blackbird -12%

Yellow-breasted Chat Icteriidae

Yellow-breasted Chat +595%

Shrikes Laniidae

Loggerhead Shrike -54%

Gulls, Terns & Skimmers Laridae

Black Tern -84%California Gull -34%Forster's Tern -21%Franklin's Gull -18%Ring-billed Gull +19%

Mockingbirds & Thrashers Mimidae

Brown Thrasher -55%Gray Catbird +173%Northern Mockingbird -55%

Wagtails & Pipits Motacillidae

Sprague's Pipit -58%

New World Quail Odontophoridae

Northern Bobwhite -62%

Osprey Pandionidae

Osprey +78%

Chickadees & Titmice Paridae

Black-capped Chickadee +12%

Wood-Warblers Parulidae

American Redstart +184%Common Yellowthroat +7%MacGillivray's Warbler +2%Ovenbird -23%Yellow Warbler +95%

New World Sparrows Passerellidae

Baird's Sparrow -29%Brewer's Sparrow -20%Chipping Sparrow +29%Clay-colored Sparrow +66%Field Sparrow -41%Grasshopper Sparrow -13%Lark Bunting -83%Lark Sparrow +12%Savannah Sparrow -21%Song Sparrow +188%Spotted Towhee +250%Swamp Sparrow +110%Vesper Sparrow -25%

Old World Sparrows Passeridae

House Sparrow -58%

Pelicans Pelecanidae

American White Pelican -46%

Cormorants Phalacrocoracidae

Double-crested Cormorant +8%

Pheasants, Grouse & Turkeys Phasianidae

Gray Partridge -16%Greater Prairie-Chicken +759%Ring-necked Pheasant -11%Sharp-tailed Grouse +248%Wild Turkey 15×

Woodpeckers Picidae

American Three-toed Woodpecker +27%Black-backed Woodpecker +18%Downy Woodpecker -34%Hairy Woodpecker +128%Lewis's Woodpecker +43%Red-headed Woodpecker +40%Red-naped Sapsucker 13×

Grebes Podicipedidae

Eared Grebe 24×Pied-billed Grebe +26%Western Grebe -67%

Rails, Gallinules & Coots Rallidae

American Coot -71%Sora +60%Virginia Rail -43%

Avocets & Stilts Recurvirostridae

American Avocet +128%

Kinglets Regulidae

Golden-crowned Kinglet -42%Ruby-crowned Kinglet 13×

Sandpipers & Allies Scolopacidae

Long-billed Curlew +70%Marbled Godwit +39%Spotted Sandpiper +35%Upland Sandpiper +40%Willet -49%Wilson's Phalarope -61%Wilson's Snipe +321%

Nuthatches Sittidae

Red-breasted Nuthatch +776%White-breasted Nuthatch +639%

Owls Strigidae

Burrowing Owl +5%Eastern Screech-Owl -1%Great Horned Owl -85%Short-eared Owl +465%

Starlings & Mynas Sturnidae

European Starling +39%

Ibises & Spoonbills Threskiornithidae

White-faced Ibis +105%

Wrens Troglodytidae

Canyon Wren +29%Marsh Wren +282%Northern House Wren +686%Rock Wren -4%Sedge Wren 11×

Thrushes Turdidae

American Robin +178%Eastern Bluebird -31%Mountain Bluebird +146%Swainson's Thrush 18×Townsend's Solitaire +885%Veery -30%

Tyrant Flycatchers Tyrannidae

Dusky Flycatcher -34%Eastern Kingbird -42%Eastern Phoebe -14%Eastern Wood-Pewee +37%Great Crested Flycatcher +394%Least Flycatcher +157%Say's Phoebe +287%Western Kingbird -71%Western Wood-Pewee +79%Willow Flycatcher +179%

Vireos Vireonidae

Bell's Vireo -44%Plumbeous Vireo +178%Red-eyed Vireo -26%Warbling Vireo +172%

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