BirdAnalyst
State · BBS 2026 Release · 1966–2025

Texas Breeding Birds

316 species recorded across 249 survey routes, 1967 to 2025. Browse by family or guild below.

Texas 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 →

Clapper Rail has collapsed in Texas: down 93% 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 →

Black Vulture has surged in Texas: up 11× on the route-weighted index since 1969.

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 →

Bank Swallow has collapsed in Texas: down 92% 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 →

White Ibis has surged in Texas: up 899% 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 →

Mottled Duck has collapsed in Texas: down 91% 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 →

Couch's Kingbird has surged in Texas: up 854% on the route-weighted index since 1969.

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

-75%

Game birds

8 species
-71%

Arid-land birds

12 species
-56%

Shorebirds

8 species
-55%

Wetland birds

42 species
-47%

Generalists

18 species
-44%

Grassland birds

12 species
-10%

Aerial insectivores

32 species
-9%

Waterfowl

15 species
-6%

Forest birds

83 species
+25%

Birds of prey

27 species

Texas Bird Survey Routes

Browse Texas 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 Texas.

Hawks, Eagles & Kites Accipitridae

Bald Eagle +25%Broad-winged Hawk +8%Cooper's Hawk +194%Ferruginous Hawk -60%Golden Eagle -29%Harris's Hawk -71%Mississippi Kite +129%Northern Harrier -86%Red-shouldered Hawk +139%Red-tailed Hawk +62%Sharp-shinned Hawk -55%Swainson's Hawk +9%White-tailed Hawk +250%White-tailed Kite -61%Zone-tailed Hawk -38%

Bushtits Aegithalidae

Bushtit +9%

Larks Alaudidae

Horned Lark +83%

Kingfishers Alcedinidae

Belted Kingfisher -72%

Ducks, Geese & Waterfowl Anatidae

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck +481%Blue-winged Teal +192%Canada Goose +236%Cinnamon Teal +94%Fulvous Whistling-Duck -4%Gadwall -30%Green-winged Teal -25%Mallard +131%Mexican Duck -71%Mottled Duck -91%Northern Pintail -70%Northern Shoveler +33%Redhead -88%Ruddy Duck -25%Wood Duck -32%

Anhingas Anhingidae

Anhinga -71%

Swifts Apodidae

Chimney Swift -82%White-throated Swift -90%

Herons, Egrets & Bitterns Ardeidae

Black-crowned Night Heron +355%Great Blue Heron +41%Great Egret -6%Green Heron -47%Least Bittern -35%Little Blue Heron -25%Reddish Egret -55%Snowy Egret +131%Tricolored Heron +138%Western Cattle-Egret +8%Yellow-crowned Night Heron +51%

Nightjars & Nighthawks Caprimulgidae

Chuck-will's-widow -23%Common Nighthawk -63%Common Pauraque -48%Common Poorwill -79%Lesser Nighthawk -30%

Cardinals & Grosbeaks Cardinalidae

Black-headed Grosbeak -53%Blue Grosbeak +97%Dickcissel +5%Hepatic Tanager -75%Indigo Bunting +63%Northern Cardinal +33%Painted Bunting -11%Pyrrhuloxia -74%Summer Tanager +99%Varied Bunting -28%Western Tanager +62%

New World Vultures Cathartidae

Black Vulture 11×Turkey Vulture +2%

Plovers & Lapwings Charadriidae

Killdeer -54%Wilson's Plover +2%

Storks Ciconiidae

Wood Stork -77%

Pigeons & Doves Columbidae

Common Ground Dove -44%Eurasian Collared-Dove 215×Inca Dove +52%Mourning Dove +4%Rock Pigeon -37%White-tipped Dove +674%White-winged Dove +537%

Crows, Jays & Magpies Corvidae

American Crow +20%Blue Jay +65%Chihuahuan Raven -45%Common Raven +332%Fish Crow +555%Green Jay +565%Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay -4%

Chachalacas & Guans Cracidae

Plain Chachalaca -50%

Cuckoos, Roadrunners & Anis Cuculidae

Greater Roadrunner +15%Groove-billed Ani +3%Yellow-billed Cuckoo -47%

Falcons & Caracaras Falconidae

American Kestrel +45%Crested Caracara +561%Prairie Falcon -53%

Finches Fringillidae

House Finch +40%Lesser Goldfinch -24%

Oystercatchers Haematopodidae

American Oystercatcher -65%

Swallows & Martins Hirundinidae

Bank Swallow -92%Barn Swallow +298%Cave Swallow +351%Cliff Swallow +56%Northern Rough-winged Swallow +92%Purple Martin +12%Tree Swallow -83%Violet-green Swallow -55%

Blackbirds & Orioles Icteridae

Altamira Oriole -23%Audubon's Oriole +649%Baltimore Oriole -83%Boat-tailed Grackle -67%Bronzed Cowbird -14%Brown-headed Cowbird -60%Bullock's Oriole +2%Chihuahuan Meadowlark +107%Common Grackle +107%Eastern Meadowlark -80%Great-tailed Grackle -47%Hooded Oriole +481%Orchard Oriole -79%Red-winged Blackbird -52%Scott's Oriole +52%Western Meadowlark +20%Yellow-headed Blackbird +129%

Yellow-breasted Chat Icteriidae

Yellow-breasted Chat +87%

Shrikes Laniidae

Loggerhead Shrike -81%

Gulls, Terns & Skimmers Laridae

Black Skimmer -36%Caspian Tern +18%Forster's Tern +186%Gull-billed Tern +44%Laughing Gull +477%Least Tern +127%Ring-billed Gull -68%Royal Tern +147%

Mockingbirds & Thrashers Mimidae

Brown Thrasher -41%Crissal Thrasher +15%Curve-billed Thrasher -68%Gray Catbird -79%Long-billed Thrasher +730%Northern Mockingbird -53%

New World Quail Odontophoridae

Gambel's Quail 29×Montezuma Quail -7%Northern Bobwhite -72%Scaled Quail -51%

Osprey Pandionidae

Osprey -61%

Chickadees & Titmice Paridae

Black-crested Titmouse +63%Carolina Chickadee +110%Tufted Titmouse +56%

Wood-Warblers Parulidae

American Redstart -84%Black-and-white Warbler +153%Common Yellowthroat -17%Golden-cheeked Warbler +311%Hooded Warbler +238%Kentucky Warbler -55%Louisiana Waterthrush -17%Lucy's Warbler +64%Northern Parula -31%Pine Warbler +177%Prairie Warbler +63%Prothonotary Warbler +21%Swainson's Warbler +278%Worm-eating Warbler -1%Yellow-throated Warbler +643%

New World Sparrows Passerellidae

Bachman's Sparrow -83%Black-chinned Sparrow -32%Black-throated Sparrow -69%Botteri's Sparrow -68%Canyon Towhee -25%Cassin's Sparrow -24%Chipping Sparrow -16%Eastern Towhee -15%Field Sparrow -32%Grasshopper Sparrow +255%Lark Bunting +546%Lark Sparrow -65%Olive Sparrow +632%Rufous-crowned Sparrow -26%Seaside Sparrow +217%Spotted Towhee -70%

Old World Sparrows Passeridae

House Sparrow -84%

Pelicans Pelecanidae

American White Pelican -89%Brown Pelican 16×

Cormorants Phalacrocoracidae

Double-crested Cormorant +248%Neotropic Cormorant +761%

Pheasants, Grouse & Turkeys Phasianidae

Lesser Prairie-Chicken -63%Ring-necked Pheasant +799%Wild Turkey +207%

Woodpeckers Picidae

Acorn Woodpecker +37%Downy Woodpecker +85%Golden-fronted Woodpecker -34%Hairy Woodpecker +23%Ladder-backed Woodpecker +5%Pileated Woodpecker -11%Red-bellied Woodpecker +43%Red-cockaded Woodpecker -44%Red-headed Woodpecker -68%

Grebes Podicipedidae

Least Grebe +85%Pied-billed Grebe -41%

Gnatcatchers Polioptilidae

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher -33%Blue-gray Gnatcatcher +245%

Silky-flycatchers Ptiliogonatidae

Phainopepla +94%

Rails, Gallinules & Coots Rallidae

American Coot -48%Black Rail +87%Clapper Rail -93%Common Gallinule +18%King Rail -81%Purple Gallinule -55%

Avocets & Stilts Recurvirostridae

American Avocet +347%Black-necked Stilt +270%

Penduline Tits Remizidae

Verdin -66%

Sandpipers & Allies Scolopacidae

Long-billed Curlew +278%Upland Sandpiper +99%Willet -4%Wilson's Phalarope +18%

Nuthatches Sittidae

Brown-headed Nuthatch +6%White-breasted Nuthatch +156%

Owls Strigidae

Barred Owl +0%Burrowing Owl +287%Eastern Screech-Owl -90%Elf Owl -11%Great Horned Owl -33%

Starlings & Mynas Sturnidae

European Starling +86%

Ibises & Spoonbills Threskiornithidae

Roseate Spoonbill -58%White Ibis +899%White-faced Ibis -91%

Hummingbirds Trochilidae

Black-chinned Hummingbird -8%Buff-bellied Hummingbird -33%Ruby-throated Hummingbird -14%

Wrens Troglodytidae

Bewick's Wren +7%Cactus Wren -51%Canyon Wren +59%Carolina Wren +180%Marsh Wren -78%Northern House Wren -76%Rock Wren -32%

Thrushes Turdidae

American Robin +38%Eastern Bluebird +79%Western Bluebird +72%Wood Thrush -15%

Tyrant Flycatchers Tyrannidae

Acadian Flycatcher -25%Ash-throated Flycatcher +128%Black Phoebe -16%Brown-crested Flycatcher +50%Cassin's Kingbird -35%Couch's Kingbird +854%Eastern Kingbird -71%Eastern Phoebe +149%Eastern Wood-Pewee -62%Great Crested Flycatcher -35%Great Kiskadee +182%Say's Phoebe +21%Scissor-tailed Flycatcher -57%Tropical Kingbird +509%Vermilion Flycatcher +143%Western Kingbird +733%Western Wood-Pewee -22%

Barn-Owls Tytonidae

American Barn Owl -6%

Vireos Vireonidae

Bell's Vireo +124%Black-capped Vireo +625%Gray Vireo +72%Red-eyed Vireo +66%Warbling Vireo -71%White-eyed Vireo +274%Yellow-throated Vireo +307%

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