BirdAnalyst
State · BBS 2025 Release · 1966–2024

Virginia Breeding Birds

194 species recorded across 88 survey routes, 1966 to 2024. Browse by family or guild below.

Virginia 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 →

Loggerhead Shrike has collapsed in Virginia: down 98% 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 Virginia: up 46× on the route-weighted index since 1982.

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 Virginia: 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 →

House Finch has surged in Virginia: up 31× on the route-weighted index since 1982.

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 Virginia: 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 →

Tree Swallow has surged in Virginia: up 26× on the route-weighted index since 1972.

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

-92%

Game birds

4 species
-77%

Generalists

11 species
-74%

Wetland birds

21 species
-65%

Grassland birds

8 species
-27%

Aerial insectivores

17 species
-7%

Forest birds

71 species
+1%

Shorebirds

4 species
+179%

Birds of prey

15 species
12×

Waterfowl

4 species

Virginia Bird Survey Routes

Browse Virginia 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 Virginia.

Hawks, Eagles & Kites Accipitridae

Bald Eagle +516%Broad-winged Hawk -23%Cooper's Hawk +185%Mississippi Kite +56%Northern Harrier -18%Red-shouldered Hawk 13×Red-tailed Hawk +228%Sharp-shinned Hawk -40%

Larks Alaudidae

Horned Lark -82%

Kingfishers Alcedinidae

Belted Kingfisher -63%

Ducks, Geese & Waterfowl Anatidae

American Black Duck -21%Canada Goose 46×Mallard +108%Wood Duck +199%

Swifts Apodidae

Chimney Swift -61%

Herons, Egrets & Bitterns Ardeidae

Black-crowned Night Heron -50%Great Blue Heron +160%Great Egret -2%Green Heron -62%Little Blue Heron -66%Snowy Egret -30%Western Cattle-Egret -90%Yellow-crowned Night Heron -64%

Waxwings Bombycillidae

Cedar Waxwing +337%

Nightjars & Nighthawks Caprimulgidae

Chuck-will's-widow -67%Common Nighthawk -81%Eastern Whip-poor-will -65%

Cardinals & Grosbeaks Cardinalidae

Blue Grosbeak +104%Dickcissel -33%Indigo Bunting -10%Northern Cardinal -22%Rose-breasted Grosbeak +92%Scarlet Tanager +78%Summer Tanager +42%

New World Vultures Cathartidae

Black Vulture +415%Turkey Vulture +287%

Treecreepers Certhiidae

Brown Creeper +3%

Plovers & Lapwings Charadriidae

Killdeer +27%

Pigeons & Doves Columbidae

Mourning Dove -21%Rock Pigeon -66%

Crows, Jays & Magpies Corvidae

American Crow -13%Blue Jay -49%Common Raven +204%Fish Crow +154%

Cuckoos, Roadrunners & Anis Cuculidae

Black-billed Cuckoo -90%Yellow-billed Cuckoo -15%

Falcons & Caracaras Falconidae

American Kestrel -30%

Finches Fringillidae

American Goldfinch +46%House Finch 31×

Swallows & Martins Hirundinidae

Bank Swallow -72%Barn Swallow -46%Cliff Swallow +127%Northern Rough-winged Swallow -15%Purple Martin -43%Tree Swallow 26×

Blackbirds & Orioles Icteridae

Baltimore Oriole -31%Boat-tailed Grackle -64%Bobolink +87%Brown-headed Cowbird -23%Common Grackle -93%Eastern Meadowlark -68%Orchard Oriole +62%Red-winged Blackbird -73%

Yellow-breasted Chat Icteriidae

Yellow-breasted Chat -56%

Shrikes Laniidae

Loggerhead Shrike -98%

Gulls, Terns & Skimmers Laridae

Black Skimmer -73%Forster's Tern -66%Great Black-backed Gull -11%Herring Gull -46%Laughing Gull -79%Royal Tern -76%

Mockingbirds & Thrashers Mimidae

Brown Thrasher -56%Gray Catbird -28%Northern Mockingbird -60%

New World Quail Odontophoridae

Northern Bobwhite -96%

Osprey Pandionidae

Osprey +127%

Chickadees & Titmice Paridae

Black-capped Chickadee -61%Carolina Chickadee -6%Tufted Titmouse +76%

Wood-Warblers Parulidae

American Redstart +432%Black-and-white Warbler +83%Black-throated Blue Warbler +99%Black-throated Green Warbler +751%Blackburnian Warbler +174%Blue-winged Warbler -9%Canada Warbler +266%Cerulean Warbler +229%Chestnut-sided Warbler +402%Common Yellowthroat -43%Golden-winged Warbler -85%Hooded Warbler +100%Kentucky Warbler -90%Louisiana Waterthrush +169%Northern Parula +173%Ovenbird +157%Pine Warbler +41%Prairie Warbler -62%Prothonotary Warbler +32%Swainson's Warbler +115%Worm-eating Warbler +408%Yellow Warbler -75%Yellow-throated Warbler +385%

New World Sparrows Passerellidae

Chipping Sparrow -4%Eastern Towhee -62%Field Sparrow -65%Grasshopper Sparrow -67%Savannah Sparrow -59%Seaside Sparrow -71%Song Sparrow +32%Vesper Sparrow -96%

Old World Sparrows Passeridae

House Sparrow -94%

Cormorants Phalacrocoracidae

Double-crested Cormorant -21%

Pheasants, Grouse & Turkeys Phasianidae

Ring-necked Pheasant -91%Ruffed Grouse -18%Wild Turkey 11×

Woodpeckers Picidae

Downy Woodpecker -2%Hairy Woodpecker +106%Pileated Woodpecker +193%Red-bellied Woodpecker -19%Red-headed Woodpecker +192%Yellow-bellied Sapsucker +362%

Gnatcatchers Polioptilidae

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher +153%

Rails, Gallinules & Coots Rallidae

Clapper Rail -61%

Sandpipers & Allies Scolopacidae

American Woodcock -75%Spotted Sandpiper -56%Willet -43%

Nuthatches Sittidae

Brown-headed Nuthatch +40%Red-breasted Nuthatch +428%White-breasted Nuthatch +153%

Owls Strigidae

Barred Owl +331%Eastern Screech-Owl -51%Great Horned Owl -33%

Starlings & Mynas Sturnidae

European Starling -77%

Ibises & Spoonbills Threskiornithidae

Glossy Ibis 20×

Hummingbirds Trochilidae

Ruby-throated Hummingbird +98%

Wrens Troglodytidae

Bewick's Wren -90%Carolina Wren +581%Northern House Wren -54%Winter Wren -18%

Thrushes Turdidae

American Robin -39%Eastern Bluebird +502%Veery 39×Wood Thrush -56%

Tyrant Flycatchers Tyrannidae

Acadian Flycatcher +71%Eastern Kingbird -68%Eastern Phoebe +52%Eastern Wood-Pewee +15%Great Crested Flycatcher -21%Least Flycatcher -69%Willow Flycatcher -65%

Vireos Vireonidae

Blue-headed Vireo 13×Red-eyed Vireo +58%Warbling Vireo +59%White-eyed Vireo +91%Yellow-throated Vireo -5%

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