Baird's Sparrow

Centronyx bairdii

Northern Great Plains specialist with a tinkling song. Disappearing as fast as the grasslands themselves.

Population: ~3.4 million breeding individuals (Partners in Flight), declining, ~65% cumulative decline 1967-2023 (flagged a Red Alert Tipping Point species in the 2025 State of the Birds report)
Habitat: Native mixed-grass and tallgrass prairie, moist fescue prairie, and shortgrass/sagebrush steppe with dense grass cover; avoids heavily grazed, woody, or cropland-converted areas
Fun fact: Baird's Sparrow was collected and described in 1843 by John James Audubon during his final major expedition (near Fort Union, present-day North Dakota) — it became the last species Audubon described and the final plate in The Birds of America — and was named for his young traveling companion Spencer Fullerton Baird, who went on to become the Smithsonian's first curator (1850) and its second Secretary (1878-1887).
Range: Breeds in the northern Great Plains of south-central Canada (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba) and the north-central US (Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota); winters in the southwestern US (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas) and northern Mexico grasslands
Diet: Insects (grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars, leafhoppers, flies, spiders) during breeding season; grass and weed seeds especially in winter
Size: 0.12 m
Wingspan: 0.23 m
Lifespan: 4.6 years

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