The Chestnut-collared Longspur breeds mainly on native grasslands in the southern prairie provinces, where results from the Breeding Bird Survey indicate that it has undergone a large decrease in numbers since about 1970. The decline is largely due to loss and degradation of native grassland habitats (COSEWIC 2009a). In 2009, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada assessed this species as Threatened because of this steep, ongoing population decline (COSEWIC 2009a). The species was listed under the Species at Risk Act in 2012. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.
The primary cause of the population decline in the Chestnut-collared Longspur is habitat loss and degradation (Hill and Gould 1997, COSEWIC 2009a). Chestnut-collared Longspurs are area-sensitive (Davis 2004) and experience reduced productivity in non-native grasslands (Lloyd and Martin 2005). Grassland patches of a few hectares may be too small (Thompson et al. 2015). They avoid oil and gas developments, and avoid areas as far as 550m from well heads (Thompson et al. 2015). They prefer native grasslands with well-managed grazing pressure and can tolerate periodic burning and mowing outside the nesting season (Hill and Gould 1997). Heavy grazing can be detrimental to habitat quality (COSEWIC 2009a). For information on the legal status of this species under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) and to view available recovery documents, see the SARA Registry.
Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:
Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.
