Population status

McCown's Longspur
(Rhynchophanes mccownii)

The most reliable source of information for the McCown's Longspur is the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS). BBS results demonstrate a dramatic downward trend that has continued through the most recent period (2006-2016) resulting in a loss of about 98% of the population since the early 1970s. The continental population has also decreased significantly over the same time-period, though the magnitude of that decline (-84%) is somewhat less than in Canada and has lessened during the most recent years. The McCown's Longspur is below the lowest acceptable level relative to its national population goal (see Canada graph below). This goal will be re-examined once the Management Plan is developed under the Species at Risk Act.

Population goal and acceptable levels of variation

Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis

Additional information on: Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis

References

• COSEWIC. 2016. COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the McCown's Longspur Rhynchophanes mccownii in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. ix + 35 pp. COSEWIC. 2016. COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the McCown's Longspur Rhynchophanes mccownii in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. ix + 35 pp. (Link)
• Environment Canada. 2014. Management Plan for McCown’s Longspur (Rhynchophanes mccownii) in Canada [Proposed]. Species at Risk Act Management Plan Series. Environment Canada, Ottawa. iii+ 20 pp. Environment Canada. 2014. Management Plan for McCown’s Longspur (Rhynchophanes mccownii) in Canada [Proposed]. Species at Risk Act Management Plan Series. Environment Canada, Ottawa. iii+ 20 pp. (Link)
• Martin, P.A. and D.J. Forsyth. 2003. Occurrence and productivity of songbirds in prairie farmland under conventional versus minimum tillage regimes. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 96: 107-117.
• Pool, D.B., A.O. Panjabi, A. Macias Duarte, and D.M. Solhjem. 2013. Rapid expansion of croplands in Chihuahua, Mexico threatens declining North American grassland bird species. Biological Conservation 170: 274-281. Pool, D.B., A.O. Panjabi, A. Macias Duarte, and D.M. Solhjem. 2013. Rapid expansion of croplands in Chihuahua, Mexico threatens declining North American grassland bird species. Biological Conservation 170: 274-281. (Link)
• With, K.A. 1994. McCown's Longspur (Calcarius mccownii), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. With, K.A. 1994. McCown's Longspur (Calcarius mccownii), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)