Project Prairie Birds

A Citizen Science Project for Wintering Grassland Birds

Partners in Flight High Priority Grassland Species

Partners in Flight was formed to address the conservation needs of declining bird species. Federal and state agencies, non-governmental conservation organizations, communities and conservation-minded corporations, landowners and other businesses, have joined together in an international effort to address these declines. Together, we are working to understand the ecology and natural history of all birds in the Western Hemisphere, while also discovering the causes of their vulnerability and declines. Our main goals are to create an awareness of birds and to implement actions needed to assure that these valuable species continue to occur in healthy and productive populations in the future.

Le Conte's sparrow
Photo Copyright Michael L. Gray

Priority bird species most in need of conservation attention were identified using the PIF prioritization process. This process utilizes the best available scientific information and the knowledge of the nation’s top avian experts to develop scores for all species of landbirds occurring in the U.S. Scores are based on information such as global abundance and distribution, threats to wintering grounds, and population trend information from sources such as the Breeding Bird Survey. Some of the highest priority grassland species wintering in the southeastern U.S. are shown below.

High Priority Species in the Southeastern U.S.

• Bachman's Sparrow
• Henslow’s Sparrow
• Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow
• Sprague’s Pipit
• Seaside Sparrow
• Le Conte’s Sparrow
• Sedge Wren