Sprague's Pipit

Status: Populations are declining, especially in the eastern edge of its range.

Habitat/Range: Sprague¡¦s pipit nests in short-grass plains, mixed grass prairie, alkaline meadows and wet meadows. It is found in south-central Canada, western South Dakota, North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. Its non-breeding range includes southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, Texas, Alabama, northwestern Mississippi, southern Louisiana and south to central Mexico.

Threats: Loss of breeding habitat due to cultivation, wetland drainage and overgrazing.

Restoration Potential: Present populations can be maintained if grasslands with breeding birds are not cultivated or overgrazed. Deferred rotational grazing may help recovery, as may a burn rotation for grasslands.

Places We Are Protecting:

• Saltillo Grasslands Protected Area, Mexico
• Janos Grasslands, Mexico
• Matador Ranch, Montana
• Missouri Coteau, Canada
• Bitter Creek, Montana/ Grasslands National Park, Canada

Learn More:
View a species management abstract for this bird.

Illustrations by David Allen Sibley from The National Audubon Society: The Sibley Guide to Birds published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. Copyright © 2000 by Chanticleer Press and David Allen Sibley. No illustrations may be copied, reproduced, or reused without the express written permission of the copyright holders.