 Breeding evidence |
 Relative abundance |
 Probability of observation |
Click for a larger version or to add map overlays |
||
Click on plot to view table of mean abundance
|
Number of squares
Long-term BBS trends
|
-3.66 (-5.08 - -2.3)|
Mean abundance (number of birds detected per 5 min. point count) and percentage of squares occupied by region Bird Conservation Regions [abund. plot]
[%squares plot]
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Atlas Results
Baird's Sparrows were observed in 450 atlas squares south of the boreal forest, including breeding confirmations in 11 squares. Results of the mapping analyses highlight their strong association with native and tame grassland cover in the Mixed Grassland and Cypress Upland ecoregions, as well as in portions of the Moist Mixed Grassland. In the Aspen Parkland and Boreal Transition Baird's Sparrows were occasionally observed in patches of suitable habitat.
Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:
Once considered the most common grassland songbird, Baird's Sparrow can be difficult to observe and therefore is much more often heard than seen (Roy 1996). Interestingly, Baird's Sparrow has as many as 13 distinct song types which occur throughout the population (Green 1992). It is one of several grassland bird species whose breeding ranges are restricted to the northern Great Plains; it winters in a limited area along the US-Mexico border.
Breeding habitats include ungrazed or lightly grazed native grasslands, hayfields, and (rarely) weedy croplands. In heavily grazed areas, the species may be absent or restricted to longer grass in draws or dry slough bottoms (Smith 1996). The species can also occur frequently in planted grasslands used for hay (Dale et al. 1997) or pasture (Sutter et al. 1995, Davis et al. 1999, McMaster and Davis 2001).
Baird's Sparrow is a fairly common summer resident of the grasslands and parklands and a rare and local resident of the transition forest (Smith 1996). Despite its declines, Baird's Sparrows can occur in large numbers in suitable habitat.
Original text by Stephen K. Davis and Daniel J. Sawatzky. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky
Read more about the Baird's Sparrow in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.
Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Baird's Sparrow in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine, D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (eds.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan https://sk.birdatlas.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=BAIS&lang=en [09 Nov 2025]
| Previous species: Savannah Sparrow | Table of Contents | Next species: Song Sparrow |