How To Read Species Accounts

This section provides guidance on interpreting the individual species accounts. Their primary purpose is to help the reader interpret the maps, graphs and related data together with just enough natural history information from the Birds of Saskatchewan, generously provided by Nature Saskatchewan, to put those results into a meaningful context. We have deliberately avoided providing detailed natural history information, except where it is relevant to interpreting the atlas results.

The main elements of a typical account are outlined below, listed in order of appearance.

Species Names

Species names are provided in English and French, and the scientific name follows the American Ornithological Society Checklist of North and Middle American Birds, up to the 66th supplement (Chesser et al. 2025). The Common Redpoll and Hoary Redpoll are exceptions, as they were classified as separate species at the time of data collection and analysis. They are written up separately, despite having been combined into Redpoll in the 65th supplement (Chesser et al. 2024).

Fact Box

The fact box, found below the species name and opening with a click,  summarizes at-a-glance pertinent information for each species including sample sizes, conservation status (in 2025), and population trends.

Example fact box for Chestnut-collared Longspur

Maps

Up to three are presented for each species, depicting: i) breeding distribution, ii) relative abundance, and iii) probability of observation. The latter two are the outputs of statistical models, the methods of which are described in detail on the Mapping Methods  page.

i) Breeding distribution maps are provided for each species, showing where observations were made. Darker shades of orange indicate a higher level of breeding evidence, while grey squares indicate areas where survey efforts were made but the species was not recorded. The absence of a species in a grey square does not necessarily reflect a true absence; it may simply mean that relatively little survey effort occurred in that area and the species was missed.

ii) Relative abundance maps are presented for 188 species. The highest category on each map (the darkest shade of red) represents the top 10% of predicted relative abundance values. The darkest area on each map indicates where the species is expected to be most abundant. The remaining 90% of values are divided into five or fewer categories, with each subsequent shade representing half the abundance of the previous one. These levels are derived separately for each species, meaning the category values differ for each species. Therefore, care should be taken when making comparisons between species without considering the legend values.

iii) Probability of observation maps are presented for 188 species. These maps show the predicted likelihood of finding each species across the province after 20 hours of surveying during the breeding season, on a scale from 0.0 to 1.0 (representing a chance ranging from 0% to 100%). Darker colours indicate a higher likelihood of observation. These maps are particularly useful for identifying core areas of a species’ range and for ‘smoothing out’ breeding distribution records.

The distribution map is the default option that shows up in the large box below the thumbnail icons, and each map can be enlarged by clicking on it.  Once enlarged, a menu bar at the top of the map provides a series of labelled overlay options to assist users in interpreting the maps. These are: atlas administrative regions, ecoregions, Bird Conservation Regions, cities and roads, and lakes and rivers. Click the box by one or more of the layers to overlay them on the map. Enjoy exploring the map patterns by ecological, geographic, or administrative region. There is a great deal to be learned here; if you notice a pattern that is not described in the species account, please let us know!

A Note on Statistical Modelling

As with all modelling exercises, readers should interpret mapping results with caution and remember that they are only as reliable as the data used to create them. Where there are extensive gaps in coverage, users should have relatively little confidence in the predictions for that part of the map. Similarly, predictions for species with relatively little data should also be viewed with less confidence. The main purpose of the maps is to provide a province-wide perspective on bird distribution and abundance, rather than drawing conclusions at a local scale. Users are therefore encouraged not to “zoom in” too closely when interpreting the maps. For details on the modelling process, please refer to the  Mapping Methods page.

Main Text

The 300–400-word texts are divided into two sections: ‘Atlas Results’ and ‘Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan’.

The ‘Atlas Results‘ section summarizes the results of the five-year snapshot of the atlas effort. Widespread species are described in general terms using recognised geographic features and ecoregions, while species with few observations have their locations described, as well as the dates of observations if these are particularly sparse. For species for which sufficient data has been collected on atlas point counts to model the probability of observation and relative abundance, the text describes where their main centres of abundance are found. Any notable observations are also described.

The second section, ‘Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan‘, includes selected adaptations from the Birds of Saskatchewan (Smith et. al. 2019), including a general introduction, its habitat preferences, and its status in the province. As these sections in the book vary greatly between species, effort was made to adapt the text to ensure each species was presented similarly. Both the original author(s) and the author of the adaptations are listed below. In cases where there was incomplete information for a particular species, new text was added and if there was no mention of the species in the Birds of Saskatchewan, as in the case of the Western Flycatcher, the section is titled ‘Local Context’.

A link to a PDF copy of the book Birds of Saskatchewan is provided for additional reading. Note that the file size is very, very large, and an unlimited WiFi connection is highly recommended when downloading the book.

Author(s)

The name of the account author for the atlas results is given at the end of the account in italics.

References

References from 2019 onward have been compiled for all accounts and are available here. Otherwise, references can be found in the references section of the Birds of Saskatchewan PDF (coming soon).

Citation:

Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine,  D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (editors.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan https://sk.birdatlas.ca

The recommended citation structure for individual species accounts is:

Author(s) name(s). 2025. Species Name in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine,  D. Lepage, D. Evans, A. R. Couturier, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (editors.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Retrieved from: < weblink url > [Date accessed].

For example, it is suggested that the Mallard account be referenced:

Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Mallard in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine,  D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (editors.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Retrieved from: < https://sk.birdatlas.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=MALL&lang=en> [7 Oct 2025].

References:

Chesser, R.T., Billerman, S.M., Burns, K.J., Cicero, C., Dunn, J.L., Hernández-Baños, B.E., Jiménez, R.A., Johnson, O., Kratter, A.W., Mason, N.A., Rasmussen, P.C. and Remsen, J.V. (2024) “Sixty-fifth Supplement to the American Ornithological Society’s Check-list of North American Birds,” Ornithology, 141(3), p. ukae019. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukae019.

Chesser, R.T., Billerman, S.M., Burns, K.J., Cicero, C., Dunn, J.L., Hernández-Baños, B.E., Jiménez, R.A., Johnson, O., Mason, N.A. and Rasmussen, P.C. (2025) “Sixty-sixth supplement to the American Ornithological Society’s Check-list of North American Birds,” Ornithology, 142(3), p. ukaf015. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukaf015.

Smith, A.R., Houston, C.S. and Roy, J.F. (2019) Birds of Saskatchewan. Regina, Saskatchewan: Nature Saskatchewan (Manley Callin series, no. 8).