Bird Species of Greatest Conservation Need

There are 284 native bird species for which Wisconsin provides important breeding, wintering, or migratory habitat. Of these 284 species, 84 (30%) have been identified as Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Wisconsin. Twenty-four of these are currently listed as Threatened or Endangered in Wisconsin and two are listed as federally Threatened or Endangered. Species of Greatest Conservation Need are divided into three groups based on their relative abundance in Wisconsin in comparison with the rest of their range. These divisions address the global role Wisconsin plays in the conservation of these species but leave options open for management.

The table below contains a list of Species of Greatest Conservation need from the Wisconsin Wildlife Action Plan. Click the table headings to change the sort order. The links below go to individual species profiles. See the plan Section 2.3 [PDF 46KB] to learn how this information was derived.

Sort bird list in "checklist order"

Common Name	Scientific Name
Acadian Flycatcher	Empidonax virescens
American Bittern	Botaurus lentiginosus
American Black Duck	Anas rubripes
American Golden Plover	Pluvialis dominica
American Woodcock	Scolopax minor
Bald Eagle	Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Barn Owl	Tyto alba
Bell's Vireo	Vireo bellii
Black Tern	Chlidonias niger
Black-backed Woodpecker	Picoides arcticus
Black-billed Cuckoo	Coccyzus erythropthalmus
Black-throated Blue Warbler	Dendroica caerulescens
Blue-winged Teal	Anas discors
Blue-winged Warbler	Vermivora pinus
Bobolink	Dolichonyx oryzivorus
Boreal Chickadee	Poecile hudsonica
Brown Thrasher	Toxostoma rufum
Buff-breasted Sandpiper	Tryngites subruficollis
Canada Warbler	Wilsonia canadensis
Canvasback	Aythya valisineria
Caspian Tern	Sterna caspia
Cerulean Warbler	Dendroica cerulea
Common Tern	Sterna hirundo
Connecticut Warbler	Oporornis agilis
Dickcissel	Spiza americana
Dunlin	Calidris alpina
Eastern Meadowlark	Sturnella magna
Field Sparrow	Spizella pusilla
Forster's Tern	Sterna forsteri
Golden-winged Warbler	Vermivora chrysoptera
Grasshopper Sparrow	Ammodramus savannarum
Great Egret	Ardea alba
Greater Prairie-Chicken	Tympanuchus cupido
Henslow's Sparrow	Ammodramus henslowii
Hooded Warbler	Wilsonia citrina
Horned Grebe	Podiceps auritus
Hudsonian Godwit	Limosa haemastica
Kentucky Warbler	Oporornis formosus
King Rail	Rallus elegans
Kirtland's Warbler	Dendroica kirtlandii
Lark Sparrow	Chondestes grammacus
Le Conte's Sparrow	Ammodramus leconteii
Least Flycatcher	Empidonax minimus
Lesser Scaup	Aythya affinis
Loggerhead Shrike	Lanius ludovicianus
Louisiana Waterthrush	Seiurus motacilla
Marbled Godwit	Limosa fedoa
Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow	Ammodramus nelsoni
Northern Bobwhite	Colinus virginianus
Northern Goshawk	Accipiter gentilis
Northern Harrier	Circus cyaneus
Olive-sided Flycatcher	Contopus cooperi
Osprey	Pandion haliaetus
Peregrine Falcon	Falco peregrinus
Piping Plover	Charadrius melodus
Prothonotary Warbler	Protonotaria citrea
Red Crossbill	Loxia curvirostra
Redhead	Aythya americana
Red-headed Woodpecker	Melanerpes erythrocephalus
Red-necked Grebe	Podiceps grisegena
Red-shouldered Hawk	Buteo lineatus
Rusty Blackbird	Euphagus carolinus
Sharp-tailed Grouse	Tympanuchus phasianellus
Short-billed Dowitcher	Limnodromus griseus
Short-eared Owl	Asio flammeus
Snowy Egret	Egretta thula
Solitary Sandpiper	Tringa solitaria
Spruce Grouse	Falcipennis canadensis
Trumpeter Swan	Cygnus buccinator
Upland Sandpiper	Bartramia longicauda
Veery	Catharus fuscescens
Vesper Sparrow	Pooecetes gramineus
Western Meadowlark	Sturnella neglecta
Whimbrel	Numenius phaeopus
Whip-poor-will	Caprimulgus vociferus
Whooping Crane	Grus americana
Willow Flycatcher	Empidonax traillii
Wilson's Phalarope	Phalaropus tricolor
Wood Thrush	Hylocichla mustelina
Worm-eating Warbler	Helmitheros vermivorus
Yellow Rail	Coturnicops noveboracensis
Yellow-billed Cuckoo	Coccyzus americanus
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron	Nyctanassa violacea
Yellow-throated Warbler	Dendroica dominica