Baird’s Sparrow
We are currently working to build a genoscape for the Baird’s Sparrow (Centronyx bairdii), an elusive grassland bird. This species, along with the Grasshopper Sparrow and Chestnut-collared Longspur, are our first three grassland species part of a grassland bird initiative in collaboration with the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies and generously funded by the Knobloch Family Foundation.
Grassland birds are one of the fastest declining groups of birds in North America. The Baird’s Sparrow has been listed under the Red Alert category by the Road to Recovery Initiative on their Tipping Point Species list. Tipping point species require immediate scientific action to understand their population declines and develop conservation strategies. Red listed species, such as the Baird’s Sparrow, have a low effective population size that is rapidly declining or an unknown population trend in general. Given its extremely restricted geographic distribution, this automatically makes the Baird’s Sparrow more vulnerable to extinction. In Canada, the Baird’s Sparrow is listed as a Species At Risk.
If you are interested in collecting or donating Baird’s Sparrow samples from any location across its range, particularly during the breeding and wintering seasons, please contact Amanda Carpenter to learn more!