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Nongame Wildlife Program
1812 9th Street
Sacramento, CA 95811
Related Waterfowl Links
- Report a Banded Bird
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- 2006 CA Breeding Pair Population Estimate for All Species Combined
Bird Species of Special Concern
California Bird Species of Special Concern is available from Allen Press. You may order it online at http://bookstore.allenmm.com or by telephone at 800-627-0326. The price is $12.00 per copy, including shipping.
Click for more information on the California Bird Species of Special Concern book.
California Bird Species of Special Concern: A Ranked Assessment of Species, Subspecies, and Distinct Populations of Birds of Immediate Conservation Concern in California, a collaborative project of the California Department of Fish and Game, PRBO Conservation Science, and Western Field Ornithologists, is now published! Within the 450 pages of the book, the authors provide a detailed analysis of the status of California's at-risk birds using the latest data to describe current populations, ranges, and threats. Front-matter and Table of Contents can be found here. Methods used to identify and rank "at risk" birds are presented in the overview section here. Seabirds, raptors, shorebirds, waterfowl, and perching birds all are represented on the new list, suggesting that conservation concern spans the length and breadth of the state, from its offshore waters to the higher mountains. Habitats with high numbers of special concern birds include wetlands, scrublands, grasslands, and riparian forests-all habitats with the highest rates of loss in California.
"California Bird Species of Special Concern is an important part of the Department's comprehensive conservation agenda. It serves to focus attention and resources on those bird species in need of special assistance and will further our goals in implementation of the California Wildlife Action Plan," said Deputy Director Kevin Hunting.
Seventy-four bird taxa are included on the new Bird Species of Special Concern list (PDF). The list is comprised of three priority categories derived through a scoring and ranking process and two unranked categories derived by definition.
Species accounts prepared for the ranked taxa document general range and abundance, seasonal status in California, historical range and abundance in California, ecological requirements, and threats; additionally, management, research and monitoring recommendations are presented. Maps showing current and historic range accompany each account. Samples of Bird Species of Special Concern species accounts are found here:
| Greater Sage Grouse | Tufted Puffin | Mountain Plover |
| American White Pelican | Summer Tanager | Yellow-headed Blackbird |
The comprehensive database showing criteria scores for all nominee species will be available to the public on this website. These data will serve as a baseline upon which future revisions of the Bird Species of Special Concern list will be made. The Department will post the entire project (introduction, methods and recommendations, species accounts, range maps, supporting database) to this website soon.
We invite comments and suggestions. Please send them to:
Lyann Comrack
Nongame Wildlife Program - Wildlife Branch
1812 9th Street
Sacramento, CA 95811
916-341-6981
lcomrack@dfg.ca.gov
Click to go back to Species of Special Concern page