• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	A2bce+4bce

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2021	Vulnerable	A2bce+4bce
2018	Vulnerable	A2bce+3bce+4bce
2016	Vulnerable	A2bce+3bce+4bce
2012	Vulnerable	A2bce+3bce+4bce
2008	Vulnerable	A2b,c,e; A3b,c,e; A4b,c,e
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type	continent	Average mass	26 g

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	1,280,000 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	6,840,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	1400000 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2019
Population trend	decreasing	medium	estimated	2015-2025
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-49%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-29%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-49%	-	-	-
Generation length	2 years	-	-	-

Population justification: Partners in Flight (2019) estimate the global population to number 1.4 million mature individuals.

Trend justification: This species has undergone a large and statistically significant decrease. Over the past 51 years (1966-2017), data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey suggests an annual rate of decline of 3.2%, or 27.8% across a ten year period (Pardieck et al. 2018). However, when viewed across the most recent time period (2010-2017), declines are shown to have accelerated in recent years with annual declines measured at ~5.22% per year, or ~41% over ten years (Pardieck et al. 2018). The rate of past decline is therefore placed in the band 30-49%. However, recent data from the Audubon Christmas Bird Count (Meehan et al. 2018) and Partners in Flight's (2019) estimate of a 27 year half life for the species (22.6% decline over the next decade) suggest that the rate of decline may have slowed over the past few years; if this continues the species may warrant downlisting in the near future.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Canada	extant	native		yes
Mexico	extant	native			yes
USA	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Mexico	El Manantial
Mexico	Santiaguillo
USA	Katy Prairie Conservancy
USA	Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge
USA	North Valley Grasslands
USA	Westby Prairie-Wetland Complex

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	passage
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	passage
Grassland	Temperate	major	breeding
Grassland	Temperate	major	non-breeding
Altitude	0 - 2500 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion, Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion, Reduced reproductive success
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Whole (>90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Bromus inermis	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Elymus repens	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Poa pratensis	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Molothrus ater	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Supression in fire frequency/intensity	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Sprague's Pipit Anthus spragueii. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/spragues-pipit-anthus-spragueii on 23/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/12/2024.