Photo: Dave Menke / USFWS — Public Domain
Threatened and Endangered Birds in Colorado
Threatened Colorado profiles 17 birds. Two are federally endangered: Southwestern Willow Flycatcher and Whooping Crane. Five are federally threatened, and the other ten are proposed for federal listing, listed by Colorado or tracked as at risk.
This list includes federally listed birds, Colorado state-listed birds and Colorado species of special concern.
By Threatened Colorado , Two Colorado natives , About us
Last reviewed , Checked against CPW, CNHP sources , Sources (4)
Sagebrush and prairie birds lose ground as grassland is plowed and sagebrush is cleared or broken into pieces; the Colorado Natural Heritage Program found shortgrass prairie down 48% and sagebrush down 12% from their historic extent (habitat loss). Shorebirds and marsh birds depend on reservoirs, rivers and wetlands, and CPW says Colorado has lost half of its wetlands.
Most of the world's Gunnison sage-grouse live in Colorado. The bird lives only in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah, and when USFWS listed it as threatened in 2014, the listing rule put about 84% of the birds in the Gunnison Basin. CPW opens a roadside lek at the Waunita Watchable Wildlife Area on set days each April, where visitors watch from their cars before sunrise.
Federally endangered (2)
- Photo: Steve Hillebrand / USFWS — Public DomainRare Visitor
Federally threatened (5)
- Photo: Jarrett Woodrow / USFWS — Public Domain
- Photo: Gary Kramer / USFWS — Public Domain
- Photo: Shaula Hedwall / USFWS — Public Domain
- Photo: USFWS — Public Domain
- Photo: Peter Pearsall / USFWS — Public Domain
State-listed in Colorado (not federally listed) (4)
- Photo: Rod Colvin / USFWS — Public Domain
- Photo: Laurie Sheppard / USFWS — Public DomainUSNot Listed COEndangered
Least Tern (Interior)
Sternula antillarum athalassos
bird Reservoir Shorelines - Photo: Patricia Zenone / USFWS — Public Domain
- Photo: Rick Bohn / USFWS — Public DomainUSNot Listed COEndangered
Plains Sharp-tailed Grouse
Tympanuchus phasianellus jamesi
bird Conservation Reserve Program Grasslands
Other at-risk species (6)
- Photo: Roy W. Lowe / USFWS — Public DomainUSNot Listed COSpecial Concern
American Peregrine Falcon
Falco peregrinus anatum
bird High Cliffs and Bluffs - Photo: Todd Harless / USFWS — Public Domain
- Photo: Brett Billings / USFWS — Public Domain
- Photo: Tom Koerner / USFWS — Public DomainUSNot Listed COSpecial Concern
Greater Sage-Grouse
Centrocercus urophasianus
bird Sagebrush Flats, Slopes, Ridges and Plateaus - Photo: Kate Miyamoto / USFWS — Public DomainUSNot Listed COSpecial Concern
Greater Sandhill Crane
Antigone canadensis tabida
bird Wet Meadows and Shallow Marshes - Photo: Derek Freed / iNaturalist — CC BY-NC 4.0
Native & Rare birds (6)
Not listed as threatened or endangered, and not counted above: native birds that are rare or show how their habitat is doing. About Native & Rare
- Photo: Jacob W. Frank / National Park Service — Public Domain
- Photo: Jeremiah / iNaturalist — CC BY-NC 4.0
- Photo: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service — Public Domain
- Photo: Dave Menke / USFWS — Public Domain
- Photo: Jim Hudgins / USFWS — Public Domain
- Photo: Jim Peaco / National Park Service — Public Domain
Questions people ask
- Why are burrowing owls threatened in Colorado? Burrowing Owl
- Are bald eagles still endangered? Bald Eagle
- How is the Gunnison sage-grouse different from the greater sage-grouse? Gunnison Sage-Grouse
- Why did lesser prairie-chickens decline? Lesser Prairie-Chicken
- Where can I see piping plovers in Colorado? Piping Plover
Where they live
- Rivers, Streams & Wetlands 9 species
- Shortgrass Prairie 5 species
- Canyon Country & Semi-Desert 3 species
- Montane Forest 2 species
- Sagebrush Shrubland 2 species
Sources (4)
- Colorado Natural Heritage Program, The State of Colorado's Biodiversity (2011). cnhp.colostate.edu (opens in a new tab)
- Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Wetlands. cpw.state.co.us (opens in a new tab)
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Threatened Status for Gunnison Sage-Grouse (Federal Register, 2014). federalregister.gov (opens in a new tab)
- Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Waunita Watchable Wildlife Area (lek viewing). cpw.state.co.us (opens in a new tab)