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The North American Breeding Bird Survey

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Edited by: C. John Ralph and J. Michael Scott

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Abstract

A brief history of the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) and a discussion of the technique are presented. The approximately 2000 random roadside routes conducted yearly during the breeding season throughout North America produce an enormous bank of data on distribution and abundance of breeding birds with great potential use. Data on about one million total birds of 500 species per year are on computer tape to facilitate accessibility and are available to any serious investigator. The BBS includes the advantages of wide geographic coverage, sampling of most habitat types, standardization of data collection, and a relatively simple format. The Survey is limited by placement of roads (e.g., marshes and rugged mountainous areas are not well sampled), traffic noise interference in some cases and preference of some bird species for roadside habitats. These and other problems and biases of the BBS are discussed. The uniformity of the technique allows for detecting changes in populations and for creation of maps of relative abundance. Examples of each are presented.

Suggested Citation

Bystrak, D., 1981, The North American Breeding Bird Survey, chap. of Estimating Numbers of Terrestrial Birds, p. 34-41.

Publication type Book chapter
Publication Subtype Book Chapter
Title The North American Breeding Bird Survey
Series number 6
Year Published 1981
Language English
Publisher Cooper Ornithological Society, Allen Press
Publisher location Lawrence, Kansas
Contributing office(s) Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Description x, 630
Larger Work Type Book
Larger Work Subtype Other Government Series
Larger Work Title Estimating Numbers of Terrestrial Birds
First page 34
Last page 41
Additional publication details