Species of Special Concern
Many birds in Washington are showing signs of decline due to habitat loss and other environmental threats. Some of these species are still relatively common and widespread while others have all but disappeared from the state. After careful scientific monitoring, various government agencies and non-governmental organizations formally designate those species deemed most at risk, placing them on special lists in order to provide protection and call attention to their status. Designations from four of the most important lists are compiled in the table below: the federal List of Threatened and Endangered Species (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), the Audubon/American Bird Conservancy Watch List, the state Species of Concern list (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife), and the Audubon Washington Vulnerable Birds list.
Click on the name at the head of the column for further details about each list, or on a species' name on the table to go to its BirdWeb account.
| Federal Endangered Species List | American Bird Conservancy's Threats to Birds | State Endangered Species List | Audubon's Species on the Brink | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emperor Goose | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Brant | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Cackling Goose | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Trumpeter Swan | -- | -- | -- | High Concern |
| Canvasback | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Redhead | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Steller's Eider | -- | Red List | -- | -- |
| Harlequin Duck | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Barrow's Goldeneye | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Hooded Merganser | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Greater Sage-Grouse | Candidate | Yellow List | Threatened | Immediate Concern |
| Sooty Grouse | -- | Yellow List | -- | Early Warning |
| Sharp-tailed Grouse | -- | -- | Threatened | Immediate Concern |
| Mountain Quail | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Red-throated Loon | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Common Loon | -- | -- | Sensitive | Early Warning |
| Yellow-billed Loon | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Horned Grebe | -- | -- | Monitored | -- |
| Red-necked Grebe | -- | -- | Monitored | -- |
| Western Grebe | -- | -- | Candidate | High Concern |
| Clark's Grebe | -- | Yellow List | Candidate | Early Warning |
| Laysan Albatross | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Black-footed Albatross | -- | Yellow List | -- | Early Warning |
| Short-tailed Albatross | Endangered | Red List | Candidate | -- |
| Pink-footed Shearwater | -- | Yellow List | -- | Early Warning |
| Ashy Storm-Petrel | -- | Red List | -- | -- |
| Red-billed Tropicbird | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Brown Booby | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| American White Pelican | -- | -- | Threatened | Early Warning |
| Brown Pelican | Endangered | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Brandt's Cormorant | -- | -- | Candidate | Early Warning |
| Red-faced Cormorant | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Pelagic Cormorant | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Magnificent Frigatebird | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| American Bittern | -- | -- | -- | Immediate Concern |
| Great Blue Heron | -- | -- | Monitored | -- |
| Great Egret | -- | -- | Monitored | -- |
| Green Heron | -- | -- | Monitored | -- |
| Black-crowned Night-Heron | -- | -- | Monitored | -- |
| Turkey Vulture | -- | -- | Monitored | -- |
| California Condor | -- | Red List | -- | -- |
| Osprey | -- | -- | Monitored | -- |
| Bald Eagle | Delisted-Recovered | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Cooper's Hawk | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Northern Goshawk | -- | -- | Candidate | Immediate Concern |
| Swainson's Hawk | -- | Yellow List | Monitored | Early Warning |
| Ferruginous Hawk | -- | -- | Threatened | Immediate Concern |
| Golden Eagle | -- | -- | Candidate | High Concern |
| Merlin | -- | -- | Candidate | Early Warning |
| Gyrfalcon | -- | -- | Monitored | -- |
| Peregrine Falcon | Delisted-Recovered | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Prairie Falcon | -- | -- | Monitored | High Concern |
| Yellow Rail | -- | Red List | -- | -- |
| Sandhill Crane | -- | -- | Endangered | Early Warning |
| American Golden-Plover | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Pacific Golden-Plover | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Snowy Plover (Western subspecies) | Threatened | Red List | Endangered | Immediate Concern |
| Mountain Plover | -- | Red List | -- | -- |
| Black Oystercatcher | -- | Yellow List | Monitored | Early Warning |
| Black-necked Stilt | -- | -- | Monitored | -- |
| Wandering Tattler | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Willet | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Lesser Yellowlegs | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Upland Sandpiper | -- | -- | Endangered | -- |
| Whimbrel | -- | Yellow List | -- | Early Warning |
| Bristle-thighed Curlew | -- | Red List | -- | -- |
| Long-billed Curlew | -- | Yellow List | Monitored | Immediate Concern |
| Hudsonian Godwit | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Bar-tailed Godwit | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Marbled Godwit | -- | Yellow List | -- | Early Warning |
| Ruddy Turnstone | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Black Turnstone | -- | Yellow List | -- | Early Warning |
| Surfbird | -- | Yellow List | -- | Early Warning |
| Red Knot | -- | Red List | -- | Immediate Concern |
| Sanderling | -- | Yellow List | -- | Early Warning |
| Semipalmated Sandpiper | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Western Sandpiper | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Pectoral Sandpiper | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Rock Sandpiper | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Dunlin | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Buff-breasted Sandpiper | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Short-billed Dowitcher | -- | Yellow List | -- | Early Warning |
| Wilson's Phalarope | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Heermann's Gull | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Western Gull | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Ross's Gull | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Ivory Gull | -- | Red List | -- | -- |
| Caspian Tern | -- | -- | Monitored | High Concern |
| Black Tern | -- | -- | Monitored | Early Warning |
| Arctic Tern | -- | -- | Monitored | Early Warning |
| Forster's Tern | -- | -- | Monitored | -- |
| Common Murre | -- | -- | Candidate | Early Warning |
| Marbled Murrelet | Threatened | Red List | Endangered | Immediate Concern |
| Kittlitz's Murrelet | -- | Red List | -- | -- |
| Cassin's Auklet | -- | -- | Candidate | Early Warning |
| Tufted Puffin | -- | -- | Endangered | Early Warning |
| Band-tailed Pigeon | -- | Yellow List | -- | High Concern |
| Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Western population) | Threatened | Red List | Candidate | -- |
| Black-billed Cuckoo | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Flammulated Owl | -- | Yellow List | Candidate | High Concern |
| Western Screech-Owl | -- | Red List | -- | -- |
| Snowy Owl | -- | -- | Monitored | -- |
| Burrowing Owl | -- | -- | Candidate | High Concern |
| Spotted Owl (Northern subspecies) | Threatened | Yellow List | Endangered | Immediate Concern |
| Great Gray Owl | -- | -- | Monitored | Early Warning |
| Short-eared Owl | -- | Yellow List | -- | High Concern |
| Boreal Owl | -- | -- | Monitored | -- |
| Black Swift | -- | Yellow List | Monitored | Immediate Concern |
| Vaux's Swift | -- | -- | Candidate | Early Warning |
| White-throated Swift | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Black-chinned Hummingbird | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Calliope Hummingbird | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Rufous Hummingbird | -- | Yellow List | -- | Early Warning |
| Allen's Hummingbird | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Lewis's Woodpecker | -- | Yellow List | Candidate | High Concern |
| Williamson's Sapsucker | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Red-naped Sapsucker | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Red-breasted Sapsucker | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| White-headed Woodpecker | -- | -- | Candidate | Immediate Concern |
| Black-backed Woodpecker | -- | -- | Candidate | Early Warning |
| Pileated Woodpecker | -- | -- | Candidate | Early Warning |
| Olive-sided Flycatcher | -- | Yellow List | -- | Immediate Concern |
| Willow Flycatcher | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Hammond's Flycatcher | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Gray Flycatcher | -- | -- | Monitored | -- |
| Dusky Flycatcher | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Western Flycatcher | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Ash-throated Flycatcher | -- | -- | Monitored | -- |
| Loggerhead Shrike | -- | -- | Candidate | Immediate Concern |
| Cassin's Vireo | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Pinyon Jay | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Horned Lark (Streaked subspecies) | Threatened | Red List | Endangered | Immediate Concern |
| Purple Martin | -- | -- | Candidate | High Concern |
| Boreal Chickadee | -- | -- | Monitored | -- |
| White-breasted Nuthatch (Slender-billed subspecies) | -- | -- | Candidate | Early Warning |
| Pygmy Nuthatch | -- | -- | Monitored | Early Warning |
| Western Bluebird | -- | -- | Monitored | Early Warning |
| Gray Catbird | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Sage Thrasher | -- | -- | Candidate | High Concern |
| Golden-winged Warbler | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Yellow Warbler | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Black-throated Gray Warbler | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Hermit Warbler | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Prairie Warbler | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Prothonotary Warbler | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Northern Waterthrush | -- | -- | Monitored | -- |
| Kentucky Warbler | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| MacGillivray's Warbler | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Yellow-breasted Chat | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Green-tailed Towhee | -- | -- | Monitored | -- |
| Chipping Sparrow | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Brewer's Sparrow | -- | Yellow List | -- | High Concern |
| Vesper Sparrow (Oregon subspecies) | -- | Red List | Candidate | Immediate Concern |
| Sage Sparrow | -- | -- | Candidate | High Concern |
| Grasshopper Sparrow | -- | -- | Monitored | -- |
| Harris's Sparrow | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Chestnut-collared Longspur | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| McKay's Bunting | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Lazuli Bunting | -- | -- | -- | Early Warning |
| Bobolink | -- | Yellow List | Monitored | -- |
| Tricolored Blackbird | -- | Red List | -- | -- |
| Cassin's Finch | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |
| Lesser Goldfinch | -- | -- | Monitored | -- |
| Evening Grosbeak | -- | Yellow List | -- | -- |