Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Sprague's pipits, a species of small migratory songbird, are rapidly declining. Scientists believe the bird has lost more than 70% of its population within the last 50 years. But in order to save a species, you have to know where it is, and when.
Smithsonian researchers use the Motus Wildlife Tracking System and tiny radio trackers to monitor Sprague's pipits in an effort to understand where the birds travel and how they use the landscape. With this sort of ecological data, scientists can identify how protecting specific ecosystems can conserve pipits and other grassland birds.
Sprague's pipits, a species of small migratory songbird, are rapidly declining. Scientists believe the bird has lost more than 70% of its population within the last 50 years. But in order to save a species, you have to know where it is, and when.
Smithsonian researchers use the Motus Wildlife Tracking System and tiny radio trackers to monitor Sprague's pipits in an effort to understand where the birds travel and how they use the landscape. With this sort of ecological data, scientists can identify how protecting specific ecosystems can conserve pipits and other grassland birds.
