We estimated there were about 25.5 million breeding pairs in North Dakota in 1967, 24.1 million pairs in 1992, and 27.4 million pairs in 1993. Multiplying these estimates by two gives a rough estimate of nearly 50 million individual breeding birds in North Dakota during the breeding season, before young are produced. This estimate is conservative because some breeding birds are polygynous, with males having two or more mates.
Numbers represent indicated pairs.