diff --git a/pkgs/servers/bird/default.nix b/pkgs/servers/bird/default.nix
index 7ac7bc8e918e..2cc27eda1d4d 100644
--- a/pkgs/servers/bird/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/servers/bird/default.nix
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{ lib, stdenv, fetchurl, fetchpatch, flex, bison, readline }:
+{ lib, stdenv, fetchurl, fetchpatch, flex, bison, readline, libssh }:
 
 with lib;
 
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ let
       };
 
       nativeBuildInputs = [ flex bison ];
-      buildInputs = [ readline ];
+      buildInputs = [ readline libssh ];
 
       patches = [
         (./. + "/dont-create-sysconfdir-${builtins.substring 0 1 version}.patch")