The study found that many species spend the entire winter in these forests, including one in four wood thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina). Others, including one-third of broad-winged hawks (Buteo platypterus) and 40% of cerulean warblers (Setophaga cerulea) use the forests as a stopover for journeys farther south. Cerulean warbler populations have declined by roughly 70% since the 1970s.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe density of migratory warblers, flycatchers, and vireos crowded into these five forests is astounding, and means that each hectare protected there safeguards a disproportionate number of birds,\u201d study co-author Viviana Ruiz Gutierrez, director of conservation science at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The five great forests, crucial for both migrating birds and permanent residents like jaguars, tapirs and monkeys, are increasingly under pressure from illegal deforestation, lead author Anna Lello-Smith, a conservation scientist at WCS, told Mongabay in a video call.<\/p>\n
The two northernmost forests, Selva Maya and Moskitia, have lost roughly a quarter of their area in the last 15 years. \u201cThey were the most important for migratory birds in terms of the percent of populations that they\u2019re supporting, but those are also some of the most threatened by illegal cattle ranching and fire,\u201d Lello-Smith said.<\/p>\n
While the migratory birds are concentrated in the five forests over winter, the study found that during the breeding season, they spread across the eastern U.S. and Canada. There, they face threats from additional habitat loss and degradation, house cats, vehicle collisions and pollution.<\/p>\n
Lello-Smith said she hopes this research will foster more stewardship connections between the Central America and North America.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese birds are really connecting people and communities between these distant landscapes, and we all have this shared responsibility to protect their habitats throughout their range and to work together to figure out solutions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n