|
|
Catharus bicknelli
– Vulnerable
Taxonomy
|
Kingdom:
|
ANIMALIA
|
|
Phylum:
|
CHORDATA
|
|
Class:
|
AVES
|
|
Order:
|
PASSERIFORMES
|
|
Family:
|
TURDIDAE
|
|
Scientific Name:
|
Catharus bicknelli
|
|
Species Authority:
|
(Ridgway, 1882)
|
|
Common Name/s:
|
| English | — | BICKNELL'S THRUSH |
|
|
Taxonomic Notes:
|
Catharus minimus (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) has been split into C. minimus and C. bicknelli following AOU (1998).
|
Assessment Information
|
Red List Category & Criteria:
|
VU A2c+3c ver 3.1 (2001)
|
|
Year Assessed:
|
2004
|
|
Assessor/s:
|
BirdLife International
|
|
Evaluator/s:
|
Capper, D., Wege, D. & Pople, R. (BirdLife International Red List Authority)
|
|
Justification:
|
The continuing reduction in the extent, area and quality of this species’ wintering habitats, as a result of agricultural conversion, logging and charcoal production, is thought to be causing a rapid population decline, qualifying it as Vulnerable.
|
|
History:
|
| 2000 | - | Vulnerable (BirdLife International 2000) |
|
Geographic Range
|
Range Description:
|
Catharus bicknelli breeds patchily in south-east Quebec and the Maritime provinces, Canada, and eastern New York and northern New England, USA1,5,6. There are 20,000-50,000 adults in the USA4,10 and 1,000-3,000 birds in the Maritime provinces2, but there have been local extinctions10. It migrates along the coast to winter in the Caribbean7. The stronghold is the Dominican Republic (especially the Sierra de Baoruco and Cordillera Central) and possibly Haiti7,9. It also winters in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, with small numbers in Puerto Rico and Dominica. There are three records from Cuba, including one in the Sierra Maestra in 19993,10,11.
|
|
Range Map:
|
 (click for detailed map)
|
|
Countries:
|
Native:
Canada; Cuba; Dominican Republic; Haiti; Jamaica; Puerto Rico; United States
Vagrant:
Virgin Islands, U.S.
|
Population
|
Population Trend:
|
|
Habitat and Ecology
|
Habitat and Ecology:
|
It breeds in dense montane forests (above 900 m) of balsam fir Abies balsamae and red spruce Picea rubens, usually near the treeline1,8, but occupies less than 75% of available habitat10. In Canada, it also inhabits regenerating clear-cuts and coastal areas with spruce-fir at low elevations1. In winter, it occurs in moist broadleaved and mixed pine-broadleaved montane forests and secondary woodlands7,8,9. It nests in June-July (present on breeding grounds May-September), sometimes with high failure rates8. It may sexually segregate in winter, with females in "poorer quality" habitats10.
|
|
System:
|
Terrestrial
|
Threats
|
Threats:
|
Acid precipitation may have damaged breeding habitat in the 1960s and 1970s6,8. On a predicted doubling of carbon dioxide by 2050, atmospheric warming is forecast to eliminate montane spruce-fir4,10. Ski-resort, communication and wind-power developments potentially threaten local populations1,8. In Quebec, the widespread practice of thinning renders habitat unsuitable11. Agricultural conversion, logging and charcoal production are rapidly clearing and fragmenting winter habitat1,10.
|
Conservation Actions
|
Conservation Actions:
|
Conservation measures underway:
CMS Appendix II. There is much research activity in the breeding range and, increasingly, the Caribbean. Some important breeding areas and c.50% of sites in the Dominican Republic are actively protected9, but recent funding requests for management were turned down. Management and protection of existing reserves and parks is now inadequate12. Funding to investigate migration patterns is also currently lacking12.
Conservation measures proposed:
Clarify distribution and migration details1,8. Refine estimates of population size1,8. Evaluate human impacts on breeding birds10. Clarify winter segregation10. Develop strategies to maintain dense stands of regenerating balsam fir in Quebec. Develop management plans for existing, and designate new, reserves in the Dominican Republic9,10.
|
|
|
