1/4 of U.S. Birds at Risk, Study Says
The red-cockaded woodpecker lives year-round in the pinelands of the southeastern U.S., but habitat loss has severely reduced its numbers, the Watchlist 2007 of at-risk U.S. birds warns.
Listed as endangered since 1968, the species has rebounded in some areas—but restoration of open long-leaf pine forest must occur for it to truly flourish, the authors say.
The bird is one of the 98 red list species of greatest concern designated by the National Audubon Society and American Bird Conservancy report. An additional 119 birds were placed on a yellow list of seriously declining or rare species.
"Habitat loss due to development, energy exploration and extraction, and the impact of global warming remain serious threats for the most imperiled species, along with others on both the red and yellow lists," David Pashley, the American Bird Conservancy's director of conservation programs and a co-author of the new report, said in a statement.
"Concerted action will be needed to address these threats."
