Conservation Group Wants Bicknells Thrush On Endangered List

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(Host) A conservation group wants a rare mountain songbird protected under the endangered species act.

The Center for Biological Diversity says the Bicknell's thrush is under threat from climate change. The bird nests in coniferous forests in the Adirondacks, New England and eastern Canada. But as the temperature warms, its habitat is expected to shrink.

Chris Rimmer is a biologist with the Vermont Center for Ecostudies. He's studied the Bicknell's Thrush from its wintering range in the Caribbean to its mountain home in the Northeast.

(Rimmer) "We know where the habitat is, and enough is known about these coniferous high elevation forests that they're very controlled by temperature. And if we warm the climate by as little as one degree, and if it goes up by two degrees centigrade we're going to lose the vast proportion of high elevation fir forest in the Northeast."

(Host) Rimmer's research provided much of the scientific groundwork for the endangered species act petition.

(Rimmer) "What we do know is that populations in Canada are crashing. The birds do occur in the Maritime provinces and southern Quebec. They're really dropping precipitously there. In parts of their core range here in the U.S. they're also declining. In other areas like the Green Mountains, they seem to be stable over the past 6, 7, 8 years."

(Host) Rimmer says protection under the endangered species act should lead to greater focus on preserving habitat for the rare bird. The Center for Biological Diversity is also seeking protection for three other mountain species that is says are threatened by climate change.

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