Birds of Southwestern grasslands: Status, conservation, and management

Abstract

In the Southwestern United States, the grassland avifauna is collectively composed of a mixture of species found primarily in desert grasslands, shortgrass steppe, wet meadows, and alpine tundra (as used here, desert grasslands incorporate both arid grasslands and desert shrub grasslands). Of these habitats, desert grasslands and shortgrass steppe are the most extensive and support the greatest number of grassland bird species. Desert grasslands are patchily distributed across the southern halves of New Mexico and Arizona, and shortgrass steppe is a component of the Great Plains system that in the Southwest region extends across the eastern half of New Mexico into the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma. Alpine tundra and particularly wet meadows are limited in geographic extent and support relatively few species of grassland birds in this region (see chapter 2 for detailed maps of the distribution of grassland types). Though their geographic extent may vary, all of these grassland systems provide habitat for distinctive grassland bird species in the Southwest and are therefore worthy of management concern.

Parent Publication

• Assessment of grassland ecosystem conditions in the Southwestern United States: Wildlife and fish. Vol. 2

Citation

Merola-Zwartjes, Michele. 2005. Birds of Southwestern grasslands: Status, conservation, and management. In: Finch, Deborah M., Editor. 2005. Assessment of grassland ecosystem conditions in the Southwestern United States: wildlife and fish—volume 2. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-135-vol. 2. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 71-140