The sites listed here come from The American Bird Conservancy Guide to the 500 Most Important Bird Areas in the United States (2003). The Appalachian Mountains (sites #1-18) run from southern New York into central Alabama, a region dominated by oak, hickory, and other deciduous forests at lower elevations, and pine, hemlock, spruce and fir higher up. Important birds of the forest here include Worm-eating Warbler at lower elevations, Black-throated Blue Warbler in the higher reaches, and Golden-winged Warbler in early successional habitats, while Henslow's Sparrows can be found in grasslands. The Piedmont (sites #19-21) is the transitional area between the Appalachians and the coastal plain, from northern New Jersey and southern Pennsylvania to easternmost Alabama. The primary habitats here are pine and mixed hardwood forests, with the Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Brown-headed Nuthatch and Bachman's Sparrow (all pine specialists) as priority birds.
