Important Bird Areas: Chihuahuan Desert & Edwards Plateau

The sites listed here come from The American Bird Conservancy Guide to the 500 Most Important Bird Areas in the United States (2003). The Chihuahuan Desert (sites #1-11) stretches from Arizona's Sierra Madre Occidental on the west to the Edwards Plateau in Texas on the east, grades into the Great Plains on the north, and extends south over much of the central Mexican Plateau. It is a region of arid grasslands in the lowlands, with oak-juniper woodlands and conifer forests at higher elevations; characteristic birds include Scaled Quail in lowlands, Bell's Vireo in riparian areas, and Black-capped Vireo and Lucifer Hummingbird in the mountains. Rio Grande wetlands provide habitat for Sandhill Cranes and waterfowl. The Edwards Plateau (sites #12-20) of central Texas is dominated by mesquite, juniper, and oak savannah, and is the core breeding range of Black-capped Vireo and Golden-cheeked Warbler, with Scissor-tailed Flycatcher and Bell's Vireo other representative species.