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Birds as Indicators of Riparian Vegetation Condition in the Western U.S.

Riparian Dependent Species

These are species that place 60%-90% of their nests in riparian vegetation or for which 60%-90% of their abundance occurs in riparian vegetation during the breeding season. Riparian dependents might still occur in an area if riparian vegetation were seriously degraded but their populations would be greatly reduced and they might not persist in the long-term. Some species may be classified as dependents in one geographic area but not another.

Dependent Species²	Conservation Action Required in Geographic Region³						Vegetation Layer(s) Used⁴
Dependent Species²	Coastal	Northern Rockies	Great Basin	Arid S. West	Co. Plat./S. Rockies	Prairies	Understory	Midstory	Canopy
American Goldfinch							•	•	•
Bank Swallow	•							•	•
Bewick's Wren			•	•	•		•
Black-billed Cuckoo									•
Black-capped Chickadee								•
Black-chinned Hummingbird							•	•
Black-headed Grosbeak	•							•	•
Blue Grosbeak	•						•	•
Blue-throated Hummingbird								•	•
Bronzed Cowbird							•	•	•
Bullock's Oriole								•	•
Calliope Hummingbird							•	•
Cooper's Hawk								•	•
Cordilleran Flycatcher		•					•	•
Eastern Kingbird								•	•
Elf Owl				•			•	•
Ferruginous Pygmy-owl				•			•	•
Fox Sparrow							•
Gray Catbird							•	•
Harris' Hawk				•			•	•
Hooded Oriole								•	•
House Wren							•
Indigo Bunting							•	•
Lazuli Bunting	•						•	•
Lesser Goldfinch							•	•	•
Lewis' Woodpecker			•					•	•
MacGillivray's Warbler							•	•
Mississippi Kite									•
Northern Goshawk			•					•	•
Painted Redstart							•	•
Phainopepla				•				•
Red-eyed Vireo								•	•
Red-faced Warbler				•			•	•
Red-headed Woodpecker					•	•	•	•	•
Red-naped Sapsucker								•	•
Swainson's Hawk	•		•						•
Swainson's Thrush	•						•
Tree Swallow								•	•
Warbling Vireo	•								•
Western Wood-pewee								•	•
White-eared Hummingbird				•			•	•
Zone-tailed Hawk									•

²Species is considered to be Dependent (see definitions) in at least one geographic region (see map).
³The Western Working Group of Partners in Flight determined that conservation action is needed now for the species in the geographic region(s) indicated.
⁴The vegetation layer(s) used most by the species. The species is most useful as an indicator of the ecological condition of the layer(s) used.

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Page Last Modified: Friday, 01-Feb-2013 19:51:19 EST
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