Nearly 120 bird species that breed in North America migrate annually to the Caribbean. Migratory birds represent a living link that connects northern breeding habitats with southern wintering grounds.
Caribbean islands also host a diverse resident avifauna, including 148 species the exist nowhere else on the planet. Yet growing human populations and habitat loss threaten the region's unique wildlife. Perhaps the most threatened habitat in the Caribbean is mountain forest, winter home to Bicknell's Thrush. This songbird, which breeds in the montane forests of the Northeast, has been a focus for VCE biologists for over two decades. Over time, our work has expanded to include a suite of at-risk wildlife throughout Hispaniola.