When they’re not dining on the population explosions of caterpillars, they eat other insects, frogs, lizards, crickets, cicadas and other streamside dwellers. They’ve almost vanished from the Southwest — including Arizona. So the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to list the wide-ranging, quickly-disappearing, stream-loving western yellow-billed cuckcoo (Coccyzus americanus) as an endangered species — likely adding one more layer of protection for — and restrictions on — streams in Rim Country. The federal government has proposed listing 80 protected streamside areas as critical habitat for the robin-sized bird, including Tonto Creek, the Verde River and other small streams like the East Verde, Fossil Creek and other Rim Country streams. Population surveys suggest the Western Cuckcoo continues to decline by about 1.5 percent annually. The estimated 15,000 breeding pairs in California in the late 19th century had declined to about 30 pairs by 1986. The thousands of pairs in Arizona had declined to 200 pairs in the same period. Biologists aren’t sure how many pairs remain in the southwest now.
Source: Payson Roundup, December 25, 2014
http://www.paysonroundup.com/news/2014/dec/22/another-endangered-stream…
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