15 Endangered Birds in America

At Paso Pacifico, we take the plight of endangered birds in America to heart. Together with our volunteers, partners, donors, and sponsors, we do everything we can to keep these species from going extinct through our programs and partnerships. 

The goal is to protect habitats where they can live and safely breed. Threatened by habitat disruption, these birds’ numbers have been dwindling over the last decades. The IUCN lists 31 endangered birds in North America—96 in South America and 28 in Mesoamerica, totaling 155 bird species.  

Let’s explore some of these endangered feathered creatures and how Paso Pacifico has been protecting their habitats so future generations can see them fly across the region’s skies. 

Notable Endangered Birds in North, Central, and South America

Get to know these endangered birds in America and the threats to their survival. 

Tricolored Blackbird

Scientific name: Agelaius tricolor

Habitat loss has affected their nesting and foraging, leading to the tricolored blackbird’s population decline by more than 60%. Almost endemic to California and existing in the Central Valley, Sierra Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Baja California, their population faces threats like urbanization, the conversion of their habitats into crop plantations, and low insect abundance due to pesticide use. 

Dwarf Tinamou

Scientific name: Taoiniscus nanus

This plump, short-legged, partridge-like bird is now rare and found only in scattered pockets of tropical savanna in central and southeastern Brazil. They’re now mostly found in protected areas, but frequent grass fires and the conversion of their habitats into eucalyptus and soya plantations continue to threaten them.

Marbled Murrelet

Scientific name: Brachyramphus marmoratus

Marbled mullets are diving seabirds and are among the endangered birds in America. They forage in the ocean and nest in forests. These members of the Alcidae family remain abundant in the Aleutian Islands, Canada’s Pacific Coast, and Southern Alaska and California. However, they are quickly disappearing from Alaska, Washington, and British Columbia. 

Increased predation, oil spills, and the disturbance of their nesting sites and forest edges are their main threats. Lack of prey affects their pre-breeding diets. Combined with rising sea-surface temperatures, these factors reduce their reproductive abilities.

Sun Parakeet

Scientific name: Aratinga solstitialis

The sun parakeet or sun conure is a medium-sized, vibrantly hued parrot. It hails from northeastern Roraima, Brazil, and Guyana. The international bird trade has led them to disappear from large areas that used to be part of their range.

They are now very scarce, with a 50% to 59% decline over the last few decades. Though populations have somewhat recovered in Guyana, threats like illegal trapping, poaching, and habitat loss due to logging and land conversions continue. 

White-Collared Kite

Scientific name: Leptodon forbesi 

The white-collard kite has become scarce due to habitat loss. According to the National Red List of Brazil, the population of mature white-collared kites is around 2,500. Forest fires, indiscriminate small-scale logging, and hunting continue to disrupt their range. 

Mangrove Hummingbird

Scientific name: Chrysuronia boucardi

The mangrove hummingbird lives in Golfo de Nicoya to Golfo Dulce on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. Though there are 1,500 to 7,000 mature individuals, their range on the Pacific Coast is rapidly shrinking. Mangrove forests, which are their homes, are continuously degraded.

Moreover, deforestation for shrimp aquaculture, selective logging for charcoal production, the construction of roads and dikes, rising sea levels, and pollution threaten their existence.

Oaxaca Hummingbird

Scientific name: Eupherusa cyanophrys

Oaxaca hummingbirds can only be found in the isolated mountain range of Sierra Miahuatlán. Vast cloud forests in the Sierra are being compromised to make room for plantations. The onslaught of Hurricane Paulina in 1997 also destroyed large areas of their habitats. 

Guadalupe Junco

Scientific name: Junco insularis

Endemic to Guadalupe Island in Mexico, this bird species used to abound in the area. Unfortunately, it is now scarcely distributed in the northern part of the island. Intense goat grazing and a lack of regeneration have led to its decline. Feral cats that prey on them also contribute to their decreasing numbers. 

Its criteria D endangered classification indicates the Guadalupe junco’s extremely small numbers and vulnerability to environmental shifts. Thankfully, the species is increasing in population thanks to habitat management. 

Townsend’s Storm-Petrel

Scientific name: Hydrobates leucorhous

Newly split into H. leucorhous, H. socorroensis and H. cheimomnestes species, the Townsend’s storm-petrel exists on the island of Guadalupe and nearby islets, namely Islote Negro and Islote Asfuera. They still breed in these places, but predators hunt them and destroy their nests. Their predatory threats include cats, mice, and goats. 

Even if invasive predators are controlled, the bird still faces extinction due to its small and restricted breeding range.  

Lilac-Crowned Amazon

Scientific name: Amazona finschi

Originally from Mexico’s Pacific Coast, this species has declined 29% over the past 20 years. After disappearing from 70% of its estimated range, it is rapidly declining in number. 

Around 5,000 mature individuals are captured illegally in Mexico each year for domestic and international trade. The Pacific Coast’s semi-deciduous forests where they nest and breed are rapidly being converted to cultivated lands and developments like dams. Frequent and intense hurricanes have also contributed to the destruction of their habitat.  

Tuxtla Quail Dove

Scientific name: Zentrygon carrikeri 

Based on assessment of known records, descriptions of abundance and range size, the Tuxtla Quail Dove, which is endemic to Sierra de los Tuxtlas in Southeast Veracruz, Mexico, is now estimated to have a population of 350 to 1,500.

Existing in cloud forests, tropical rainforests, secondary forests, and restored forests, they typically court, breed, and nest in highlands rather than lowlands. Threats to their rapid decline include habitat loss due to timber, cultivation, and pasture. 

Ashy Storm-Petrel   

Scientific name: Hydrobates homochroa

This bird mates in the California Current System from Mendocino County to the Los Coronados Islands off northern Baja California, Mexico.

There are only 5,200 to 10,000 of them, with 3,500 to 6,700 mature individuals. Threats to their population include hyperpredation from native species and invasive species. Chemical pollution, oil incidents, rising sea levels, and more frequent storm surges caused by climate change also put them at risk.

Socorro Towhee 

Scientific name: Pipilo socorroensis

Native to the island of Socorro, Mexico, this bird species has been listed as endangered because of its very small population, limited range, and the destruction of its habitat due to invasive animals like sheep.

Socorro towhees are 2,500 to 9,999 in number. Feral sheep and cats have been responsible for their sparse distribution across the island. 

Thick-Billed Parrot

Scientific name: Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha

Most thick-billed parrots can be found in Mexico’s Sierra Madre Occidental. This species faces danger from habitat loss, illegal trapping due to the pet trade, commercial logging, fire, cattle grazing, and climate change. 

Breeding areas have become limited to Cebadillas de Yahuirachi and Madera as their habitats are degraded.

Yellow-Naped Amazon

Scientific name: Amazon auropalliata

Colorful and intelligent, this wild bird has gone from endangered to critically endangered in Central America. Poaching activities are loosely prosecuted in the area. This has allowed the illegal parrot pet trade to reduce its numbers. The yellow-naped Amazon must survive and remain in the wild because of its crucial role as a seed distributor in the plant ecosystem.

Help Save Endangered Birds in America

Paso Pacifico has conservation programs that restore and conserve Mesoamerica’s Pacific Slope ecosystems. This area is where birds forage, court, breed, and nest, making its preservation critical.Join us in promoting environmental citizenship through volunteerism, donations, and partnerships. Let’s work together to save the endangered birds in South America and beyond, including the wildlife corridors they thrive in.