WatchList Species Account for Grace's Warbler (Dendroica graciae)

Qualifies for the list as a Rare Yellow List Species

Photo: © Herbert Clarke

Dependent on yellow pine forests in the southwestern U.S. and adjoining Mexico, this species is thought to be much less abundant than it was before European settlement and logging changed the structure of the forests. Today’s forests have been transformed not just by timber extraction but by fire suppression, grazing, and development. The park-like forests with grassy openings maintained by frequent fires have been replaced by a forest skewed towards smaller trees, a more closed canopy, and a depleted understory. Since Grace’s Warbler depends on extensive, mature stands of yellow pine, these habitat changes have caused it to decline. Cowbird parasitism may be a problem in some populations, but this has yet to be investigated. Restoration of old-growth pine forest through thinning and controlled burning would benefit the species.