Qualifies for the list as a Declining Yellow List Species

Photo: Greg Lavaty

The Red-faced Warbler breeds at high elevations in montane fir, pine, and pine-oak forests of Arizona, New Mexico, and western Mexico. The species may be expanding its range; in recent years it has been observed in Colorado. It winters south through the highlands of southern Mexico to El Salvador and Honduras. In the U.S., its populations may be declining slightly, but in Mexico it is virtually unstudied.

The main threat to this ground-nesting species is habitat degradation. Logging in areas where the bird breeds causes drastic declines and even complete disappearance. In a study of a gradient of disturbed plots in forest ranging from clearcut to selectively logged, the birds were present only in the untouched control areas.