A study driven by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology warns that five major forests in Central America—from southern Mexico to northern Colombia—are essential corridors for dozens of migratory bird species.
These ecosystems support between 10 and 46% of the world’s populations of 40 species that breed in North America and spend the boreal winter in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Among the most critical cases is the cerulean warbler, whose global population has decreased by 70% since 1970. More than 40% of its specimens depend on these forests during the spring migration.
The five major identified forests
- Selva Maya (Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala).
- La Moskitia (Honduras and Nicaragua).
- Indio Maíz-Tortuguero (Nicaragua and Costa Rica).
- La Amistad (Costa Rica and Panama).
- El Darién (Panama and northern Colombia).
These territories are directly connected with the forested areas of the northeastern United States, Ontario and Quebec, Minnesota and Wisconsin, the Mississippi Delta, and the Appalachians, as well as the mountainous region of Texas, where the birds breed.
Citizen science and big data
The research analyzed more than 2 billion bird observations submitted by a million people to the eBird platform, one of the largest participatory databases in the world.
Using verification tools and advanced machine learning models, the reports were transformed into distribution maps, abundance estimates, and high-resolution migratory patterns.
An accelerated loss
Since the year 2000, the five forests have lost between 5 and 30% of their surface, mainly due to illegal cattle ranching. Scientist Viviana Ruiz Gutiérrez warns:
“We are at a critical point. If deforestation continues, millions of birds will disappear.”
In North America, 2.5 billion migratory birds from 419 species have already been lost since 1970, reflecting the magnitude of the problem.
International cooperation and local communities
The study emphasizes that conservation requires multi-year funding from northern countries, aimed at local and indigenous communities to encourage forest regeneration, sustainable management, and agroforestry.
Ruiz Gutiérrez highlights the connection between north and south:
“If someone enjoys seeing a cerulean warbler in Central Park, New York, or in a forest in Canada, they must understand that this is only possible thanks to those who protect these habitats in the south.”
The loss of forests in Central America directly threatens millions of migratory birds and global biodiversity. These green corridors, now turned into isolated patches in a sea of urbanization and agriculture, are essential for the survival of species that connect continents. International cooperation and the strengthening of local communities appear as the only way to halt deforestation and ensure that birds continue to cross the skies of America.
