Townsend's Solitaire    Myadestes townsendi

Conservation Status

General Status in Canada : Secure

COSEWIC Status : Not assessed

Breeding Bird Surveys indicate North American populations have decreased between 1966 and 2007; reasons for this apparent decline are unknown. Breeding habitat has probably increased in some areas due to forest harvesting that creates more open and preferred habitats, although these areas may be more prone to nest predation. Logging and access roads also create numerous cutbanks along roadsides and in rock quarries, significantly increasing potential nesting sites. Townsend’s Solitaires may have evolved to nest in forest burns; recent wide-scale fire suppression and salvaging of burned forests across much of their range may have reduced habitat in some areas. Reduction or elimination of juniper woodlands in its winter range may also have negative effects on some populations.

Reference(s)

Bowen, R. V. 1997. Townsend's Solitaire (Myadestes townsendi), The Birds of North America Online, . A. Poole, Ed. Ithaca: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology; Retrieved from The Birds of North America Online database: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/269