St. Lucia Photograph by WWF/ Paul Butler   Southern Caribbean: Islands of Martinique, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests   800 square miles (2,000 square kilometers) -- about the size of Rhode Island Critical/Endangered

· Parrots in Paradise
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Parrots in Paradise

The landscape of the Windward Islands is as colorful and memorable as the islands’ signature birds, the Amazon parrots. Members of this endangered and strikingly beautiful bird family can be found in the moist forests of Dominica, St. Vincent, and St. Lucia Islands. These parrots are the focus of considerable conservation and environmental education efforts.

Special Features

Spanning the Caribbean Sea from Dominica down to Grenada, the Windward Islands are all volcanic in origin. These islands have formed relatively recently and have steep, rugged profiles, which are unsuitable for agriculture and often difficult for people to penetrate. As a result, the moist forests at high altitudes are often in good condition, unlike the more easily accessible dry forests, which have largely been replaced by urban development and agriculture. Heavy rainfall and high humidity nourish lush forests of gommier and chatagnier trees. Beneath the trees, ferns and orchids cover the forest floor. Arboreal orchids can also be found growing in tree branches, joined by lianas, climbing plants, and bromeliads. Plants that are tolerant of sulfurous gases and hot water can be found close to this ecoregion’s sulfur springs and active fumaroles.

	Only the luckiest visitor to St. Lucia would see the endemic and critically endangered Sempler’s warbler. Little is known about this bird, which is so rare that it has been recorded only five times in the last 40 years by visiting naturalists.

Wild Side

Four species of Amazon parrots can be found in the moist forests of these islands. Each bird is endemic to a particular island: The St. Vincent parrot is found only on St. Vincent Island, the St. Lucia parrot is native to St. Lucia, and the red-necked Amazon parrot and Imperial Amazon parrot reside only on Dominica Island. Because Dominica’s hilly terrain precludes sugar cane cultivation, its native wildlife, especially its amphibians and reptiles, are exceptionally well preserved. For example, you might find small whistling frogs in the cavities between the leaves of bromeliad plants, which collect rain and dew. Mammals are found here too, such as the rabbit-sized agouti, a small mammal that spends its days on the forest floor eating fruit and nuts before retiring at night to sleep in the dense brush or under a fallen tree.

Cause for Concern

Partially protected by their high altitude, these moist forests are still threatened by expanding urban development and road construction. Pollution, grazing, and invasion by non-native species are also serious concerns. Birds, especially parrots, are hunted excessively and captured for the pet trade.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.