St. Lucia Photograph by WWF/ Allan Smith   Island group in the southeast Caribbean Tropical and Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests   200 square miles (500 square kilometers) -- about thrice the size of Washington DC Critical/Endangered

· Windward Wonders
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Windward Wonders

The Windward Islands are located in the southeast Caribbean, forming a chain that runs down from Dominica toward Venezuela. Spend some time island-hopping here and you're sure to encounter the scattered patches of dry forests that make up this ecoregion. These forests are home to abundant birds, lizards, bats, and more!

Special Features

Dry forests grow on a number of the Windward Islands: Martinique, St. Lucia, Grenada, St. Vincent, and the Grenadines. All of these islands are volcanic in origin and were formed relatively recently. Rainfall is heavy at high altitudes and sparse at low altitudes. And it's in these dry, low-altitude places that dry forests grow--often close to the coast. Dry forest vegetation consists of scrub woodland mixed with cactus scrub and acacias (small, thorny trees well adjusted to drought). Because of intensive agriculture--especially spices--these forests remain only in scattered patches.

	Rare and beautiful Martinique orioles are suffering population declines, in part because of an alien species. Shiny cowbirds--natives of Trinidad and South America--lay their own eggs in the orioles' nests. Newly hatched cowbird chicks are bigger than oriole chicks, and they quickly monopolize all the food--sometimes even pushing oriole chicks out of the nest!

Wild Side

Hikers exploring dry scrub on Grenada will know if the rare, endemic Grenada dove is nearby. This plump dove coos continuously, repeating its distinctive call at precise eight-second intervals. Unfortunately, fewer than 100 Grenada doves may remain. Elsewhere in the region, you may see zenaida doves foraging on the ground while black-faced grassquits buzz about. Common iguanas up to six feet (2 m) in length can be seen on all of the islands except for Martinique. These ferocious-looking lizards are actually placid plant-eaters. While they may prefer to perch on a tree branch, they can also be found basking on the roofs of buildings. The earliest inhabitants of these islands, the Arawaks, may have brought the iguanas with them as a convenient food supply. At night, bats fill the skies above these small islands. Ten of the 24 bat species that occur in the Lesser Antilles can be seen on Martinique, including the endemic Schwartz’s myotis bat.

Cause for Concern

These dry forests are severely threatened by continued agricultural expansion and urban development. Grazing, charcoal burning, and firewood collection further degrade these forests. Introduced animals, especially mongooses, prey on native animals.

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