Maria Island, St. Lucia Photograph by WWF/ Yves Renard   Island group in the southeast Caribbean Deserts and Xeric Shrublands   400 square miles (1,000 square kilometers) -- about half the size of Rhode Island Vulnerable

· Birds in an Arid Land
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Birds in an Arid Land

Plants are sparse but birds abound in the Windward Islands Xeric Scrub ecoregion. Little rain and poor or nonexistent soils support dry cactus and scrub vegetation. But visitors can spy Martinique orioles flitting through the dry scrub, hunting for insects and fruit. They can see endemic St. Lucia black finches, recognizable by their glossy black feathers and thick bills. And the very lucky visitor to Martinique or St. Lucia might see an endangered white-breasted thrasher as it makes its way through the dry scrub and forest.

Special Features

The Windward Islands are a chain of islands in the Caribbean that run south from Dominica toward Venezuela. The chain includes the islands of Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, and Barbados. All these islands, except Barbados, are volcanic in origin and relatively young. Many of them have high, volcanic profiles, receiving the most rain at high altitudes and very little rain at low altitudes along the shore. Communities of endemic cactuses, other succulents, and spiny shrubs grow along the leeward, or western, coasts of the larger islands. The windward, or eastern, coasts tend to have a mixture of xeric and wet forest species.

	When agave plants flower, a woody stalk that grows 20 feet (6 m) high and resembles a piece of asparagus grows out of the rosette of leaves. Huge flowers bloom on top of this stalk, attracting birds and insects. Agave plants are sometimes called century plants because of the belief that they bloom once every hundred years. But in truth they flower once every 15 to 25 years.

Wild Side

If you visit this ecoregion, you'll find columnar cacti, prickly pear shrubs, and agaves growing on the driest, rockiest soils by the coast. In slightly wetter places you might see the manchineel tree growing by the shore. But be careful! This tall tree bears poisonous fruit and exudes an irritating, milky sap. Farther inland, vegetation consists of a mixture of spiny acacia shrubs. Reptiles thrive in this dry, rocky habitat, and small anole lizards are abundant. However, native reptiles are widely threatened by introduced carnivores or by competition with feral livestock. The St. Lucia whiptail is now restricted to the offshore islet of Maria Major, where it can be seen foraging for termites, fruit, and carrion amongst cactus scrub and rocks. The vulnerable Lesser Antilles iguana inhabits Martinique and Dominica. It may appear sluggish as it suns itself on the rocky shores, but it is capable of moving with great bursts of speed when frightened. Birds are also abundant in this dry habitat. In addition to the species mentioned above, you can see black-faced grassquits and pearly-eyed thrashers on all of the Windward Islands.

Cause for Concern

This ecoregion is unsuitable for cultivation, and, as a result, it has been spared agricultural development. However, feral and introduced animals, urban development, grazing, and woodcutting are all serious concerns.

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