This Secondary Area is centred on St Matthew Island (c.600 km²) which lies between St Lawrence Island to the north and the Pribilof Islands to the south, c.350 km west of south-west Alaska, USA. The area has been identified because McKay's Bunting Plectrophenax hyperboreus breeds on St Matthew and the much smaller nearby Hall Island. The species also breeds in small numbers on St Lawrence Island, and is regularly reported but rarely nests on St Paul and St George Islands in the Pribilof group (where it appears to hybridize with Snow Bunting P. nivalis). This Secondary Area is characterized by rocky coastal areas and upland, rocky tundra and scree slopes. P. hyperboreus winters along the coast of western Alaska (Byers et al. 1995, Rising 1996).

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Endemic Bird Area factsheet: Eastern Bering Sea islands. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/eba/factsheet/300 on 23/11/2024.