These forests are associated with arid interior valleys such as the Sula and Aguán, on the Atlantic slope of Honduras (see map, p. 135). The vegetation in these valleys comprises (or comprised) arid and mixed scrub, as well as thorn forest which reaches a height of 6-10 m in places and is dominated by Mimosaceae, Cactaceae and Euphorbiaceae (Monroe 1968, Howell and Webb 1989). The threatened Honduran Emerald Amazilia luciae (classified as Critical) is endemic to just a few localities in these arid valleys and for years was known from only 11 specimens (the most recent being collected in 1950) until it was rediscovered in 1988 in the upper Aguán valley where it is a common local resident (Howell and Webb 1995a). The relatively small area of preferred habitat is under pressure for conversion to agriculture (cattle grazing and crops such as pineapples) (Collar et al. 1992).

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Endemic Bird Area factsheet: North Honduran thorn forests. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/eba/factsheet/309 on 23/11/2024.