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Eastern Bering Sea islands (secondary area)
Country/Territory USA
Area
Altitude  
Priority
Habitat loss
Knowledge


General characteristics 

This Secondary Area is centred on St Matthew Island (c.600km2) which lies between St Lawrence Island to the north and the Pribilof Islands to the south, c.350km 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).

Species IUCN Category
McKay's Bunting (Plectrophenax hyperboreus)  NT 

Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Endemic Bird Area factsheet: Eastern Bering Sea islands. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 19/06/2013

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