ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — U.S. wildlife managers have set aside areas in seven states as habitat that's critical to the survival of a rare songbird that migrates each year from Central and South America to breeding grounds in Mexico and the United States.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday made final the habitat designation for the western yellow-billed cuckoo.
It covers about 467 square miles along hundreds of miles of rivers and streams. Most breeding in the U.S. occurs in Arizona and New Mexico, but the habitat designation also includes portions of California, Colorado, Utah, Texas and Idaho.