American Birding Association

The lush forests of the Andes mountains are home to thousands of bird species. Habitat loss and other factors are contributing to number depletions and have put some bird’s future in jeopardy.

Four conservation groups are seeking to help block an effort to remove federal Endangered Species Act protections for the Florida scrub jay, the Earthjustice legal organization announced Tuesday. The Florida Wildlife Federation, American Bird Conservancy, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida filed a request to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the protections.

A big year, at least amongst birders, is an unofficial competition to see who can see or hear the most species of birds within a given geographical area.…