What is a Neotropical Migratory bird?
Much like the human “snowbirds” who flock to Arizona every winter, many of their feathered counterparts travel south as well. Birds that breed in the United States and Canada, but winter south of the United States/Mexico border are known as neotropical migratory birds. Approximately 238 of the more than 500 species of birds found in Arizona are neotropical migrants. While not all neotropical migrants breed in Arizona, they comprise well over half of the nearly 300 species of breeding birds in the state. They include familiar birds such as hummingbirds, swallows, warblers, and orioles.
