The Bicknell's thrush, which can impede wind project plans, moves closer to possible U.S. protection.

A bird that ornithologists, birders and wind-power opponents say is at risk from developments ranging from mountaintop wind turbines to ski resorts could get federal protection.

The Bicknell's thrush - a medium-sized migrating songbird - has cleared the first stage of a long route that could lead to it being declared a threatened or endangered species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Tuesday.

At issue is the bird's habitat as much as its numbers, because the terrain that the Bicknell's thrush favors is almost exactly the same... [continue via Web link]