Introduction Montserrat is a UK Overseas Territory located in the Lesser Antilles (16°45’N 62°12’W), an island chain in the West Indies lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Montserrat is approximately 16 km long and 11 km wide, and has a mostly rocky coastline of about 40 km, with a few sandy beaches. The island retains an 11-km² patch of tropical moist forest in the Centre Hills, which is home to an amazing array of native wildlife, but much of the forest cover has been lost through a combination of human activities and natural disasters. On 18th July 1995, the Soufrière Hills volcano, which dominates the southern part of the island and which had lain dormant over a long period, sprang to life. Since then, several eruptions have destroyed Montserrat’s former capital city of Plymouth and rendered the southern part of the island uninhabitable. 80 © British Birds 108 • February 2015 • 80– 96 Important Bird Areas Montserrat Steffen Oppel, Gerard Gray, James Daley, Stephen Mendes, Calvin Fenton, Gemma Galbraith, Shawn Daniel and James Millett Abstract Montserrat is a small jewel of an island in the eastern Caribbean. After a major volcanic eruption in 1995, two-thirds of the island became uninhabitable, and today Montserrat is off the beaten track for most tourists. The island is easily accessible, however, and a range of habitats support a variety of interesting native biodiversity. Three hill ranges exist on the island, the southernmost being an active volcano and mostly devoid of vegetation. The Centre Hills, an area of semi-natural forest, is home to endemic species such as the Montserrat Oriole Icterus oberi, the Montserrat Galliwasp Diploglossus montisserrati (a skink), and the ‘Mountain Chicken’ Leptodactylus fallax (a frog). Besides the Centre Hills forest, there are dry scrublands in the northern hill range, coastal cliffs, and some unspoilt beaches with scenic reefs suitable for snorkelling and diving. The island’s habitats suffer from the effects of multiple non-native species such as feral pigs, goats, cattle, rats and cats. Efforts to control these are under way, and the Centre Hills forest is protected. Protecting the forest on Montserrat is the most critical target both for native biodiversity and for water supply on the island. Fig. 1. Topography and key areas of Montserrat.