A lawsuit has been launched against the US authorities for failing to act to protect a small songbird on the Northern Marianas island of Tinian.
The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a notice of intent to sue the US Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to act on a petition to protect the Tinian monarch under the Endangered Species Act.
An attorney at the centre, Ryan Shannon, said the bird needed protection under the act immediately to have a chance of survival.
Plans to expand military training on Tinian are further threatening the birds shrinking forest habitat. The centre said the US Fish and Wildlife Service had not moved to protect the species.
