contents - neotropical bird club

13 New distributional information for some Colombian birds, with anew species for South America Carl Downing

16 A new population of Cinnamon-breasted Tody-tyrantHemitriccus cinnamomeipectus in Ecuador Ana Ágreda, Jonas Nilsson, LuisTonato and Hernando Román

20 Range extension for, and description of the juvenile of, BicolouredAntvireo Dysithamnus occidentalis punctitectus in Ecuador Ana Ágreda,Jonas Nilsson, Luis Tonato and Hernando Román

22 La avifauna de la isla de La Plata, Parque Nacional Machalilla,Ecuador, con notas sobre nuevos registros Diego Francisco Cisneros-Heredia

28 Composition of mixed-species flocks of migrant and resident birds inCuba Paul B. Hamel and Arturo Kirkconnell

35 Breeding period of Araripe Manakin Antilophia bokermanni inferredfrom vocalisation activity Weber Girão and Antonio Souto

38 Field identification and new site records of Chapada FlycatcherSuiriri islerorum Leonardo Esteves Lopes

42 Fishing by two Furnariidae: Pacific Hornero Furnarius [leucopus]cinnamomeus and Surf Cinclodes Cinclodes taczanowskii Javier Barrioand Juan Valqui

45 Avifauna of the Serra das Lontras–Javi montane complex,Bahia, Brazil Luís Fábio Silveira, Pedro Ferreira Develey, José Fernando Pachecoand Bret M.Whitney

55 Petrels, skuas and other migrant seabirds in a coastal bay in SantaCatarina state, southern Brazil Vítor de Queiroz Piacentini, LeonardoLiberali Wedekin and Fábio Gonçalves Daura-Jorge

60 A new locality and records of Cherry-throated Tanager Nemosiarourei in Espírito Santo, south-east Brazil, with fresh natural historydata for the species Ana Cristina Venturini, Pedro Rogerio de Paz and Guy M.Kirwan

72 New records of Brazilian Merganser Mergus octosetaceus in the riodas Pedras, Chapada dos Veadeiros, Brazil Carlos A. Bianchi, Sérgio Brant,Reuber A. Brandão and Bernardo F. Brito

77 Grey-breasted Conure Pyrrhura griseipectus, an overlookedendangered species Fábio Olmos,Weber A. G. Silva and Ciro Albano

85 The birds of Parati, south-east Brazil P.W. P. Browne

99 Primer reporte de colonias del Martín Peruano Progne murphyi enPerú Katya Balta Abadie, José Pérez Z. y Mariano Valverde

102 First sound recordings, new behavioural and distributional records,and a review of the status of Scimitar-winged Piha Lipaugusuropygialis Rosalind Bryce, A. Bennett Hennessey, Ross MacLeod, Karl Evans, StevenR. Ewing, Sebastian K. Herzog, Aidan Maccormick and M. Isabel Gomez

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2 Club News compiled by Trevor Warren

4 Neotropical Bird ClubConservation Awards

6 Neotropical News compiled by Thomas Stuart

8 Advertising Information

9 Taxonomic Round-up compiled by Guy M. Kirwan

108 Neotropical Notebook compiled by Juan MazarBarnett, Guy M. Kirwanand Jeremy Minns

123 Reviews• Handbook of the birdsof the world: volume 9

• Birds of Belize• Annotated checklist ofthe birds of Chile

Editorial Guidelines andlist of NBC CountryRepresentatives are on theinside back cover.

Contents

News & Reviews Features

insides.qxp 18/10/05 11:41 am

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Questionnaire resultsThe Club thanks all those who completed thequestionnaire and apologises for any technicaldifficulties members had downloading it from thewebsite. A full report of the survey’s results isavailable on the website or on request by e-mail.

Some 162 completed questionnaires werereceived. The highest percentage of responses wasfrom North America (38%), followed by the UK(28%), the EU (18%) and the Neotropics (17%).Average time birding in the field (in days) was asfollows: 0–6 (25%), 6–20 (33%), 21–50 (23%) and51+ (19%). There was an even split betweenSpanish speakers (with considerably fewerPortuguese speakers) and non-Spanish speakers,but the majority did not favour more articles ineither of the principal Latin America languages.Most copies of Cotinga arrive in good conditionand 87% of respondents thought it representedgood value. A small majority wanted more colourphotos (60%) and pages (72%), with 56% beingprepared to pay a higher subscription for such anincrease. Responses concerning the content ofCotinga were very encouraging, revealing that thepresent content is about right. The regular itemswere thought to be useful, although Club Newsand Conservation Awards were items perhapsbest placed on the website. As for article types, thenumber dealing with specific species (75%),biology (69%) and ecology (72%) was thoughtabout right, with 15–22% wanting more of eachtype. However, only 59% thought the number ofsite and regional articles was currentlyappropriate, and 32% wanted more. The majorityof members that responded wanted more identifi-cation papers (78%) and country specials (72%),with a smaller percentage wanting more siteguides (63%).

In conclusion Cotinga seems to have found theright balance of articles, perhaps with some fine-tuning needed in certain areas. There is, however,a clear demand for more of everything, even ifthere is a cost implication. Council will nowexamine these proposals to see how best thesedemands can be satisfied without diluting thequality of the present format.

DonationsWe would like to acknowledge the followingmembers who have made separate donationssince the publication of Cotinga 23: Anthony B.Crease, Stephen Eccles, Miss E. Forbes, P. J.

Forrest, Marc Guyt, Alan J. Knue, Tony Marr,Rodney Martins, Matt Moser, Neil Osborne,Martyn Overton, Dr Clive Peat, Peter H.Rathbone, Stewart Smith, Johan H. van Balen,Mrs Mona Webster, Mick J. Whitehouse, NormanWilliams and Jeannie B Wright.

Period of MembershipThe period of membership is for one calendar yearfrom 1 January. Members will receive both copiesof Cotinga published in that year regardless ofwhen they join. Your membership status can beobtained from the address label, with the numberafter the membership type being the year ofmembership, i.e. 04 for 2004. Unless stated allmemberships are single year, but multiple yearsare designated by Xyr, i.e. 2yr for two-yearmembership. GA appears on the label if you areregistered for Gift Aid.

Club ConstitutionAny member wishing to obtain a copy of theconstitution should send an A5-sized stampedaddressed envelope to the Secretary.

Promoting the ClubA membership flyer is available and the Club isseeking members to distribute it. Anyone able tohelp the Club recruit new members should contactthe Secretary.

NBC checklistsThe Club’s Venezuela checklist was published in2003. Following the style of the Trinidad & Tobagochecklist, all species in Hilty (2003) are listed in a56-page, 15-column format, and it aims toencourage visiting birdwatchers to keepstructured notes that can be easily photocopiedand sent to the relevant recording authority. Thelist is the second in a series of lists for Neotropicalcountries that the Club plans to produce in thenext few years. The list sells for UK£5 or US$8 percopy, plus postage (UK: £1; Europe UK£1.50; Restof World UK£2/US$3) and can be obtained fromthe Sales Officer at the Club address. TheTrinidad & Tobago list is still available, UK£4 orUS$6, with postage rates as above.

Trip reportsThe Club has an archive of trip reports generouslyprovided by members and it is our intention tomake many of these downloadable free from the

Club News


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Club News

Club’s website, www.neotropicalbirdclub.org. NBCwas given the rights to the highly regarded tripreports produced by the late Bruce Forrester. Thefollowing titles are available directly from theClub. Members wishing to purchase these or anyof the reports listed on the Club website shouldwrite to one of the usual addresses. Please notethat postage is additional.

Birding Venezuela 1995 UK£11/US$16.50Postage A

Birding Costa Rica 1996 UK£11/US$16.50Postage A

Birding Bolivia 1997 UK£13/US$21Postage B

Birding Ecuador 1998–99 UK£20/US$30Postage B

Birding Peru 2000 UK£15/US$22.50Postage B

Birding Dominican Republic & UK£5/US$7.50Puerto Rico 1999 Postage A

Birding Eastern Brazil UK£10/US$15 (update to Birding Brazil) Postage B

Postage ratesUK Rate A—£1, Rate B—£2Europe Rate A—£2.50, Rate B—£4RoW Rate A—US$5, Rate B—US$8

(or sterling equivalent)

Corporate MembersNBC wishes to thank the following CorporateMembers for 2005: Asa Wright Nature Centre,Birdquest, Blue Waters Inn, Canopy Tower,Limosa, Lynx Edicions, Manu Expeditions, Serrados Tucanos, Sunbird, Subbuteo, Swarovski,Travelling Naturalist and Wildwings.

E-mail addressesSecretary

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

E-mail group All Club members wishing to be included on anNBC e-mail group should contact the Secretary.Information useful to Club members willdistributed via this service, such as when Cotingahas been published, conservation news and newdiscoveries.

Adverts on the NBC websiteVisitors to the Club website may notice there area number of discreet adverts. This is a source offunds for the Club, as every time the links arefollowed the Club receives a payment from Google.

Advance notice of the 2006 AGMThe Club AGM will be held on Sunday 28 May2006 at Cley Village Hall, Cley, Norfolk, UK.Details of the meeting will be included withCotinga 25 and will also be made available via theClub’s website.

Chris BalchinAt the Club’s AGM in May 2005, Chris Balchinretired from NBC Council and as Club Secretary,a position he had held since the Club’s inception in1994.

The role of Secretary is vital to the efficientrunning of the Club and Council would like toplace on record their grateful thanks to Chris forall his hard work over the years. There is littledoubt that without his dedicated input, the Clubwould not be the respected organisation that it istoday and we believe that all members will wantto join us in thanking Chris.

Although Chris has relinquished his dutiesand retired from Council, he will still have a rolein the Club as he and his partner, Jan Rowland,are to continue administering the membershipdatabase.


Council is pleased to announce two newConservation Awards. We are also finalising detailsto co-sponsor two further projects with the ‘SmallGrants Scheme’ of the Royal Society for theProtection of Birds. We look forward to further co-sponsored projects with the RSPB andcollaboration with other conservation bodiesaround the world.

El Concejo se complace en anunciar dos nuevosPremios de Conservación. Además, estamosfinalizando los detalles para un auspicio conjuntode dos proyectos adicionales mediante el esquemade pequeñas donaciones de la Sociedad Real para laProtección de las Aves (RSPB). Esperamoscontinuar co-auspiciando proyectos con la RSPB yen colaboración con otras entidades de conser-vación en el mundo.

Environmental education at Zapata Swamp,CubaIn 2003, the Club sponsored the successful ‘Club losTres Endémicos’ project in Cuba. This year, OrestesMartínez García has been awarded US$1,000 inorder to expand his education project in the ZapataSwamp. Orestes and two local teachers willcontinue to involve children and locals in theconservation of wildlife in the swamp, and areseeking to increase the number of participants to atleast 60. They will also introduce local children tobird study (feeding, reproduction and behaviour)and habitat conservation. The project has aparticular focus on the three endemic andEndangered species found in the region: ZapataRail Cyanolimnas cerverai, Zapata Wren Ferminiacerverai and Cuban Sparrow Torreornisinexpectata.

Educación ambiental en la Ciénaga de Zapata,CubaEn 2003 el NBC auspició el exitoso proyecto ‘Clubde los Tres Endémicos’ en Cuba. Este año, OrestesMartínez García ha recibido un premio deUS$1.000 para desarrollar su proyecto deeducación en la Ciénaga de Zapata. Orestes y dosprofesores locales continuarán involucrando a

niños y habitantes locales en la conservación de lavida silvestre de esta ciénaga, y están en procurade incrementar el número de participantes a por lomenos 60. Además, planean introducir a los niñosen el estudio de las aves (alimentación, reproduc-ción y comportamiento) y en la conservación dehábitat. El proyecto tiene un enfoque particular entres especies endémicas y amenazadas de extinciónque existen en la zona: la Gallinuela de SantoTomás Cyanolimnas cerverai, Ferminia Ferminiacerverai y el Cabrerito de la Ciénaga Torreornisinexpectata.

Distribution, behaviour and habitat use ofMasked Antpitta Hylopezus auricularisCouncil has awarded Oswaldo Maillard Z. U$750 tostudy the Vulnerable Masked Antpitta Hylopezusauricularis in Amazonian Bolivia. The project willinvestigate the behavioural ecology and seasonalhabitat preferences of the species, about which verylittle is known. Together with searches of potentialnew sites, this will help map the species’ range inBolivia. Potential threats to the species and itshabitat will also be identified during the project.Oswaldo is a recent biology graduate who iscurrently working as head of the ornithologysection at Noel Kempff Mercado Natural HistoryMuseum, in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and iscoordinator of wetland bird surveys in dpto. SantaCruz.

Distribución, comportamiento y uso de hábitatdel Tororoi Enmascarado Hylopezus auricularisEl Concejo ha premiado a Oswaldo Maillard Z. conU$750 para el estudio del Tororoi EnmascaradoHylopezus auricularis en la Amazonía boliviana. Elproyecto investigará la ecología del compor-tamiento y las preferencias de hábitat de la especie,sobre lo cual se conoce muy poco. Adicionalmente,buscará nuevos sitios para generar un mapa delrango de la especie en Bolivia, e identificaráamenazas potenciales para la especie y sus hábitat.Oswaldo es un biólogo recién graduado que trabajaen la actualidad como líder de la sección deornitología del Museo de Historia Natural NoelKempff Mercado, en Santa Cruz de la Sierra, y esademás el coordinador de los inventarios de aves dehumedales en el dpto. Santa Cruz.

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Neotropical Bird Club

Conservation Awards

New Awards • Nuevos Premios • Novos Prêmios


Distribution and identification of sites for studyand conservation of Horned Guan Oreophasisderbianus in GuatemalaAna José Cóbar Carranza has surveyed sites in SanMarcos, Guatemala, and expects to have completedher field work by the time this issue of Cotinga ispublished. She has also contributed to a presenta-tion at the II International Oreophasis derbianusSymposium held in April, at Reserva Los Tarrales,on the slopes of Volcán Atitlán, Guatemala.

Distribución e identificación de sitios paraestudio y conservación del Pavón Oreophasisderbianus en GuatemalaAna José Cóbar Carranza ha inventariado sitios enSan Marcos, Guatemala, y espera finalizar sutrabajo de campo para cuando se publique estenúmero de Cotinga. Ana ha contribuido además enuna presentación para el II Simposio Internacionalsobre Oreophasis derbianus que se desarrollará enabril en la Reserva Los Tarrales, en las estriba-ciones del volcán Atitlán, Guatemala.

Great Green MacawThe Club sponsored a workshop held in Ecuador in2003 which succeeded in producing a ‘National insitu Conservation Strategy for the Great GreenMacaw Ara ambigua guayaquilensis’. The strategycomprises six policies concerning research, sites forconservation, reforestation, promotion ofsustainable alternative livelihoods for localcommunities and landowners, protectivelegislation, and environmental education andpublicity. On the legislative front, a ministerialagreement has been signed through which theconservation strategy has been made law.Implementation of this important strategy willrequire access to considerable financial resources,much of which will inevitably need to be foundoutside Ecuador.

Guacamayo Verde MayorEl NBC financió un taller desarrollado en Ecuadoren 2003, el cual fue exitoso en producir laEstrategia Nacional de Conservación in-situ delGuacamayo Verde Mayor Ara ambiguaguayaquilensis. Esta estrategia comprende seispolíticas sobre investigación, sitios para conser-vación, reforestación, promoción de alternativassustentables de vida para las comunidades locales ydueños de las tierras, legislación para la protección,y educación ambiental y publicidad. En el campolegislativo, se ha firmado un Acuerdo Ministerialmediante el cual la estrategia de conservación seconvierte en un instrumento legal. La imple-

mentación de esta importante estrategia requerirádel acceso a fuentes de financiamiento, gran partedel cual deberá, inevitablemente, buscarse fuera delEcuador.

Educational material for Río Blanco reserve,ColombiaTeachers in the Río Blanco area have tested thedraft educational materials and have met to discusstheir comments and suggestions prior to finalisa-tion of the work-book. This process should becompleted and the book published and distributedto schools by the time this issue of Cotinga ispublished.

Material educativo para la reserva Río Blanco,ColombiaProfesores en el área de Río Blanco han probadomaterial educativo preliminar y se han reunidopara discutir y aportar sugerencias previas a lafinalización de un libro de trabajo. Este procesodeberá completarse, y el libro deberá publicarse ydistribuirse en escuelas locales para cuando estenúmero de Cotinga esté publicado.

Serranía de las QuinchasIn Cotinga 23 we described the purchase of forest inthe Serranía de las Quinchas by ProAves, theColombian conservation NGO. The legal formalitiesrequired by the sale have now been finalised, andthe new nature reserve staffed by a full-time guardand researchers. ProAves has developed aneducation programme involving local schools and awide range of research projects have been initiated.A short paper for Cotinga on the importance of thenew reserve and its facilities is in an advancedstate of preparation.

Serranía de las QuinchasEn Cotinga 23 reportamos la compra de bosques enla Serranía de las Quinchas por parte de ProAves,organización de conservación de Colombia. Lasformalidades legales requeridas para esta comprahan finalizado, y se ha establecido el personal deesta nueva reserva natural con un guardia a tiempocompleto y con investigadores. ProAves ha desarrol-lado un programa educativo con escuelas locales, yun variedad de proyectos de investigación haniniciado. Una nota para Cotinga sobre laimportancia de esta nueva reserva y sus instala-ciones está en un estado avanzado de elaboración.

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Updates • Novedades • Atualidades


PAN-AMERICAN

Distribution maps for WesternHemisphere birds and mammalsPublished in 2003 on separateCDs, these digital distributionmaps for birds and mammals inthe Western Hemisphere shouldprove to be an invaluable resourcefor ornithologists and birdwatch-ers (as well as mammalogists). Theproject to produce the maps was ajoint venture between the Centerfor Applied Biodiversity Science atConservation International,NatureServe, The NatureConservancy, The Field Museum(Chicago), Wildspace (Ontario) andthe World Wildlife Fund. You cannow also download compressedfiles of the maps for any genus ofbird or mammal in the Americasfree from the NatureServe website(www.natureserve.org/getData/mammalMaps.jsp). However, unlessyou have a broadband internetconnection, it is worth noting thatthe file sizes are still quite large.To read any of the maps you needto have installed either ArcView3.X (available for purchase atdistributors listed onwww.esri.com) or ArcExplorersoftware, which can be downloadedfree of charge fromww.esri.com/software/arcexplorer/index.html or from theNatureServe site.• Ridgely, R. S., Allnutt, T. F.,

Brooks, T., McNicol, D. K.,Mehlman, D. W., Young, B. E. &Zook, J. R. (2003) Digital distri-bution maps of the birds of theWestern Hemisphere. Version 1.0.Arlington, VA: NatureServe.

• Patterson, B. D., Ceballos, G.,Sechrest, W., Tognelli, M. F.,Brooks, T., Luna, L., Ortega, P.,Salazar, I. & Young, B. E. (2003)Digital distribution maps of themammals of the WesternHemisphere. Version 1.0.Arlington, VA: NatureServe.

Quail symposium proceedingspublished onlineThe proceedings of a symposiumheld on the conservation of quailin the Neotropics during the VINeotropical OrnithologicalCongress in Monterrey, Mexico, in1999, have been published online.Edited by Jack C. Eitniear, John T.Baccus, Sheldon L. Dingle andJohn P. Carroll, they may bedownloaded free atwww.cstbinc.org/neotropicalQuail.html.

NORTH AMERICA

USA

Ivory-billed Woodpecker inArkansas’ ‘Big Woods’Outside the Neotropical region,but concerning a species at leastformerly known from Cuba, comesthe exciting news of therediscovery of Ivory-billedWoodpecker Campephilusprincipalis in the USA. Followinga sighting by Gene Sparling whilekayaking in Arkansas in 2004,ornithologists have confirmed thespecies’ continued survival, havingobtained video footagedocumenting the record. Surveysreveal little about population orbreeding, but the observations todate are consistent with a verysparse population. The ‘Big Woods’area of eastern Arkansas covers220,000 ha of which 40% is forestapproaching maturity (a requisiteof the species). Since therediscovery, the US Fish & WildlifeService and Nature Conservancyhave continued their 20-yearpolicy of buying land andreplanting in the area in order toprotect the species and its habitat.• Fitzpatrick, J. W., Lammertink,

M., Luneau, M. D., Gallagher, T.W., Harrison, B. R., Sparling, G.M., Rosenberg, K. V., Rohrbaugh,R. W., Swarthout, E. C. H.,Wrege, P. H., Barker Swarthout,

S., Dantzker, M. S., Charif, R. A.,Barksdale, T. R., Remsen, J. V.,Simon, S. D. & Zollner, D. (2005)Ivory-billed Woodpecker(Campephilus principalis)persists in continental NorthAmerica. Sciencexpress report10.1126/science.1114103.Available at:www.sciencemag.org/cgi/rapidpdf/1114103v1.pdf, published online28 April 2005

• Big Woods ConservationPartnership website:http://www.ivorybill.org/[accessed 11/5/05]

CARIBBEAN

ST LUCIA

New hotel threatens White-breasted ThrasherA hotel and residentialdevelopment has been proposed ona 215-ha site with an estimated138 breeding pairs of White-breasted Thrasher Ramphocinclusbrachyurus (22% of the worldpopulation of this Endangeredspecies). Overall, the dry forests ofeastern St Lucia hold c.80% of thespecies’ population, so any spin-offdevelopments would furtherimpact the thrasher. The UK-based developers, DesignConstruction Group, hoped tobegin forest clearance in early2005 for this European InvestmentBank-funded project which islinked to the 2007 cricket worldcup. They were waiting for, butapparently expecting, a favourabledecision from the St LuciaDevelopment Control Authority onwhether they could proceed. StLucia needs to develop its touristindustry, especially after 2005when small Caribbean bananaproducers lose the favourablestatus an illegal European Uniontrade policy affords them. Thedevelopment would provide jobsand improve marina facilities, butfishermen and sea-moss farmers

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Neotropical News

CARIBBEAN NORTH AMERICA


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would be forced to move, anddredging and mangrove clearancewould have a negative impact onfish stocks, so the decision is notsimply a bipolar conservationversus development argument.• World Birdwatch 27 (1): 6 (March

2005)

SOUTH AMERICA

BOLIVIA

Blue-throated Macaw found westof the río MamoréBolivian ornithologist MauricioHerrera, coordinator of theAsociación Armonía/Loro ParqueFoundation Blue-throated MacawAra glaucogularis conservationprogram, has found the specieswest of the río Mamoré—a 100 kmextension of the known range indpto. Beni. This comes as a resultof work with landowners, ranchhands, families and communitiesin the region, whose economy isbased on cattle ranching.Anecdotal evidence from the newsite suggests that the macawpopulation could be spreadingagain after capture for the illegalbird trade affected the species inthe 1980s and 1990s. Further newsites have been found in the northof the known range, but surveyingis logistically difficult in that area.• World Birdwatch 27 (1): 11 (March

2005)

BRAZIL

Study of Araripe ManakinA team supported by the BPConservation Programme hasdiscovered a nest of the AraripeManakin Antilophia bokermanni(Critically Endangered)—a speciesdescribed only eight years ago. Theteam has also found ten newsprings in the area, each withassociated manakin populations,and has increased the number ofknown sites for the species to 26.• World Birdwatch 27 (1): 9 (March

2005)

Murdered environmentalistsThe conservation movement canonly be shocked and saddened tolearn of the murders of human

rights and environmental activistDorothy Stang on 12 February, andconservationist Dionisio RibeiroFilho on 22 February. DorothyStang taught sustainable farmingmethods to poor settlersunfamiliar with Amazon soils andhelped to establish a federalpeasant farming reserve in thestate of Pará, and to protect itfrom illegal loggers and ranchersencroaching the area. In 2004,although aware of the risk to herlife, she gave evidence before acongressional committee of inquiryinto deforestation, naming loggingcompanies that were invadingstate areas. Sister Stang bravelycontinued her work in the face ofdeath threats that continued untilher murder in February.

Dionisio Ribeiro Filhodedicated the last 15 years of hislife to protecting the 26,000-haTinguá Biological Reserve frompoachers, cagebird collectors andedible palm heart Euterpe eduliscutters. Tinguá, just north of Riode Janeiro, is part of the Tijuca-Tinguá-Órgãos BiosphereReserve and harbours AtlanticForest species including, at leastformerly, White-necked HawkLeucopternis lacernulata andBlue-chested Parakeet Pyrrhuracruentata (both Vulnerable).Again, Dionisio Ribeiro Filhoworked on bravely despite thedeath threats he and colleaguesreceived. Police believe thatopponents of these environmen-talists’ inspiring work wereresponsible for both murders.• Rocha, J. (2005) Obituary: Sister

Dorothy Stang. GuardianUnlimited (21 February 2005).Available at:www.guardian.co.uk/brazil/story/0,12462,1419087,00.html[accessed 11/5/05]

• UNEP-WCMC (1991/2003) Tijuca-Tingua-Orgãos BiosphereReserve. Available at: www.unep-wcmc.org/sites/pa/0569q.htm[accessed 11/5/05]

Serra do Urubu IBA to bepreservedA 390-ha plot adjacent to the 630-ha Frei Caneca Private NatureReserve has been purchased bySAVE Brasil, thereby protecting

the Serra do Urubu ImportantBird Area (IBA) in Pernambucostate. BirdLife Brasil is workingwith community leaders,government agencies and otherstakeholders to promote thesustainable use of surroundingland, and to prevent the spread offire onto these government-recognised reserves. The AmericanBird Conservancy-funded surveysof the IBA discovered 21 endemicbirds, including four speciespreviously known only fromMurici: Alagoas Foliage-gleanerPhilydor novaesi, Alagoas AntwrenMyrmotherula snowi (bothCritically Endangered), AlagoasTyrannulet Phylloscartes ceciliaeand Orange-bellied AntwrenTerenura sicki (both Endangered).The reserves protect other rareflora and fauna, including abromeliad new to science. Similarwork is being pursued in the Serradas Lontras in Bahia state (seeelsewhere in this issue).• World Birdwatch 27 (1): 11 (March

2005)

COLOMBIA

Good news for Humboldt Oakforest birdsA ProAves study funded by theAmerican Bird Conservancy’sWilliam Belton Small GrantsProgram brings encouraging newsconcerning four endemic speciesthat are at least seasonallydependent on the (endemic)Humboldt Oak forests of Colombia.Between 66% and 85% of thehabitat in the ranges of the fourspecies has been converted toagriculture. The ProAves studylocated Mountain GrackleMacroagelaius subalaris (CriticallyEndangered), Black Inca Coeligenaprunellei (Endangered), Rusty-faced Parrot Hapalopsittacaamazonina (Endangered) andGorgeted Wood-quailOdontophorus strophium(Critically Endangered) at 20–29of the 151 sample sites each. Theseresults exceeded conservationists’expectations and have led each ofthe species to be reclassified asVulnerable.

SOUTH AMERICA


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• Study of rare birds in Colombianoak forests encouraging (26 April2005) Surfbirds News. Availableat: http://www.surfbirds.com/sbirdsnews/archives/2005/04/study_of_rare_b.html [accessed11/5/05]

ECUADOR

First Ecuadorian OrnithologicalMeeting The First EcuadorianOrnithological Meeting was held inQuito, in March 2005, marking agreat step towards the creation ofa National Ornithological Networkand the development of a NationalStrategy for the Conservation ofBirds. The 140 delegates took partin plenary talks, follow-upworkshops and oral and postercontributions. The proceedings aredue to be published before Cotinga24 is distributed and will beavailable at: www.geocities.com/reunionavesecuador. NBC donatedthree subscriptions as awards forthe best contributions.• Juan F. Freile in litt. (16 March

2005)

Ecotourists sought at Playa deOroPlaya de Oro is a small communityin north-west Ecuador that owns11,000 ha of very humid tropical

rainforest, the country’s lastpristine Chocó Forest. The areaholds 340 bird species, includingChocó endemics and Endangeredspecies. A project of NeblinaForest, the Gaia Foundation forecotourism and the EarthwaysFoundation has established a lodgein the nearby Reserva de Tigrillosand is seeking to do the same atPlaya de Oro. The project hasstrong local support, and is seen asthe only way to resist a loggingcompany that has been active insurrounding areas and which isseeking to buy the land. Theproject organisers are seekingdonations to refurbish suitable logcabins in the area, and offersignificant contributors a three-night/four-day package withaccommodation and a bird guidewhilst in Playa de Oro. For moreinformation, please contactMercedes Rivadeneira of NeblinaForest via [email protected].• Mercedes Rivadeneira in litt. (2

May 2005)

Tumbes reservesThe 2004 British BirdwatchingFair focused conservation attentionon the Tumbesian dry forests ofsouth-west Ecuador and north-west Peru. A broad consortium ofscientific, conservation andcultural organisations have

purchased 1,680 ha adjacent to LaCeiba Private Reserve, bringingthe total area protected to 6,980ha. The former landowner alsodonated 300 ha to 23 localhouseholds and the project willhelp these and other local peopleto use their land sustainably,protecting the forest in order tomaintain the watersheds on whichthey depend and as a source offorest products. Some local peoplewill be employed directly as parkguards, whilst the provincial andmunicipal authorities are seekingto develop the area’s touristpotential. It is hoped thatemigration from this marginalland will be stemmed becausewithout local people’s interest inthe forest resources, it becomesvulnerable to large-scale timberextraction for short-term gain bynon-residents. Another member ofthe Bosques Sin Fronterasconsortium has purchased an 800-ha site known as Jatunpamba-Jorupe. Between them, the tworeserves serve to further theviability of the Tumbesian region’sendemic flora and fauna, includingEndangered birds like Grey-cheeked Parakeet Brotogerispyrrhopterus and Blackish-headedSpinetail Synallaxis tithys.• World Birdwatch 27 (1): 8 (March

2005)

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A new parakeet from the SunParakeet groupLuís Fábio Silveira and colleagueshave described a new parakeet,the Sulfur-breasted ParakeetAratinga pintoi, from the region ofMonte Alegre, on the north bank ofthe Amazon in Pará, Brazil, whereit appears to be not uncommon.Like the recently describedPionopsitta aurantiocephala, alsofrom Pará (see Cotinga 20: 15),specimens of the new species hadbeen first collected many yearsago, but had lain overlooked as analready recognised species, in thiscase Sun Parakeet A. solstitialis,or had been considered torepresent a hybrid. The newspecies differs from Sun Parakeetin having the mantle and wing-coverts green, the underparts paleyellow, with pale orange restrictedto the belly and flanks, and thefeathers on the underparts have adark rachis. The authors alsoreview systematics of the solsti-tialis group and reaffirm the needto recognise the other taxa,jandaya and auricapillus, atspecific level under any currentlyoperating species concept, as wellas discussing the range of solsti-tialis in Brazil and Suriname.• Silveira, L. F., Lima, F. C. T. &

Höfling, E. (2005) A new speciesof Aratinga parakeet(Psittaciformes: Psittacidae)from Brazil, with taxonomicremarks on the Aratinga solsti-tialis complex. Auk 122:292–305.

Oryzoborus and Sporophilarepresent a monophyleticgroupingEvolutionary affinities within andamong many groups of nine-primaried oscines have been thesubject of several recent publica-tions. A new study has focused onclarifying the relationship betweenthe genus Sporophila and theclosely related Oryzoborus, as wellas examining the phylogeneticaffinities of the ‘capuchinos’, a

group of 11 Sporophila speciesthat share similar male plumagepatterns. Using mtDNA sequences,the study indicated that:Oryzoborus lies within a well-supported clade containing all ofthe Sporophila, thus suggestingthat the two genera should bemerged; that the ‘capuchinos’ are amonophyletic group, and this cladecomprises two sub-clades, oneincluding two species fromnorthern South America and theother eight species distributedsouth of the Amazon. It appearsthat the southern capuchinosradiated rapidly, within the lasthalf-million years. ShouldOryzoborus and Sporophila bemerged then the latter namewould have priority.• Lijtmaer, D. A., Sharpe, N. M. M.,

Tubaro, P. L. & Lougheed S. C.(2004) Molecular phylogeneticsand diversification of the genusSporophila (Aves:Passeriformes). Mol. Phyl. &Evol. 33: 562–579.

Whither lies the Broad-billedSapayoa?True to its name, Sapayoaaenigma has long defied biologists’attempts to classify it. AlthoughSibley & Ahlquist (1990) hadsuggested that the Sapayoa wasperhaps closely related to OldWorld broadbills, this monotypicgenus has traditionally beenconsidered to lie somewherewithin the New World flycatchers.Recent base sequencing of twonuclear genes reveals that it is, asspeculated, most closely related tothe only two Old World suboscinefamilies, either the pittas or thebroadbills.• Fjeldså, J., Zuccon, D., Irestedt,

M., Johansson, U. S. & Ericson,P. G. P. (2003) Sapayoa aenigma:a New World representative of‘Old World sub-oscines’. Proc.Roy. Soc. Lond. B Suppl. 270:238–241.

Relationships of the Red-belliedGrackleRed-bellied Grackle Hypopyrrhuspyrohypogaster is a Colombianendemic that is currentlyclassified as Endangered. Muchgenetic work has recently beenconducted on the New Worldblackbirds, with the aim ofproducing an accurate phylogenyfor the group. Until now, no DNAdata were available for thisgrackle, but the authors of a studypublished in Condor have nowdemonstrated through mtDNAsequencing that the monotypicgenus Hypopyrrhus is most closelyrelated to Oriole BlackbirdGymnomystax mexicanus andVelvet-fronted GrackleLampropsar tanagrinus, andalthough these three species forma well-supported clade, it isunclear which is sister toHypopyrrhus.• Cadena, C. D., Cuervo, A. M. &

Lanyon, S. M. (2004)Phylogenetic relationships of theRed-bellied Grackle (Icteridae:Hypopyrrhus pyrohypogaster)inferred from mitochondrialDNA sequence data. Condor 106:664–670.

Saffron Toucanet is a PteroglossusSaffron Toucanet Bailloniusbailloni is the sole member of itsgenus, and Baillonius has longbeen recognised as beingsomewhat close to the genusPteroglossus on the basis ofbehaviour, morphology and, morerecently, molecular work. Freshphylogenetic analysis, usingcytochrome-b gene fragments,strongly supports the idea thatBaillonius is indeed part ofPteroglossus and that it is mostclosely related to Lettered AracariP. inscriptus, suggesting thatSaffron Toucanet is better namedPteroglossus bailloni and thatBaillonius is best considered asynonym of Pteroglossus.• Kimura, R. K., Pereira, S. L.,

Grau, E. T., Höfling, E. &

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Wajntal, A. (2004) Geneticdistances and phylogeneticanalysis suggest that BailloniusCassin, 1867 is a PteroglossusIlliger, 1811 (Piciformes:Ramphastidae). Orn. Neotrop.15: 527–537.

An endemic species of nuthatchin the BahamasThe conservation plight of theendemic subspecies of the Brown-headed Nuthatch Sitta pusillainsularis, which is confined toGrand Bahama and underincreasing threat due to habitatdestruction and modification,invasive alien predators, andstorm damage, has beenspotlighted in recent years. Thetotal population is, at most, a fewthousand individuals. A recentpaper in the Bahamas Journal ofScience recommends that the localpopulation, the only West Indiannuthatch, be elevated to specificstatus based on its unusualmorphometrics and distinctivevocalisations. If this proposalbecomes widely accepted it shouldassist in promoting the conserva-tion of this declining form.• Hayes, W. K., Barry, R. X.,

MacKenzie, Z. & Barry, P. (2004)Grand Bahama’s Brown-headedNuthatch: a distinct andendangered species. Bahamas J.Sci. 12: 21–28.

How many species of Dusky-capped Flycatcher…?A recent mtDNA study ofpopulations of Dusky-cappedFlycatcher Myiarchus tuberculiferraises the possibility that, in fact,three species are involved: the firstrepresented by all thosepopulations between the southernUSA and north-west SouthAmerica, and perhaps includingnorthern M. t. atriceps; the secondrepresented by southernpopulations of M. t. atriceps; andthirdly M. t. tuberculifer, whichoccurs across much of northernSouth America and in easterncoastal Brazil. In addition to theneed to better understand therelationships between the twopopulations of M. t. atriceps, whichmay require the naming of a newtaxon, the authors also spotlightthe apparent close association

between M. tuberculifer andSwainson’s Flycatcher M.swainsoni as a priority for futureresearch.• Joseph, L. & Wilke, T. (2004) When

DNA throws a spanner in theworks: testing for monophyly inthe Dusky-capped Flycatcher,Myiarchus tuberculifer, and itsSouth American subspecies, M. t.atriceps. Emu 104: 197–204.

…and Rosy Thrush-tanager?Based on analyses of morphologyand mensural data the authors ofa study pertaining to geographicvariation in Rosy Thrush-tanagerRhodinocichla rosea recommendthat the 4–6 allopatric populationsof this species represent just onebiological species, but potentiallyfive phylogenetic species: namelyschistacea (western Mexico), anunnamed population in theAcapulco region of Mexico, eximia(south-west Costa Rica andwestern Panama), harterti (theVenezuela/Colombia border region,and probably including beebei),and nominate rosea (central-northVenezuela). Geographic variationin this intriguing species formstwo separate leapfrog patterns.The authors recommend that DNAsampling of all these taxa and theunnamed Mexican population beperformed in the future.• Peterson, A. T., Rice, N. H. &

Navarro-Sigüenza, A. G. (2004)Geographic variation in the RosyThrush-tanager (Rhodinocichlarosea) complex of Mesoamerica(Aves: Passeriformes). BiotaNeotropica 4 (2). See: www.biota-neotropica.org.br/v4n2/pt/toc

Relationships within the antbirdsA new mtDNA study hassuggested some novel relationshipsamongst the antbirds, mostimportantly and surprisingly thatthe Terenura antwrens, Wing-banded Antbird Myrmornistorquata, Spot-winged AntshrikePygiptila stellaris and RussetAntshrike Thamnistes anabatinusare sister to all other typicalantbirds, whilst the remaininggenera fall into two major clades.The first includes antshrikes,antvireos and Herpsilochmusantwrens, and the secondcomprises most antwren genera,

Myrmeciza antbirds, the ‘profes-sional’ ant-following antbirds andallied species. The study alsosupported previous findings thatsuggested polyphyly ofMyrmotherula antwrens andMyrmeciza antbirds.• Irestedt, M., Fjeldså, J., Nylander, J.

A. A. & Ericson, P. G. P. (2004)Phylogenetic relationships oftypical antbirds (Thamnophilidae)and test of incongruence based onBayes factors. Evol. Biol. 23.Published online at www.biomed-central.com/1471-2148/4/23.

A new genus of booby and a newcondor from the PeruvianPlioceneCranial material pertaining to anew genus (Ramphastosula) ofSulidae has recently beendescribed from the early LowerPliocene of the Pisco Formation onthe central-southern coast of Peru.The skulls differ in at least fivefeatures from other cranialmaterial in the family. Similardeposits from the same area havealso yielded a new fossil condor,named Perugyps diazi.• Stucchi, M. & Urbina, M. (2004)

Ramphastosula (Aves, Sulidae): anew genus from the earlyPliocene of the Pisco Formation,Peru. J. Vert. Paleontology 24:974–978.

• Stucchi, M. & Emslie, S. D. (2005)A new condor (Ciconiiformes,Vulturidae) from the lateMiocene/early Pliocene PiscoFormation, Peru. Condor 107:107–113.

A new Pleistocene furnariidThe Uruguayan Pleistocene hasyielded a new species of fossilfurnariid, namedPseudoseisuropsis cuelloi. Very fewfossil furnariids are currentlyknown, all of them from thePleistocene, and this the third tobe described within the extinctgenus Pseudoseisuropsis. Twoother extinct species have beenascribed to the extant generaCinclodes and Pseudoseisura.• Claramunt, S. & Rinderknecht, A.

(2005) A new fossil furnariidfrom the Pleistocene of Uruguay,with remarks on nasal type,cranial kinetics, and relation-ships of the extinct genus


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Pseudoseisuropsis. Condor 107:114–127.

Is Socorro Wren a Troglodytes?Currently placed in the genusThryomanes, the Socorro Wren T.sissonii has long presentedtaxonomists with something of aquandary. A fresh interpretation ofthe species’ relationships has beenobtained through mtDNA sequenceanalysis, wherein Socorro Wrennestled phylogenetically within theHouse Wren species complex, beingplaced as sister to the cladecontaining Troglodytes aedon andT. musculus. Thus, the idea thatSocorro Wren is a sister taxon ofThryomanes bewickii appearshighly dubious, and availableevidence suggests that it is bestconsidered a Troglodytes.• Martínez Gómez, J. E., Barber, B.

R. & Peterson, A. T. (2005)Phylogenetic position andgeneric placement of the Socorro

Wren (Thryomanes sissonii). Auk122: 50–56.

Relationships in southern coneminersThe results of the first attempt toreconstruct a molecular phylogenyfor the miners (Geositta) usingmtDNA analysis have beenreported recently. All currentlyrecognised species of Geositta, aswell as Geobates poecilopterus andtwo outgroup taxa (Upucerthiaruficauda and Aphrasturaspinicauda), were included in thework. Levels of sequencedivergence amongst Geosittaspecies were high, ranging from7.4% to 16.3%, and the resultsclearly indicate that relationshipsamong Geositta species differconsiderably from those tradition-ally recognised. The study alsoprovided strong support for therecognition of Geobates as aseparate genus, but the hypothe-

sised sister relationship betweenG. antarctica and G. cuniculariadoes not appear to be valid.Geositta apparently consists of twodistinct clades, with antarctica andcunicularia in different groups.The results also strongly suggestthat the evolutionary history ofGeositta is much older and farmore complex than had beenthought.• Cheviron, Z. A., Capparella, A. P. &

Vuilleumier, F. (2005) Molecularphylogenetic relationshipsamong the Geositta miners(Furnariidae) and biogeographicimplications for avian speciationin Fuego-Patagonia. Auk 122:158–174.


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Here I present information on the first observationsof Northern Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryxserripennis in Colombia indicating its presence inmainland South America, plus notable range oraltitudinal extensions and breeding information ona further 21 species observed during the last 11years.

Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellusA pair on 16 March 1996 was an exceptional recordand probably the first for Laguna de Sonso, dpto.Valle. Subsequent visits demonstrated that thespecies has become increasingly common, withsightings in February 2000 outnumbering theusually commoner Whispering Ibis Phimosusinfuscatus, although interestingly none wasrecorded on 4 September 2002. At least 20 were atCiénaga Grande, dpto. Magdalena, on 17September 2002. Since the publication of Hilty &Brown2, this species has clearly increased dramati-cally in Colombia.

Rufous-necked Wood-rail Aramides axillarisThis species’ status on the Pacific coast of Colombiais poorly known, with only a single record nearNuqui, dpto. Chocó2. In Ecuador there is only onerecord for the north-west of the country7. On 13July 1995 a single was observed in a tiny area ofmangroves on El Morro Island, dpto. Nariño, thefirst departmental record. This area is directlyadjacent to the major tourist beach on the islandand is therefore extremely disturbed withhabitation on all sides.

White-rumped Sandpiper Calidris fuscicollisThree were observed among Least C. minutilla andSemipalmated Sandpipers C. pusilla in the LosFlamencos Sanctuary at Perico, dpto. La Guajira,on 13 September 2002. Hilty & Brown2 suggestedthat the species is probably an uncommon springand autumn migrant east of the Andes and that itis probably rare in the Caribbean region. The onlyprevious reports from the latter region involvedunconfirmed sightings at La Boquilla, dpto.Bolívar2,5.

American Golden Plover Pluvialis dominicaAn uncommon autumn migrant and rare wintervisitor, American Golden Plover is also anextremely rare spring migrant, with records east ofthe Andes and a single to the west2, and a recentrecord from Santa Marta10. An adult in winterplumage at Laguna de Sonso, dpto. Valle, on 23March 1996 is, therefore, only the second springrecord west of the Andes and the second at the site,the first being in August 19943.

Southern Lapwing Vanellus chilensisOn 23 December 1995 and subsequent dates, anadult was observed below the village of Altaquer.This is the first Pacific slope record, and only thesecond for Nariño, the first being at Laguna de laCocha in August 1995 (W. Beltrán pers. comm.).

Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensisA second-summer individual at Laguna de Sonso,dpto. Valle, on 10 March 2001 was the first depart-mental record and the first inland record inColombia. Previous records included two reportsfrom Buenaventura Bay, dpto. Valle2 and a single inthe Los Flamencos Sanctuary at Camarones, dpto.La Guajira4.

Elegant Tern Sterna elegansKnown in Colombia from a single record atBuenaventura, dpto. Valle2. Until recently itsregularity along the Pacific coast had beenoverlooked. Numerous sightings are now availableand several specimens have been taken at GorgonaIsland, dpto. Cauca (L. G. Naranjo pers. comm.). Itsstatus in Ecuador, where it is now considered anuncommon to locally fairly common visitor to theentire coast, has also become better knownrecently7. On 5 January 1995 an adult winter wasobserved in Tumaco Sound among a small group ofRoyal Terns S. maxima, providing the first recordfor Nariño.

White-throated Quail-dove Geotrygon frenataUnusually, a single was flushed from a track at3,300 m in Ucumarí reserve, dpto. Risaralda, on13 March 2001 and was then observed in apasture. This record represents an altitudinal

New distributional information for some Colombian birds,with a new species for South AmericaCarl Downing

Cotinga 24 (2005): 13–15

El siguiente artículo pública las primeras observaciones de Stelgidopteryx serripennis en Colombiaindicando su presencia en Suramerica. Además incluye extenciones de distribución y altitud deotras 21 especies que he observado en los últimos 11 años.


extension in Colombia from 2,500 m, although ithas also been recorded to 3,300 m in Ecuador2,7.

Barn Owl Tyto albaA single was observed at dusk below the village ofAltaquer, dpto. Nariño, on 31 December 1994. Thisis only the second site where the species has beenrecorded on the Pacific slope of Nariño6.

White-chinned Swift Cypseloides cryptusOn numerous occasions between October 1994 andAugust 1995, on days with low cloud and showers,at Cali I observed low-flying swift flocks, whichappeared late afternoon and chiefly comprisedWhite-collared Swifts Streptoprocne zonaris andChestnut-collared Swifts Cypseloides rutilus. Theyusually appeared between 16h00 and 18h00, andalways disappeared before the first bats arrivedover the Cauca Valley from their roosts. Suitabledays for observing these flocks soon becamepredictable. My interest stemmed from a desire tofind White-chested Swift C. lemosi, which I failed tofind here at least1. However, twice I found White-chinned Swift C. cryptus among the other swifts.Two were present on 4 December 1994, with threeon 8 May 1995.

Chapman’s Swift Chaetura chapmaniA single, loosely associated with White-tippedSwifts Aeronautes montivagus, was at ParqueChicaque, dpto. Cundinamarca, on 1 March 2000,and represents the first record for the East Andesof Colombia. Identification to subspecies level wasnot made at the time, although given the season itis probable that the austral migrant form viridipen-nis was involved (C. T. Collins pers. comm.).

Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift Panyptila cayennensisThis species’ distribution in Colombia is surpris-ingly little known and sparse, given the ease withwhich it is identified. Until recently this swift’srange was considered restricted to the Andean andAmazonian regions2, but on 22–23 September 1998,at 200 m above Quebrada Valencia, dpto.Magdalena, c.5 birds were observed with CliffSwallows Petrochelidon pyrrhonota and Chestnut-collared Swifts Cypseloides rutilus, and two wereobserved at 750 m above the Minca Road, SantaMarta, on 20 March 2001, providing the firstevidence of its presence in Caribbean Colombia,although it has subsequently been noted at severalsites in this region by Strewe & Navarro10.

Scaled Piculet Picumnus squamulatusIn Colombia, the species is known only from thesouth and west sides of the Santa MartaMountains2,10. On 18 March 2001 a family party(two adults and three immatures) was observed at

750 m at the Minca Road, in the north-west cornerof the Santa Marta Mountains, dpto. Magdalena,and singles were seen on 14 September 2002 at 850m and 950 m.

Hooded Antpitta Grallaricula cucullataA single was observed singing in dense scrubwithin a forest clearing near the cabin at LaPastora, Ucumarí reserve, dpto. Risaralda(2,400 m), on 19 September 1998. This is the secondreserve record, the first being one mist-netted a fewmonths previously (W. Beltrán pers. comm.).

Snowy-throated Kingbird Tyrannus niveigularisOn 4 July 1996 a single was present belowAltaquer, dpto. Nariño (1,000 m), only the secondsite for the species in Colombia2. In Ecuador, itspresence in the north-west is seasonal, as birdsreach the area from further south, suggesting thatthe species is only present in Colombia as a non-breeding migrant (June–November)7. It must,however, be uncommon, as this is the only record Ipossess from this site in four years of observationsat the appropriate season.

Northern Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx serripennis fulvipennisOn 7 February 1996, together with MarionMcAusland and Valerie Cooper at Laguna de Sonso,dpto. Valle, I noticed that several rough-wingedswallows feeding over the río Cauca did not showthe characteristic pale rump typical of SouthernRough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx ruficollis,but possessed uniform upperparts, with no obviouscontrast between the rump, tail and mantle. Inaddition, the underparts were uniform pale brown,becoming whitish on the lower belly and vent, andlacked the orange tone to the throat, typical of S.ruficollis. We watched them feeding for c.15minutes, and it was clear during the close viewsobtained that they were Northern Rough-wingedSwallows S. serripennis of the Central Americanrace fulvipennis. In total, I counted at least fiveamongst 10+ S. ruficollis, which were perched on adead tree and flycatching over the river. On 4September 2002 another two were observed feedingtogether over Laguna de Sonso. There has beensome speculation as to the possible occurrence ofthe species in South America2,9,11, with probably thebest evidence to suggest that it could occur in thecontinent being sightings of what appeared to betransients in Central Panama8.

Indigo Bunting Passerina cyaneaA rare winter vagrant2, thus two at 750 m and asingle at 1,700 m on 18 March 2001 in the SantaMarta Mountains, dpto. Magdalena, are notablerecords for the country.

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New distributional information for some Colombian birds

Pectoral Sparrow Arremon taciturnusOn 20 July 1995 an adult of the nominate race wasidentified at a forest border at San Cipriano (200m), dpto. Valle. Given that this subspecies’ knownrange lies east of the Andes, its occurrence here ishighly unusual. A possible explanation is that ithad escaped from cage-bird shipment out of theport of Buenaventura 15 km distant.

Yellow-rumped Warbler Dendroica coronataOn 16 March 1996 a first-summer female was atLaguna de Sonso, dpto. Valle, the first departmen-tal record and only the third for Colombia2,9. Itsoccurrence here is probably the most southerly forthis species in South America.

Hooded Warbler Wilsonia citrinaOn 23 March 1996 1–2 females were observed inshrubbery alongside Laguna de Sonso, dpto. Valle.Though frequently recorded in the Santa Martaregion, especially in Tayrona National Park, dpto.Magdalena2 (D. Gandy pers. comm.), there are noinland reports. My record represents the first fordpto. Valle.

Red-breasted Blackbird Sturnella militarisFound to be common in pastures below Altaquer,dpto. Nariño, with the first record on 31 July 1993.Though predicted for Nariño, previous records nearBarbacoas did not eliminate the possibility ofPeruvian Meadowlark Sturnella bellicosa2, makingmy sightings the first records for Nariño.

House Sparrow Passer domesticusA female was observed on a rooftop in Altaquer,dpto. Nariño, on 23 August 1993. This is the firstmontane record for the species and the first awayfrom its previously described range in the Pacificcoastal towns of Tumaco, Guapi and Buenaventura.

AcknowledgementsI thank Dave Sewell, Jeremy Hickman, WilliamBeltrán, Mauricio Florez, Sean Scanlon, Mark Piper,Sam Bosanquet, Rod McCann, Marion McAusland,Valerie Cooper and Nigel Goodgame for their companyon my many trips to Colombia, and especiallyHumberto Alvarez-Lopez and his wife María forregularly inviting me to visit Laguna de Sonso and El18 with them. Many thanks to Lucho Neira, from theUniversidad del Valle, for organising permission for meto visit some sites.

References1. Downing, C. & Hickman, J. (2002) The first White-

chested Swift Cypseloides lemosi in AmazonianColombia. Cotinga 18: 102–103

2. Hilty, S. L. & Brown, W. L. (1986) A guide to thebirds of Colombia. Princeton, NJ: PrincetonUniversity Press.

3. Kirwan, G. M. (1998) Neotropical notebook:Colombia. Cotinga 6: 36.

4. Mazar Barnett, J., Kirwan, G. M. & Tobias, J.(1996) Neotropical notebook: Colombia. Cotinga9: 91.

5. Naranjo, L. G. (1979) Las aves marinas del Caribecolombiano. Ph.D. Fundación Universidad deBogotá.

6. Orejuela, J. E. & Cantillo, G. (1990) Aves de lareserva natural La Planada. Cali: Fundaciónpara la Educación Superior.

7. Ridgley, R. S. & Greenfield, P. J. (2001) The birds ofEcuador, 2. London, UK: Christopher Helm.

8. Ridgley, R. S. & Gwynne, J. A. (1989) A guide to thebirds of Panama with Costa Rica, Nicaragua andHonduras. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UniversityPress.

9. Ridgley, R. S. & Tudor, G (1989) The birds of SouthAmerica, 1. Austin: University of Texas Press.

10. Strewe, R. & Navarro, C. (2004) New andnoteworthy records of birds from the SierraNevada de Santa Marta region, north-easternColombia. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 124: 38–51.

11. Turner, A. & Rose, C. (1989) A handbook to theswallows and martins of the world. Beckenham:Christopher Helm.

Carl Downing13 Aston Place, St Mellons, Cardiff CF3 0PH, UK.Email: [email protected].


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Cinnamon-breasted Tody-tyrant Hemitriccuscinnamomeipectus is endemic to the Cordillera delCóndor region of south-east Ecuador and north-east Peru10,11. The species was discovered asrecently as 1976, above San José de Lourdes, dpto.Cajamarca, Peru, at 2,200 m4, and for some yearswas known only from the type locality, La Peca(dpto. Amazonas) and Abra Patricia (dpto. SanMartín), at 1,800–2,200 m. In September 1990,during an expedition to Chinapintza, Zamora-Chinchipe province, the species was finally locatedin Ecuador8. Chinapintza, at 1,700 m, is an isolatedmontane ridge very close to the Peruvian border,with stunted forest resembling that at San José deLourdes, although soils there comprise reddish-brown clay, gravel and sand8, instead of whitishsand as at the type locality, where soils areprimarily quartz and sandstone3.

The species is considered rare within its veryrestricted range, although it is perhaps numerousin optimal habitat2. Extensive searches for thespecies have been undertaken during recentdecades in stunted forest within the cordilleras delCóndor and Cutucú in Ecuador1,5,9,12,13, but it wasnot recorded until recently, on a low-elevation ridge(Naytza) at the confluence of the ríos Namangozaand Zamora, Morona-Santiago province. Here wereport in detail on the discovery of H. cinnamo-meipectus at Naytza, at 1,592 m (02o59’S 78o18’W),10 km south-east of General Leonidas Plaza, thusextending the species’ range 78 km north-west fromChinapintza.

Forest at this elevation resembles that on theflat-topped mesetas of the Cordillera del Cóndor, onthe east bank of the río Zamora1. Vegetation atNaytza is sclerophyllous scrub, a habitat describedby Foster & Beltrán6 for the tepui-like vegetation ofthe Cordillera del Cóndor. It is typically stunted,3–5 m high, and has a dense, shrubby understorey.Forest canopy is sparse and uneven, but reaches 15m. The presence of emergents like Podocarpus sp.and palms is characteristic, and the most commonshrubs belong to Ericaceae, Clusiaceae,

Melastomataceae, Asteraceae and Lecythidaceae. Adense layer of moss, bromeliads and ferns coversthe ground, and the presence of roots, vines andChusquea bamboo in the understorey renders theforest relatively impenetrable. Orchid diversity ishigh in the undergrowth. Soil composition is mainlycoarse sand and gravel, with a high proportion ofsilicates, limestone and quartz, and soils are poorlydrained.

ResultsThe site was visited in February 2004 following apreliminary exploration of the area undertaken on18–20 January 2004, during which we observedthat habitat and soil composition closely resembledthose of the Cordillera del Cóndor highlands thatwe were concurrently surveying. Thus, our mainobjective in February 2004 was to search for speciesfound in the Cordillera del Cóndor. The studyrevealed an impoverished avifauna and a mixedcomposition of highland and low-elevation speciesinhabiting stunted forest. A total 67 species wasrecorded during 512 hours of mist-netting and fourdays of censuses along part of the trail (5.2 km).Total trail length was 6.9 km, crossing the top of themeseta in a south-east direction.

Hemitriccus cinnamomeipectus was initiallyrecorded on 20 February 2004. We estimated nineterritories along 5.2 km of trail. Four individualswere trapped in different mist-nets placed withinthe dense understorey. Two specimens were takenand deposited at Museo Ecuatoriano de CienciasNaturales (MECN 3297, 3298), Quito, and aged asjuveniles based on skull ossification, althoughplumage and soft-part coloration matched the adultdescription in Fitzpatrick & O’Neill4 and Ridgely &Greenfield10. They had olive-green upperparts, paleyellowish fringes to the tertials, cinnamon lores,eye-ring and ear-coverts, and a rich buffy breastgrading into yellow over the rest of the underparts.Body moult was medium to heavy and the flight-feathers fresh. Mandible pink, not black as in otherjuveniles4. Stomachs contained parts of insects, but

A new population of Cinnamon-breasted Tody-tyrantHemitriccus cinnamomeipectus in EcuadorAna Ágreda, Jonas Nilsson, Luis Tonato and Hernando Román

Cotinga 24 (2005): 16–18

En febrero de 2004 llevamos a cabo una expedición a la meseta de Naytza, entre los valles de losríos Zamora y Namangoza, provincia de Morona-Santiago, sur-oriente de Ecuador, durante la cualregistramos a Hemitriccus cinnamomeipectus y localizamos nueve territorios a lo largo de untransecto de 5 km de longitud. Este registro representa la extensión del rango de una especierestringida y vulnerable 78 km hacia el noroccidente de Chinapintza, Cordillera del Cóndor,provincia de Zamora-Chinchipe, la única localidad previa en donde se había registrado esta especieen bajas densidades.


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A new population of Cinnamon-breasted Tody-tyrant in Ecuador

these could not be identified. Plumage of the otherindividuals resembled adults, with no evidence ofbody moult and had faded primaries; no broodpatches were observed.

Few data are available concerning the ecologyof the species. We closely observed severalindividuals and sound-recorded their natural vocal-isations. Birds foraged mostly alone or in pairs andonce apparently within a mixed-species flock.Foraging behaviour was not quantified, but all theobservations by JN were of individuals foraging inthe understorey, 2–3 m above ground, andsometimes up to 4 m in the lower mid storey.Typically, H. cinnamomeipectus is curious ofobservers, making it easy to detect and follow for ashort period, before disappearing into densevegetation. The species forages in short horizontalmovements, both hops and flights, gleaning theunderside of leaves. Movements are fast, but birdstended to perch upright (c.75% vertical) on narrowbare branches. Two different vocalisations wereidentified: a short rattle dddddrr–rt and a loudhigh-pitched squeéck or wheék, repeated 3–4 times,with pauses of 4–10 seconds. These vocalisationsare quite similar to those of Black-throated Tody-tyrant H. granadensis pyrrhops, although calls ofthe last are often longer and faster7. Once, JNidentified the begging call of a fledglingaccompanied by another bird, presumably an adult.Both foraged low in the understorey and wereobserved briefly before they disappeared in thedense vegetation. This vocalisation seemed higherpitched and faster than other calls. As we visitedthe study area during the rainy season, it ispossible that birds had finished breeding.

DiscussionH. cinnamomeipectus is considered NearThreatened2. It has a very restricted distribution onthe ridges of the cordilleras del Cóndor and Colánin south-east Ecuador and northern Peru.Furthermore, Ridgely & Greenfield9 suggested thatit might be treated as Vulnerable, a propositionwith which we agree given the species’ minisculerange. Population size is undetermined, althoughgiven the number of records at localities such asAbra Patricia, it has been suggested that thespecies is numerous in appropriate habitat2.However, the species is rare in Ecuador, whereknown from only two sites: four specimens taken atChinapintza, just west of the Peruvian border8, andthe locality reported herein. At Chinapintzaterritory size was established as 15 m by just a fewmetres2,8. In contrast, at Naytza we suggest that H.cinnamomeipectus has larger territories, given ourcounts of nine individuals over a transect of 5.2 km.However, estimating population size at the site isdifficult as the species exhibited low to intermedi-

ate capture rates in comparison to the mostabundant species (Speckled HummingbirdAdelomyia melanogenys, Sepia-brown WrenCinnycerthia olivascens and Golden-eyedFlowerpiercer Diglossopis glauca). Althoughnatural vocalisations were not infrequent, allobservers considered the species to be generallyinconspicuous. The species responds vigorously toplayback, as already noted by Krabbe & Sornoza8.

It has been suggested that the disjunct andrestricted distribution of H. cinnamomeipectuscorresponds to competitive interactions with H.granadensis2,8,10. The subspecies pyrrhops of H.granadensis occurs at higher elevations on Andeanslopes of south-east Ecuador (1,700–3,000 m)10 andalso occurs on ridges of the Cordillera del Cóndor,where it has been recorded on both slopes above2,000 m1,9,13. Thus, the two species overlap inaltitude and might share similar habitatpreferences as they have been found in the sameforest type in the Cordillera del Cóndor8.Furthermore, H. granadensis is syntopic with H.cinnamomeipectus at two localities, Abra Patriciaand Chinapintza2,8. It is presently unknown as towhether H. granadensis occurs at other Peruvianlocalities, e.g. San José de Lourdes, from where H.cinnamomeipectus has been recorded. We report thelargest number of H. cinnamomeipectus to be foundat a single locality, at which H. granadensispyrrhops appears absent, which supports theproposition that the latter is the dominant specieswhere the two are syntopic. Furthermore, that theapparently preferred habitat of H. cinnamomeipec-tus, sclerophyllous scrub on sandstone, is rareoutside the Cordillera del Cóndor, may limit thespecies’ presence elsewhere, e.g. in Cordillera ofCutucú. The absence of cinnamomeipectus at thelatter is perhaps related to the presence of H.granadensis8,12 or might correspond to limiteddispersal capabilities.

The new locality for H. cinnamomeipectus is alow-elevation ridge at 1,550–1,750 m and possessesa mixed avifauna of temperate and montanespecies. Other species, typical of the stunted forestof Cordillera del Cóndor, are absent, e.g. Rufous-headed Pygmy-tyrant Pseudotriccus ruficeps,Black-capped Tyrannulet Phyllomyias nigrocapil-lus and Orange-banded Flycatcher Myiophobuslintoni, which are primarily found above 1,900 m inthe Cóndor region1, and are also fairly common butlocal in montane forest at 2,200–3,300 m on theeast slope of the Andes10. Their absence from theisolated Naytza ridge might also explain thepresence of Cinnamon-breasted Tody-tyrant, giventhat some of these (e.g. P. ruficeps) can be numerousin dense undergrowth of montane forest. Furtherecological studies are required to test thesetheories.


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A new population of Cinnamon-breasted Tody-tyrant in Ecuador

Given the limited ecological data for thisspecies and its current conservation status,protecting the few known populations andpromoting the conservation of these forests amonglocal people can be considered priorities. One of themajor threats we identified is silica mining, whichis also the major threat at Chinapintza, where goldmining has been the principal economic activitysince the late-20th century. However, the species’Peruvian populations are also threatened by defor-estation2, from which country no very recentinformation is available. Nothing is known of thespecies’ dispersal capabilities, but its presence onthe opposite bank of the río Zamora and on bothbanks of the río Marañón in Peru suggests that themain rivers of the Cóndor region do not limit itsdistribution. Thus, continued searches for thespecies in ornithologically unexplored parts of thecordilleras del Cóndor and Colán are also muchneeded.

AcknowledgementsThe study was part of a bird-monitoring project in theCordillera del Cóndor region financially supported bythe John D. & Catherine T. McArthur Foundation. AAis especially grateful to Don Luis Corte and his wife fortheir assistance during our study. Robert Ridgely, GuyKirwan and Juan Freile provided constructivesuggestions on the manuscript.

References1. Ágreda, A. (2004) Informe técnico del proyecto

“Una exploración de las aves de la Cordillera delCóndor que permita generar pautas para suconservación”. Quito: Corporación Ornitológicadel Ecuador.

2. Collar, N. J., Gonzaga, L. P., Krabbe, N., Madroño-Nieto, A., Naranjo, L. G., Parker, T. A. & Wege, D.C. (1992) Threatened birds of the Americas: theICBP/IUCN Red Data Book. Cambridge, UK:International Council for Bird Preservation.

3. Fitzpatrick, J. W., Terborgh, J. & Willard, D. (1977)A new species of wood-wren from Peru. Auk 94:195–201.

4. Fitzpatrick, J. W. & O’Neill, J. P. (1979) A new tody-tyrant from northern Peru. Auk 96: 443–447.

5. Fjeldså, J. & Krabbe, N. (1986) Some rangeextensions and other unusual records of Andeanbirds. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 106: 115–124.

6. Foster, R. & Beltrán, H. (1997) Vegetación y florade la Cordillera del Cóndor. In: Schulenberg, T. S.& Awbrey, K. (eds.) The Cordillera del Cóndorregion of Ecuador and Peru: a biologicalassessment. Washington DC: ConservationInternational (RAP Working Papers 7).

7. Krabbe, N. & Nilsson, J. (2003) Birds of Ecuador:sounds and photographs. DVD-ROM.Westernieland: Bird Songs International BV.

8. Krabbe, N. & Sornoza, F. (1994) Avifaunisticresults of a subtropical camp in the Cordilleradel Cóndor, southeastern Ecuador. Bull. Brit.Orn. Club 114: 55–61.

9. Parker, T. A. (1997) Bird species recorded at threesites on the northern and western slopes of theCordillera del Cóndor. In: Schulenberg, T. S. &Awbrey, K. (eds.) The Cordillera del Cóndorregion of Ecuador and Peru: a biologicalassessment. Washington DC: ConservationInternational (RAP Working Papers 7).

10. Ridgely, R. S. & Greenfield, P. J. (2001) The birds ofEcuador. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

11. Ridgely, R. S. & Tudor, G. (1994) The birds of SouthAmerica, 2. Austin: University of Texas Press.

12. Robbins, M. B., Ridgely, R. S., Schulenberg, T. S. &Gill, F. B. (1987) The avifauna of the Cordillerade Cutucú, Ecuador, with comparisons to otherAndean localities. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci.Philadelphia 139: 243–259.

13. Schulenberg, T. S. & Wust, W. (1997) Birds of theupper río Comainas, Cordillera del Cóndor. In:Schulenberg, T. S. & Awbrey, K. (eds.) TheCordillera del Cóndor region of Ecuador andPeru: a biological assessment. Washington DC:Conservation International (RAP WorkingPapers 7).

Ana Ágreda CECIA, Corporación Ornitológica del Ecuador, Quito,Ecuador. E-mail: [email protected].

Jonas NilssonAndean Birding, Salazar Gómez E-1482 y Eloy Alfaro, Quito, Ecuador. E-mail:[email protected].

Luis TonatoDepartamento de Biología, Universidad Central delEcuador, Quito, Ecuador. E-mail: [email protected].

Hernando RománMECN, Museo Ecuatoriano de Ciencias Naturales,Parque La Carolina, Quito, Ecuador.



19


Bicoloured Antvireo Dysithamnus occidentalis is arare bird with a scattered distribution from south-west Colombia to east Ecuador1,4,5, and has recentlybeen discovered in north-east Peru (D. Lane pers.comm.). The species’ populations are apparentlysmall and isolated, and there is some variation inmorphological and vocal characters betweenpopulations2. Consequently, the species’ taxonomyis unclear. Pacific-slope populations in Colombiabelong to nominate occidentalis, which is knownfrom four localities and five specimens, includingthe type, collected at El Cocal at 1,200 m1,7. InEcuador, D. o. punctitectus is distributed east of theAndes, but a female presumed to be of nominateoccidentalis was observed and tape-recorded on thewest slope, at Reserva Cerro Golondrina (2,200 m),Carchi province2. The five specimens fromOyacachi, Baeza and Volcán Sumaco, in theEcuadorian east Andes, collected in the 1920s, areall adult punctitectus and are deposited at theAmerican Museum of Natural History, New York(AMNH) and Natural History Museum, Tring(BMNH)1,7. Recently, punctitectus has also beencollected 180 km south-east of Volcán Sumaco onthe río Abanico (1,500 m), in the region of VolcánSangay, Morona-Santiago province2. Thesespecimens, an adult male and female, are depositedat Museo Ecuatoriano de Ciencias Naturales(MECN 7037, 7038), Quito.

Here we report the presence of D. occidentalispunctitectus on the west slope of the Cordillera delCóndor, extending the species’ range 120 km south-east of the most recently discovered Ecuadorianlocality, on the opposite side of the río Zamora,Morona-Santiago province. This record is thesecond from this region since its discovery in Peru(D. Lane pers. comm.). In Ecuador, BicolouredAntvireo was observed in a pristine montane forestin the foothills of the Cordillera del Cóndor, at1,600–1,900 m. On 3–20 March 2004, we undertookavian surveys in that part of the Cordillera del

Cóndor at 03o14’S 78o20’W, at c.1,700 m, belongingto the district of San Carlos del Limon and theShuar Community San Pedro de Apondios. Thestudy area comprises primary forest selectivelylogged by local farmers in recent years. Theresultant cleared areas possess a dense, 3–4 m-highunderstorey at forest borders and some early-successional vegetation. We also noted somenatural light gaps within the forest.

Description of juvenile maleBicoloured AntvireoA specimen, inferred from range as belonging to thesubspecies punctitectus and currently deposited atMECN (8211), was mist-netted on 8 March withindense 2–3 m-high understorey inside riparian forest.It weighed 21.2 g. Mensural data from this specimenwere compared with the adults deposited at MECN(Table 1). Wing chord was measured from the bend ofthe closed wing to the end of the longest primary, theculmen (1) from the tip of the bill to the forehead,and alternatively culmen (3) as from the tip of thebill to the distal part of the nostril, the longest rectrixfrom the body to the tip, and tarsus from the rearmiddle of the intertarsal joint to the distal edge ofthe last complete scale or the end of tarsal bone3. Thespecimen exhibited some body moult but none in theprimaries. Age was determined by skull ossificationand presence of bursa. Skull ossification wasestimated as 40% and the whitish bursa measured4.5 mm in diameter. The bird was a male havinginconspicuous whitish testes of 1.9 mm. Soft-partcolours (noted prior to preparation) were as follows:irides dark grey, tarsus dark grey and bill mainlyblack with a yellowish gape. Stomach contentconsisted of the remains of insects, but specificidentification proved impossible.

Although the specimen was sexed as a male, itmore closely resembled a female in plumagecharacters. It has a dark brown, almost rufescent,crown and forehead, and greyish nape. The

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Range extension for, and description of the juvenile of,Bicoloured Antvireo Dysithamnus occidentalis punctitectusin EcuadorAna Ágreda, Jonas Nilsson, Luis Tonato and Hernando Román

Cotinga 24 (2005): 20–21

En marzo de 2004 llevamos a cabo una expedición a la falda occidental de la Cordillera del Cóndor,específicamente a la region denominada San Carlos de Limón y San Pedro de Apondios, provinciade Morona-Santiago, sur-oriente de Ecuador, durante la cual registramos un individuo juvenil deDysithamnus occidentalis y observamos el comportamiento de forrajeo de adultos de la mismaespecie en un bosque montano primario. Estos registros son los primeros de esta especie en laregión de la Cordillera del Cóndor que corresponde a Ecuador y representan la extensión del rangode distribución 120 km al sur-oeste del Volcán Sumaco, provincia de Morona-Santiago, la últimalocalidad donde se había registrado a esta especie. La descripción del plumaje del juvenil deDysithamnus occidentalis era previamente desconocida hasta este reporte.


upperparts, mantle and tail are primarily sootygrey with some rufous-brown feathering. The head-sides are dark grey with unstreaked throat-sides.The throat, breast and upper belly are uniformslate grey, slightly darker on the breast, but theflanks and lower belly are chestnut. Two distinctlines of round whitish terminal spots are present onthe median and greater wing-coverts, and aconspicuous white patch on the innermost lesserwing-coverts. The fringes of the primaries andsecondaries, as well as of the marginal-coverts, arechestnut. There is no concealed dorsal patch (contraRidgely & Tudor5 and Ridgely & Greenfield4), as inadults at MECN, which also lack such a character.In contrast to the adult female deposited at MECN,the new specimen lacks chestnut coloration on theupperparts and the fine whitish striations on thethroat, breast and underparts.

Field observationsOn 10 March at c.17h30 and at an elevation of1,850 m, JN briefly observed two parties ofBicoloured Antvireos. The first comprised a male,female and at least one additional, unsexedindividual. The birds foraged rapidly 2–5 m aboveground in the undergrowth, inspecting dead leavesand twigs within stands of vegetation interspersedby treefalls and open undergrowth. They weregenerally quiet, but vocalisations were described asa soft puh-puh, puh, as well as a faster rollingtcheuw-uw-uw-uw, tcheuw-uw-uw-uw. The first callis reminiscent of the natural vocalisations describedby Whitney7 and, subsequently, by M. Lysinger inRidgely & Greenfield4 as a short uninflectedwhistled note, given by birds in the Sumaco region.The second observation by JN of BicolouredAntvireo was of a pair of adults foraging with anundergrowth mixed-species flock containing PearledTreerunner Margarornis squamiger, Sepia-brownWren Cinnycerthia olivascens and Russet-crownedWarbler Basileuterus coronatus. This observationdiffers from previous foraging behaviour, describedby Whitney7, who observed the species primarily inpairs or alone, but did not reject the potential forparticipation in mixed-species flocks, as known forcongeners.

In the same area we collected, and tape-recorded the natural vocalisations, ofWhite-streaked Antvireo Dysithamnus leucostictus,representing the first records on the west side of

the Cordillera del Cóndor in Ecuador (the firstrecords in this region are from Comainas6). Thespecimens are an adult male and juvenile male,which (much as the Bicoloured Antvireo describedabove) resembled a female in plumage characters.These specimens are smaller than BicolouredAntvireo and, in contrast to the latter, exhibitwhitish streaks on the head-sides and body. Thepresence of both species at the same locality andelevation is apparently indicative of the good foreststate at this locality.

References1. Collar, N. J., Gonzaga, L. P., Krabbe, N., Madroño

Nieto, A., Naranjo, L. G., Parker, T. A. & Wege, D.C. (1992) Threatened birds of the Americas: theICBP/IUCN Red Data Book. Cambridge, UK:International Council for Bird Preservation.

2. Krabbe, N. & Palacio, J. (1999) Range extensions ofBicoloured Antvireo Dysithamnus occidentalis inEcuador. Cotinga 11: 48.

3. Proctor, N. & Lynch, P. (1993) Manual ofornithology: avian structure and function. NewHaven: Yale University Press.

4. Ridgely, R. S. & Greenfield, P. J. (2001) The birds ofEcuador, 2. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.


6. Schulenberg, T. S. & Awbrey, K. (eds.) (1997) TheCordillera del Cóndor region of Ecuador andPeru: a biological assessment. Washington DC:Conservation International (RAP WorkingPapers 7).

7. Whitney, B. M. (1992) Observations on thesystematics, behavior, and vocalizations of“Thamnomanes” occidentalis (Formicariidae).Auk 109: 302–308.

Ana ÁgredaCECIA, Corporación Ornitológica del Ecuador, Quito,Ecuador. E-mail: [email protected].

Jonas NilssonAndean Birding, Salazar Gómez E-1482 y Eloy Alfaro,Quito, Ecuador. E-mail: [email protected].

Luis TonatoDepartamento de Biología, Universidad Central delEcuador, Quito, Ecuador. E-mail: [email protected].

Hernando RománMuseo Ecuatoriano de Ciencias Naturales, Parque LaCarolina, Quito, Ecuador.

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Range extension and description of juvenile Bicoloured Antvireo in Ecuador

Table 1. Mensural data for specimens of Bicoloured Antvireo Dysithamnus occidentalis at the Museo Ecuatoriano de CienciasNaturales (MECN), Quito, Ecuador.

MECN catalogue Sex Age Wing chord Culmen 1 Culmen 3 Tarsus Tail number (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm)7037 male adult 73 18.2 11.5 23.5 57.67038 female adult 70 17 10.3 23.6 59.98211 male juvenile 71 17 10.5 23.7 60.6


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La ornitofauna de la isla de La Plata ha sido pocoestudiada. Los primeros registros de aves de la islafueron publicados por Chapman6. Owre14 describiópor primera vez la colonia de Phoebastria irrorataque anida en la isla, aunque desde mucho antes yase conocía su presencia12. Ortiz-Crespo & Agnew13

resumieron los datos obtenidos en la expedición delas universidades de Bristol y Católica del Ecuador(PUCE), junto con registros históricos y compara-ciones con la avifauna del archipiélago deGalápagos, dando a conocer un total de 29 especies.En 1995, un grupo de estudiantes de la PUCErealizó observaciones sobre la fauna y flora de laisla, haciendo estimaciones del tamaño poblacionalde la Fragata Magnífica Fregata magnificens1. En1999–2000, el Instituto de Ecología Aplicada(ECOLAP) de la Universidad San Francisco deQuito (USFQ) realizó estudios sobre la capacidadde carga de la isla, particularmente en relación a lapoblación del Piquero Patiazul Sula nebouxii queanida en la isla y los efectos del turismo. Además,desde hace más de dos décadas, investigadorescomo R. S. Ridgely, F. Sornoza, S. N. G. Howell, R.Behrstock, J. Nowak, F. Sibley, B. Haase, P.Coopmans. T. de Vries y J. F. Freile han visitadoesporádicamente la isla. El objetivo de este artículoes dar a conocer algunos datos obtenidos duranteobservaciones realizadas en junio del 2000, resumirdatos de la literatura y presentar una lista de laavifauna de la isla de La Plata registrada hasta elmomento.

Área de estudio y métodosLa isla de La Plata (01o16’S 81o03’W) se encuentraaproximadamente a 30 km de las costas de laprovincia de Manabí, Ecuador. Esta isla tiene unárea de 14,2 km2 y su punto más alto alcanza los167 m sobre el nivel del mar2,13. La isla de La Plataes parte del Parque Nacional Machalilla y estáoficialmente protegida dentro del Sistema Nacional

de Áreas Protegidas (SNAP). Desde 1990 fuedeclarada como Humedal Ramsar de ImportanciaInternacional junto al P. N. Machalilla y se ubicadentro del Área de Endemismo de Aves de la RegiónTumbesina (EBA 045)16. Las costas están formadasen su mayor parte por altos acantilados, siendo laplaya de Bahía Drake el único acceso para embar-caciones y donde se encuentra un antiguo hotel queahora funciona como oficina y vivienda de guarda-parques e investigadores. Desde este punto partendos senderos que atraviesan Punta Palo Santo,Punta Machete, Punta Escalera y la Quebrada delFaro (obs. pers.).

La vegetación de la isla es básicamentexerofítica y se compone de aproximadamente 100especies, de las cuales las más características sonCapparis spp. (Capparaceae), Prosopis juliflora(Mimosaceae), Bursera graveolens (Burseraceae),Croton rivinifolius (Euphorbiaceae) y Cordia lutea(Boraginaceae), típicas de las formaciones delMatorral Seco Litoral y el Matorral Seco de TierrasBajas2,7,8,13. La capa vegetal de muchas áreas de laisla ha sido afectada por las cabras introducidas(Capra hircus). La población de cabras hadisminuido considerablemente, desde centenaresde individuos13 hasta menos de una decena, graciasa esfuerzos por controlar su población realizadospor las autoridades del P. N. Machalilla y ONG’s(obs. pers. junio de 2000). La mastofauna terrestrede la isla es bastante reducida y predominanespecies introducidas como cabras, Rata NegraRattus rattus, Ratón Casero Mus musculus y GatoDoméstico Felis silvestris2,13. Entre las especiesnativas, se encuentra una especie de ratón(Oryzomys sp.) y una especie de murciélago(posiblemente de la familia Vespertilionidae)2,13.Entre los mamíferos marinos se incluye unapequeña población del Lobo Marino de GalápagosZalophus californianus wollebaecki2,13 y cerca de 11especies de cetáceos que han sido registrados cerca

La avifauna de la isla de La Plata, Parque Nacional Machalilla,Ecuador, con notas sobre nuevos registrosDiego Francisco Cisneros-Heredia

Cotinga 24 (2005): 22–27

Isla La Plata, in Machalilla National Park, is located 30 km off the Ecuadorian coast. It harbours37 species of waterbirds and 34 landbirds. At least 17 species breed on the island and it is the onlysite in mainland Ecuador where Waved Albatross Phoebastria irrorata, Red-billed TropicbirdPhaethon aethereus, Nazca Booby Sula granti and Red-footed Booby S. sula nest. The platensissubspecies of Long-tailed Mockingbird Mimus longicaudatus is the only endemic bird taxon. BrownBooby Sula leucogaster, Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis, Red Phalarope Phalaropus fulicarius,Ecuadorian Ground-dove Columbina buckleyi, Little Woodstar Chaetocercus bombus and Yellow-bellied Elaenia Elaenia flavogaster are reported on the island for the first time. La Plata harboursimportant biodiversity, necessitating the implementation of conservation, management andsustainable tourism plans, along with long-term monitoring studies of the fauna and flora.


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La avifauna de la isla de La Plata, Parque Nacional Machalilla, Ecuador

de la isla2, siendo una de las especies más notablesla Ballena Jorobada Megaptera novaeangliae, cuyosavistamientos atraen a cientos de turistasnacionales y extranjeros cada año. No existenanfibios en la isla por la ausencia de agua dulce(obs. pers.), pero se han registrado cinco especies dereptiles terrestres (Ameiva edracantha,Microlophus occipitalis, Phyllodactylus reissii,Mastigodryas (Dryadophis) cf. melanolomus yOxybelis aeneus), y cinco especies de reptilesmarinos (Pelamis platurus, Chelonia mydas,Lepidochelys olivacea, Dermochelys coriaceae yEretmochelys imbricata) (obs. pers).

En junio del 2000 conduje algunas observa-ciones sobre la fauna de la isla de La Plata comoparte del Proyecto ‘Mediciones de la DiversidadBiológica en el Parque Nacional Machalilla:Componentes de Ornitofauna y HerpetofaunaTerrestres’, realizado por Fundación Natura,Ecuador. Las observaciones fueron principalmentellevadas a cabo en Bahía Drake, Punta Palo Santoy el sendero entre Punta Machete y Quebrada delFaro. La taxonomía, secuencia de especies ynombres comunes son utilizados de acuerdo aRidgely & Greenfield15.

ResultadosUn total de 71 especies de aves, pertenecientes a 28familias, se han registrado en la isla de La Plata; delas cuales por lo menos 17 son nidificantes (verApéndice). En total 37 especies son de hábitosacuáticos y 34 son terrestres. La familia mejorrepresentada es Tyrannidae (tiranos y mosqueros)con ocho especies, seguida por Laridae (gaviotas ygaviotines) con siete especies, Scolopacidae(playeros y falaropos) con seis especies yProcellariidae (petreles y pardelas), Hydrobatidae(paiños) y Sulidae (piqueros) con cinco especiescada una. Se han reportado en la isla doce especiesde aves que tienen alguna categoría de riesgo segúnla UICN, sea a escala global o nacional5,10 (verApéndice) y 15 especies que son consideradasendémicas de la región Tumbesina15,16. La únicaespecie de ave exótica que se ha registrado en laisla es Passer domesticus.

Recuento de especies

Albatros de Galápagos Phoebastria irrorataObservé un individuo volando a 1 km de PuntaMachete el 4 de junio del 2000. El primer registrode esta especie en la isla fue en 192412, aunque alparecer solo desde la década de los 60 se conoce lapresencia de una colonia reproductora13, lo cualpuede ser efecto de la falta de observaciones previaso reflejo de que el establecimiento de la colonia esreciente. Los albatros suelen anidar en el área dePunta Machete y su población fluctúa desde una

sola pareja hasta cerca de 15 parejas2,12–15. Entre el27 y 28 de julio del 2000, Anderson et al.3

encontraron tres individuos en la isla, pero noevidencias de reproducción. P. irrorata se reproduceen el ámbito mundial solamente en dos islas:Española y La Plata, siendo la isla Española(Galápagos, Ecuador) la que mantiene la coloniamás numerosa y La Plata la única en el áreacontinental. La época reproductora se extiendeentre los meses de marzo a junio. Individuos sedispersan a lo largo del Pacífico en aguas oceánicasdesde Panamá hasta Perú y Chile, los patrones dedispersión varían dependiendo de la condiciónreproductiva3,9,11,15. Fernández et al.9 señalaron laausencia de un incremento poblacional de estaespecie en isla de La Plata, y expusieron doshipótesis, que isla de La Plata es menos adecuadaque isla Española para la reproducción de laespecie, o que la población de La Plata fueextirpada con la presencia de humanos en la isladesde hace 1.200 años y que con la recienteprotección de la isla por las autoridades guberna-mentales, la población podría crecer. La especie fueclasificada en Ecuador como En Peligro10 yVulnerable en el ámbito mundial5, si la segundahipótesis es probada, la presencia de la poblacióndel albatros en isla de La Plata es un importantefactor en la conservación de la especie.

Fragata Magnífica Fregata magnificensLa colonia reproductora de esta especie en la isla deLa Plata (junto con la de isla Santa Clara, El Oro)es unos de los sitios de anidación más australes enel Pacífico sudamericano. El número de individuosreportados varía año tras año e incluso al pareceralgunos años no anida13. Ortiz & Agnew13

registraron la presencia de 2.598 fragatas, mientrasque Albuja & Muñoz2 indican 1.345 individuosentre pichones, juveniles y adultos. En el 2000observé un número cercano a 1.600 fragatasadultas, pero no se hicieron evidentes nidos ojuveniles.

Piquero Patiazul Sula nebouxiiCon una población de entre 1.000 y 3.000individuos2,13,15, es el ave más numerosa de isla deLa Plata. Es posible encontrarla a lo largo de todala isla y también en mar abierto entre la isla y elcontinente. Las colonias reproductoras de isla de LaPlata e isla Santa Clara (El Oro) son las únicas doscolonias grandes reportadas en Ecuadorcontinental15. Durante el periodo de observación seobservaron algunas parejas anidando (c.12 enPunta Palo Santo y alrededores). En un caso seobservó un nido atacado por gatos y dos polluelosmuertos, y en dos casos se observó la depredaciónde huevos por parte del Gallinazo CabecirrojoCathartes aura.


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Piquero de Nazca Sula grantiLa población de esta especie se ubica a lo largo dela costa sur de la isla. Hacia 1993 se registraronunos 400 pares15, para 1997 se estimó que existíanunos 500 pares2, mientras que en el 2000 registrécerca de 650 pares. Estos datos podrían indicar uncrecimiento poblacional de la población en isla de laPlata, sin embargo, se deben realizar monitoreospara confirmar esta hipótesis.

Piquero Pardo Sula leucogasterUn individuo adulto fue observado inicialmente ac.4 km fuera de la isla volando con dirección aPunta Palo Santo el 4 de junio del 2000. Seguí elave hasta que llegó a los alrededores de la isla, enBahía Drake. El ave fue observada tres veces cercade la isla entre el 4 y 5 de junio del 2002, algunasveces en las cercanías de S. nebouxii y S. granti.Ridgely & Greenfield15 clasificaron a esta especiescomo un ‘visitante muy raro en aguas abiertas a lolargo de la costa del norte de Ecuador’. Las observa-ciones en la isla de La Plata fueron hechascuidadosamente durante más de 15 minutos cadauna con excelentes condiciones de luz. Las observa-ciones se realizaron junto a otros dos observadores,realizándose comparaciones in-situ tanto conadultos como juveniles de las tres especies depiqueros residentes en la isla con las cuales puedeexistir confusión. El individuo de S. leucogasterobservado presentaba el característico vuelo de laespecie y tenía claramente el dorso, la rabadilla, lacabeza, las superficies superiores de las alas y lacola de color café puro (en comparación con el cuelloblanco en inmaduros de Sula granti, punta de lacola blanca en S. nebouxii y S. sula, rabadilla blancaen inmaduros de S. nebouxii); con el pico y patasamarillos; y el vientre, crisum y superficiesinferiores de las alas de color blanco, lo quepermitió rechazar la confusión con juveniles de lasespecies residentes de piqueros.

Piquero Patirrojo Sula sulaDos juveniles y un adulto fueron observadosvolando en Punta Palo Santo el 5 de junio del 2000.La isla mantiene una pequeña población reproduc-tiva de entre 10 y 30 individuos que se encuentraanidando en la zona de Punta Escalera13,14. Estacolonia al parecer anida desde finales de los 8015 yes el sitio de anidación de esta especie más al sur enel Pacífico sudamericano.

Garceta Bueyera Bubulcus ibisTres individuos de esta especie fueron observadosperchados en la vegetación de Punta Palo Santo el5 de junio del 2000. Es el primer registro de estaespecie en la isla, sin embargo dada su capacidadmigratoria15, la presencia de esta garza en la islaera esperada.

Falaropo Rojo Phalaropus fulicariusUn grupo de al menos seis individuos de estaespecie fueron observados posados sobre el océanoel 4 de junio del 2000 a unos 2 km de la isla. Sediferenció de las otras especies congenéricas (noregistradas aun en La Plata) por poseer un picoancho y dorso gris pálido uniforme.

Tortolita Ecuatoriana Columbina buckleyiDos individuos fueron observados en Punta PaloSanto el 5 de junio del 2000, alimentándose en unárea casi desprovista de vegetación, excepto poralgunos arbustos bajos y hierbas aisladas. Lasprimarias y cobertoras negras y el pico oscuro losdiferenciaron de la Tortolita Croante Columbinacruziana. C. buckleyi es relativamente común en lasáreas abiertas continentales del P. N. Machalilla;sin embargo, estas observaciones constituyen losprimeros registros de esta especie en la isla de LaPlata. C. cruziana es, por mucho, la especie máscomún de tórtola en la isla.

Estrellita Chica Chaetocercus bombusDos individuos de esta especie fueron observados el4–5 de junio del 2000 forrajeando en la vegetacióndel sendero (que estaba particularmente florecida)cerca al antiguo hotel. Un macho estabaforrajeando a 3 m sobre el suelo en un área dearbustos densos. El otro colibrí era una hembraencontrada a 300 m del hotel, alimentándose enflores a 5–6 m sobre el suelo en una zona donde lavegetación se tornaba más cerrada y alta. Estaespecie es categorizada como Rara o quizáslocalmente (estacionalmente?) poco común y susregistros son bastante localizados en el occidentedel Ecuador15. Los dos ejemplares de C. bombusfueron observados por más de 30 minutos conbuenas condiciones de luz y a una distancia entre3–8 m. En la isla de La Plata se han reportado dosespecies más de colibríes con las que podría existirconfusión, el único colibrí residente (aparente-mente) es la Estrellita Colicorta Myrmia micrura,existiendo además un reporte de la rara y erranteEstrellita Esmeraldeña Chaetocercus berlepschi4.El macho de C. bombus observado en la isla de LaPlata se diferenció de los machos de las otras dosespecies por poseer un collar de color café-anaranjado claro (blanco en C. berlepschi y M.micrura) y la cola más larga que M. micrura,mientras que la hembra se caracterizaba por tenerla garganta, pecho y vientre de color café-anaranjado claro (blanquecino en hembras de C.berlepschi y M. micrura) y la cola de igual color perocon una banda subterminal negra (cola blanca en C.berlepschi y mucho más corta en M. micrura).Ambos individuos de C. bombus tenían un vuelomucho más suave que el de M. micrura. Un machode M. micrura mostró un comportamiento


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territorial agresivo contra el macho de C. bombus y,como resultado de estas confrontaciones, el machode C. bombus fue expulsado dos veces del área queocupaba. La proporción de individuos de M.micrura y C. bombus observados fue de 8:1,notándose que muchas veces había concentracionesde individuos de M. micrura en sitios con altafloración. No se observó ningún despliegue porparte del macho de C. bombus (al contrario de M.micrura) y no se registró ningún individuo de C.berlepschi. Esta especie es considerada comoVulnerable5,10.

Elenia Penachuda Elaenia flavogasterAlgunos individuos fueron observados en repetidasocasiones forrajeando en los arbustos alrededor deBahía Drake (tres individuos) y en el SenderoMachete (uno o dos) entre el 4 y 5 de junio del 2002.Los individuos de esta especie se caracterizabanpor la presencia de una cresta prominentemostrando una mancha blanca, dorso café,garganta grisácea, vientre amarillo (vientre blancoo blanco grisáceo en el simpátrico TiranoleteGrisiblanco Pseudelaenia leucospodia) y dos barrasalares blanquecinas (ausentes en P. leucospodia).Además, eran claramente más grandes que P.leucospodia. Estas observaciones constituyen losprimeros registros en la isla.

Vireo Ojirrojo Vireo olivaceusObservé 2–3 individuos en los arbustos detrás delantiguo hotel, y otros más en los senderos cercanosal mismo. Fue reportado por P. Coopmans15 comoocasionalmente común y quizás se reproduce en laisla.

Sinsonte Colilargo de La Plata Mimus longicaudatusplatensis Hasta el momento, de todas las aves residentes enla isla, solo la población del M. l. platensis se hadescrito como una subespecie endémica de la isla,debido esencialmente a su mayor tamaño15. A pesarde la presencia de gatos (Felis silvestris), ratas(Rattus spp.) y ratones (Mus musculus) en la isla, lapoblación de esta subespecie endémica parece estaren relativas buenas condiciones y repartida a lolargo de toda la isla. Sin embargo, registréevidencia de dos ataques al sinsonte por parte degatos ferales que estaban consumiendo cadáveresde esta especie.

Gorrión Europeo Passer domesticusEsta es la única especie exótica que se ha registradoen la isla. La población es aún pequeña yrestringida a los alrededores del antiguo hotel (nose observó que se disperse más allá de BahíaDrake). Mantiene una población reproductiva enisla de La Plata; se observaron durante el período

de permanencia en la isla al menos cinco juvenilesen los arbustos alrededor del hotel. El PinzónGorgeador Collarejo Poospiza hispaniolensistambién forrajeaba en las cercanías del hotel(alimentándose de los restos de comida dejados porlos turistas) y en algunas ocasiones se observaroncomportamientos agresivos entre las dos especies.

RelevanciaLa región Tumbesina ha sido muy afectada por ladestrucción de la vegetación, la cacería excesiva, eltráfico de especies, la contaminación y otrosfactores que hacen peligrar la permanencia a largoplazo de la biodiversidad de esa región. Pocos sitiosbajo protección legal en la región mantienenpoblaciones representativas y viables de la flora yfauna, siendo el P. N. Machalilla actualmente unode los últimos remanentes de tamaño considerablede bosque seco de la costa central ecuatoriana(otros se encuentran en Loma Alta, Cerro Blanco yManglares-Churute). La isla de La Plata es partede este parque y, de acuerdo a los datos presentadosen este artículo, mantiene una diversa comunidadde aves tanto de especies marinas como terrestrestomando en consideración su pequeño tamaño yalterada vegetación. Este estudio incluye todos losregistros que al momento se conocen de aves de laisla; sin embargo, mayores observaciones e investi-gaciones seguramente completarán el inventario deespecies. Es posible, por ejemplo, que ciertasespecies de aves marinas adicionales esténpresentes en La Plata, incluso anidando en lamisma (Procellariidae e Hydrobatidae). Además,existen algunas aves terrestres que a pesar de nomantener poblaciones residentes, tienenmovimientos migratorios que incluyen a la isla ollegan ocasional a la isla (como es el caso de laTangara Negriblanca Conothraupis speculigera).Para muchas especies de aves marinas, La Plata esun sitio importante de anidación en Ecuadorcontinental (Fregata magnificens, Sula nebouxii,Sula sula) y es uno de los pocos sitios donde sepueden encontrar con relativa facilidad ciertas avesendémicas terrestres de la región Tumbesina, comoPseudalaenia leucospodia y Poospiza hispaniolen-sis. La isla de La Plata podría tener un papel claveen la conservación de Phoebastria irrorata pero senecesita establecer protocolos de monitoreo quepermitan determinar su real estado poblacional yvariaciones a lo largo del año (ver Anderson et al.3).Los registros ocasionales de aves en peligro deextinción como Chaetocercus bombus, C. berlepschio Leptotila ochraceiventris podrían indicar que apesar de no mantener poblaciones permanentes enla isla, esta es un sitio de dispersión en épocas decambios ambientales; aunque también podrían sersolamente registros accidentales, por lo cual es deextremada importancia realizar monitoreos están-


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darizados en el área que permitan determinar surelevancia en términos de la conservación de estasespecies. Por todas estas razones, es necesario yurgente que se implementen planes de conser-vación y manejo de la isla, que tomen en cuenta suparticular avifauna terrestre y marina y los retosque presenta al ser un destino turístico deimportancia. La extirpación de especies introduci-das y la restauración de la vegetación original,junto a estudios de monitoreo a mediano y largoplazo de la fauna y flora así como del impactoambiental de las actividades turística y pesquerason algunos de los aspectos más importantes aconsiderar.

AgradecimientosEste trabajo fue realizado como parte del programa depasantías profesionales de la Universidad SanFrancisco de Quito (USFQ). Fue coordinado yfinanciado por el Plan de Monitoreo Socio-Ambientaldel Parque Nacional Machalilla (PNM), Proyecto‘Parques en Peligro’ de Fundación Natura, Ecuador.Agradezco a A. Baquero y D. Mosquera (FundaciónNatura), por el compañerismo, alojamiento y toda laayuda prestada. A. C. Zambrano, director del PNM, atodos los guardaparques y demás funcionarios quefacilitaron y colaboraron con el trabajo, y a M.Guerrero que facilitó el transporte a la isla. Agradezcoa J. Freile por los comentarios realizados sobre elmanuscrito. A la Corporación Ornitológica del Ecuador(CECIA) y a BirdLife International por el acceso a lainformación en la Base de Datos de las Aves del Mundo(WBDB). A. T. Santander por facilitarme informaciónsobre aves de la isla. El ECOLAP (USFQ) y CECIA medieron libre acceso a sus bibliotecas. Extiendo migratitud a Ma. Elena y Laura Heredia quienesfinanciaron parcialmente y apoyaron en muchossentidos el desarrollo del proyecto.

Referencias1. Agreda, A., Benítez, B., Cordovez, X., Moscoso, F.,

Naranjo, N., Terán, M. C., Torres, O. & Vinueza,L. (1998) Flora, fauna y problemas ambientalesde la isla de La Plata. In: Cerón, C. E., Moyón, M.& Jiménez, E. D. (eds.) Resúmenes de las XX yXII jornadas ecuatorianas de biología. Quito:Universidad Central del Ecuador.

2. Albuja, L. & Muñoz, R. (1997) Diagnósticofaunístico del Parque Nacional Machalilla, plande manejo. Quito: INEFAN, Ministerio deAgricultura y Ganadería.

3. Anderson, D. J., Huyvaert, K. P., Apanius, V.,Townsend, H., Gillikin, C. L., Hill, L. D., Juola, F.,Porter, E. T., Wood, D. R., Lougheed, C. & Vargas,H. (2002) Population size and trends of theWaved Albatross Phoebastria irrorata. MarineOrn. 30: 63–69.

4. Becker, D., Agreda, A., Richter, A. & Rodríguez, O.(2000) Interesting bird records from theColonche Hills, western Ecuador. Cotinga 13:55–58.

5. BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds ofthe world 2004. CD-ROM. Cambridge, UK:BirdLife International.

6. Chapman, F. M. (1926) The distribution of bird-lifein Ecuador. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 55.

7. Cerón, C. E. & Montalvo A., C. (1998) Flora de lasislas Salango y de La Plata, Parque NacionalMachalilla, Manabí-Ecuador. Bol. Funbotánica 6.

8. Cerón, C. E., Palacios, W., Valencia, R. & Sierra, R.(1999) Las formaciones naturales de la costa delEcuador. In: Sierra, R. (ed.) Propuesta preliminarde un sistema de clasificación de vegetación parael Ecuador continental. Quito: ProyectoINEFAN/GEF-BIRF/EcoCiencia.

9. Fernández, P., Anderson, D. J., Sievert, P. R. &Huyvaert, K. P. (2001) Foraging destinations ofthree low-latitude albatross (Phoebastria)species. J. Zool. 254: 391–404.

10. Granizo, T., Pacheco, C., Ribadeneira, M. B.,Guerrero, M. & Suárez, L. (eds.) (2002) Libro rojode las aves del Ecuador. Quito: SIMBIOE,Conservation International, EcoCiencia,Ministerio del Ambiente y UICN.

11. Mackiernan, G., Lonsdale, P., Shany, N., Cooper, B.& Ginsburg, P. (2001) Observations of seabirds inPeruvian and Chilean waters during the 1998 ElNiño. Cotinga 15: 88–94.

12. Murphy, R. C. (1936) Oceanic birds of SouthAmerica. New York: Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.

13. Ortiz-Crespo, F. I. & Agnew, P. (1992) The birds ofLa Plata Island, Ecuador. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club112: 66–73.

14. Owre, O. T. (1976) A second breeding colony ofWaved Albatrosses Diomedea irrorata. Ibis 118:419–420.


16. Stattersfield, A. J., Crosby, M. J., Long, A. J. &Wege, D. C. (1998) Endemic Bird Areas of theworld: priorities for biodiversity conservation.Cambridge, UK: BirdLife International(Conservation Series 7).

Diego Francisco Cisneros-HerediaColegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales,Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Casilla Postal 17-12-841, Quito, Ecuador, y Corporación Ornitológica delEcuador, CECIA, Casilla Postal 17-17-906 Quito,Ecuador. E-mail: [email protected].

Apéndice I. Aves registradas en la isla de La Plata, ParqueNacional Machalilla, provincia de Manabí, Ecuador.

Clave: este lista fue compilada sobre la base de losregistros de:Albuja & Muñóz2 (AM); Becker et al.3 (BE); D.-F. Cisneros-Heredia obs. pers. (DC); Ortiz-Crespo &Agnew12 (OA); Ridgely & Greenfield14 (RG); Rob Williams(RW) / Juan Freile (JF), información de la Base de Datosde las Aves del Mundo (WBDB), CECIA/BirdLifeInternacional;Tickell,W. N. L., Univ. Bristol, UK (TB).Simbología utilizada corresponde a: ** = nidificante en laisla de La Plata, @ = endémica de la región Tumbesina. La


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clasificación según las categorías de riesgo de UICNconsta de dos casillas ‘(1)/(2)’. La primera es la clasificaciónnacional según (1) Granizo et al.9 seguida por la clasifi-cación a escala mundial según (2) BirdLife International5.Las categorías son: En Peligro (EN),Vulnerable (VU), CasiAmenazado (NT), Datos Insuficientes (DD). Cuando laespecie no consta bajo una categoría de peligro en una delas listas, se señala con ‘0’.

Phoebastria irrorata Albatros de Galápagos ** AM, OA, RG, DC

EN/VUPterodroma phaeopygia Petrel Lomioscuro RG CR/CRProcellaria parkinsoni Petrel de Parkinson RW 0/VUPuffinus creatopus Pardela Patirrosa RW 0/VUPuffinus griseus Pardela Sombría RW 0/NTPuffinus lherminieri Pardela de Audubon RG

Oceanites oceanicus Paiño de Wilson RG

Oceanites gracilis Paiño Grácil OA, RG 0/DDOceanodroma tethys Paiño Danzarín RG

Oceanodroma melania Paiño Negro RW

Oceanodroma homochroa Paiño Cinéreo RG 0/ENPhaethon aethereus Rabijunco Piquirrojo ** AM, DC, OA, RG

Fregata magnificens Fragata Magnífica ** AM, DC, OA, RG

Sula nebouxii Piquero Patiazul ** AM, DC, OA, RG

Sula variegata Piquero Peruano RG

Sula granti Piquero de Nazca ** AM, DC, OA, RG

Sula leucogaster Piquero Pardo DC

Sula sula Piquero Patirrojo ** AM, DC, OA, RG

Phalacrocorax brasilianus Cormorán Neotropical DC, OA, RG

Pelecanus occidentalis Pelícano Pardo AM, DC, OA, RG

Pelecanus thagus Pelícano Peruano RG

Ardea cocoi Garzón Cocoi OA

Butorides striatus Garcilla Estriada OA

Bubulcus ibis Garceta Bueyera DC

Cathartes aura Gallinazo Cabecirrojo ** AM, DC, OA, RG

Pandion haliaetus Aguila Pescadora AM, OA

Ictinia plumbea Elanio Plomizo OA, RG

Buteo polyosoma Gavilán Variable RG

Falco peregrinus Halcón Peregrino AM, OA VU/0Heteroscelus incanus Playero Vagabundo OA

Catoptrophorus semipalmatus Vadeador Aliblanco RW

Actitis macularius Andarríos Coleador OA

Numenius phaeopus Zarapito Trinador RW, JF

Aphriza virgata Rompientero RW

Phalaropus fulicarius Falaropo Rojo DC

Larus modestus Gaviota Gris RG

Larus dominicanus Gaviota Dominicana TB

Larus atricilla Gaviota Reidora TB

Sterna maxima Gaviotín Real RW

Sterna elegans Gaviotín Elegante RW

Sterna hirundo Gaviotín Común RW

Sterna anaethetus Gaviotín Embridado RG

Leptotila ochraceiventris Paloma Ventriocrácea RG EN/VU @

Zenaida auriculata Tórtola Orejuda OA

Columbina buckleyi Tortolita Ecuatoriana DC @

Columbina cruziana Tortolita Croante ** AM, DC, OA, RG

Forpus coelestis Periquito del Pacífico RW @

Crotophaga sulcirostris Garrapatero Piquiestriado OA

Anthracothorax nigricollis Mango Gorjinegro RG

Myrmia micrura Estrellita Colicorta ** AM, DC, OA, RG @

Chaetocercus bombus Estrellita Chica DC VU/VU @

Chaetocercus berlepschi Estrellita Esmeraldeña BE EN/EN @

Pseudelaenia leucospodia Tiranolete Grisiblanco ** DC, RG @

Elaenia flavogaster Elenia Penachuda DC

Euscarthmus meloryphus Tirano Enano Frentileonado ** RG

Contopus punensis Pibí de Tumbes ** RG @

Pyrocephalus rubinus Mosquero Bermellón AM, OA, RG

Muscigralla brevicauda Tiranito Colicorto ** AM, OA, RG @

Tyrannus melancholicus Tirano Tropical RW

Tyrannus niveigularis Tirano Goliníveo RG @

Vireo olivaceus Vireo Ojirrojo **? DC, RG

Mimus longicaudatus platensis Sinsonte Colilargo ** AM, DC, OA, RG @

Progne chalybea Martín Pechigris RW

Troglodytes aedon Soterrey Criollo ** AM, OA, RG

Conothraupis speculigera Tangara Negriblanca RG 0/NTPheucticus chrysogaster Picogrueso Amarillo Sureño AM, DC, OA

Rhodospingus cruentus Pinzón Pechicarmesí RG @

Sporophila peruviana Espiguero Pico de Loro RG @

Poospiza hispaniolensis Pinzón Gorgeador Collarejo ** AM, DC, OA,

RG @

Sturnella bellicosa Pastorero Peruano OA, RG

Passer domesticus Gorrión Europeo OA, DC


Mixed-species flocks are common and obvious inNeotropical habitats. In the Caribbean islandsflocks have been noted on Puerto Rico2,5,24,29,Jamaica4, Haiti20, in the Dominican Republic18, theVirgin Islands7 and on Cuba6,16. Unlike otherislands, however, such flocks have not beendescribed in detail for Cuba. One previous reporttreated mixed-species flocks of migratory woodwarblers in Cuba16.

Cuba is an important wintering area forNearctic–Neotropical migrant birds (hereafter‘migrants’)11,16,30,31. With 50% of the total land areain the Caribbean, the island offers the largestwintering area for migrants. Cuban avifaunacontains 24 endemic species10, two of which, Yellow-headed Warbler Teretistris fernandinae and OrienteWarbler T. fornsi, appear to be species aroundwhich mixed-species flocks often form. Thebehavioural ecology of these species has been littlestudied9,26, and their taxonomic relations to woodwarblers (Parulidae) are also uncertain19. Eaton6

did not recognise Teretistris spp. as flock associates.Our objectives here are to: document thecomposition of mixed-species flocks in Cuba;describe the contribution of migratory and residentbirds to flock composition; and to assess associa-tions among species within flocks.

Methods

Study areas We studied flocks in Ciego de Ávila province, on thenorth coast of Cuba, in Matanzas province, in thesouth, and noted their presence in Pinar del Ríoprovince, in the west (Fig. 1). Kirkconnell countedflocks at study sites on Cayo Coco, Ciego de Ávilaprovince. He also tallied flocks at several localitiesin the Península de Zapata, Matanzas province: atBermejas, El Ojo del Roble, Guamá, Los Lechuzos,Los Sábalos, Mera, Playa Larga and Santo Tomás;

and he gathered data on composition of flocks at LaGüira and La Majagua, Pinar del Río province, inwestern Cuba.

Hamel and colleagues counted flocks at studysites in the Península de Zapata, Matanzasprovince: at Bermejas, Caleta Buena, Caleta delToro, Camilo, El Cenote, El Brinco, El Ojo del Roble,La Salina, Lindero, Linea de Quintela, Los Canales,Los Gallegos, Los Lechuzos, Los Sábalos, Mera,Placencia and Santo Tomás.

Habitats We studied flocks in several habitats, includingmixed woodland and pastureland, xeric semi-deciduous forest, mesic semi-deciduous forest,moist semi-deciduous forest transitional tofreshwater mangrove forest, mangrove forest, andcoastal scrub. Brief observations in Pinar del Ríoprovince included also montane mixed pine–semi-deciduous forest. Habitats in the localities aredescribed in González Alonso et al.11, McNicholl21

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Composition of mixed-species flocks of migrant and residentbirds in Cuba Paul B. Hamel and Arturo Kirkconnell

Cotinga 24 (2005): 28–34

La Chillina Teretistris fernandinae y el Pechero T. fornsi constituyen un género endémico de avescubanas que se caracterizan por su comportamiento de bandadas. Durante el período de inviernociertas especies migratorias y residentes se unen a éstas especies para formar bandadas mixtas.En este trabajo documentamos el número de especies y enumeramos el total de individuos en 230bandadas mixtas en bosques manejados del oeste de Cuba y en matorral costero del norte de laisla. Documentamos un total de 30 especies residentes y 26 especies migratorias en bandadas.Nuestros resultados resaltan la importancia que juegan las dos especies de Teretistris en lasbandadas mixtas en Cuba. También documentamos que la participación de especies residentes esmenor que la de migratorias en las bandadas mixtas. El fenómeno de bandadas mixtas es uncomponente importante del ciclo anual para especies migratorias, en especial los parúlidos.

Figure 1. Location of study areas of mixed-species flocks inCuba:A—Cayo Coco, Ciego de Ávila province; B—Penínsulade Zapata, Matanzas province; C—La Guira, Pinar del Ríoprovince.


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Composition of mixed-species flocks of migrant and resident birds in Cuba

Table 1. Composition of 230 mixed-species flocks of birds in Cuba.

Province and Sample sizeCiego de Ávila Matanzas Pinar del Río

26 flocks 202 flocks 2 flocksSpecies Mean number of birds/flock ± s.e., number of flocksAmerican Kestrel Falco sparverius - 1 , n=1 -White-crowned Pigeon Patagioenas leucocephala 1.5±0.29, n=4 - -White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica - 1 , n=1 -Common Ground-dove Columbina passerina 1±0, n=2 - -Cuban Parrot Amazona leucocephala - 1 , n=1 -Great Lizard-cuckoo Saurothera merlini 2 , n=1 2 , n=1 -Cuban Pygmy-owl Glaucidium siju - 1±0, n=2 -Cuban Emerald Chlorostilbon ricordii - 1.07±0.07, n=15 1 , n=1Cuban Trogon Priotelus temnurus - 1.17±0.11, n=12 1 , n=1Cuban Tody Todus multicolor 1.75±0.48, n=4 1.06±0.06, n=17 -Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Sphyrapicus varius 1 , n=1 1±0, n=4 -Cuban Green Woodpecker Xiphidiopicus percussus 1.67±0.33, n=3 1±0, n=7 -Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus - 1 , n=1 -Cuban Pewee Contopus caribaeus 1±0, n=3 1.03±0.03, n=35 -La Sagra’s Flycatcher Myiarchus sagrae 1±0, n=3 1.37±0.09, n=30 1 , n=1Loggerhead Kingbird Tyrannus caudifasciatus 1.5±0.5, n=2 1.17±0.11, n=12 -Blue-grey Gnatcatcher Polioptila caerulea - 1.45±0.09, n=92 -Cuban Gnatcatcher Polioptila lembeyei 1±0, n=2 - -Red-legged Thrush Turdus plumbeus 1.33±0.33, n=3 1.3±0.3, n=10 1 , n=1Grey Catbird Dumetella carolinensis 1 , n=1 1.08±0.08, n=12 -Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos 1 , n=1 1 , n=1 -White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus - 1±0, n=2 -Cuban Vireo Vireo gundlachii 1±0, n=2 1.2±0.06, n=50 -Yellow-throated Vireo Vireo flavifrons - 1.14±0.14, n=7 -Black-whiskered Vireo Vireo altiloquus 1±0, n=2 1.14±0.14, n=7 2 , n=1Blue-winged Warbler Vermivora pinus 1 , n=1 1±0, n=2 -Northern Parula Parula americana 1.33±0.33, n=3 2.59±0.22, n=128 2±1, n=2Yellow Warbler Dendroica petechia gundlachi - 1.67±0.67, n=3 -Magnolia Warbler Dendroica magnolia 1 , n=1 1.06±0.04, n=34 -Cape May Warbler Dendroica tigrina 1.67±0.33, n=3 1.1±0.1, n=10 -Black-throated Blue Warbler Dendroica caerulescens 1±0, n=5 1.16±0.06, n=56 1 , n=1Black-throated Green Warbler Dendroica virens - 1.18±0.1, n=17 1 , n=1Blackburnian Warbler Dendroica fusca - 1 , n=1 -Yellow-throated Warbler Dendroica dominica 1.5±0.5, n=2 1±0, n=8 -Olive-capped Warbler Dendroica pityophila - - 1 , n=1Prairie Warbler Dendroica discolor 1.5±0.5, n=2 1.12±0.07, n=41 -Palm Warbler Dendroica palmarum 2.4±0.51, n=5 3.5±0.73, n=22 3±0, n=2Black-and-white Warbler Mniotilta varia 1±0, n=4 1.37±0.09, n=87 1 , n=1American Redstart Setophaga ruticilla 1±0, n=3 1.26±0.06, n=96 -Worm-eating Warbler Helmitheros vermivorum 1±0, n=2 1±0, n=20 1 , n=1Swainson’s Warbler Limnothlypis swainsonii 1 , n=1 - -Ovenbird Seiurus aurocapillus 1±0, n=4 1±0, n=10 -Northern Waterthrush Seiurus noveboracensis 1 , n=1 1.8±0.37, n=5 -Louisiana Waterthrush Seiurus motacilla - 2±1, n=2 -Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas 1±0, n=2 1.4±0.17, n=25 -Yellow-headed Warbler Teretistris fernandinae - 3.22±0.13, n=166 3 , n=1Oriente Warbler Teretistris fornsi 2.55±0.45, n=11 - -Hooded Warbler Wilsonia citrina - 1±0, n=4 -Wilson’s Warbler Wilsonia pusilla - 1 , n=1 -Red-legged Honeycreeper Cyanerpes cyaneus - 1 , n=1 -Western Spindalis Spindalis zena 1.83±0.4, n=6 1±0, n=10 -Cuban Bullfinch Melopyrrha nigra 1.67±0.33, n=3 1.63±0.27, n=19 -Yellow-faced Grassquit Tiaris olivacea 1 , n=1 2.08±0.45, n=12 -Tawny-shouldered Blackbird Agelaius humeralis - 4 , n=1 -Greater Antillean Grackle Quiscalus niger 1±0, n=2 2.5±0.5, n=2 -Greater Antillean Oriole Icterus dominicensis - 1.33±0.12, n=24 -

Total Species 56 35 50 13Mean flock size, species 5.38±0.2, n=230 3.69±0.29, n=26 5.58±0.22, n=202 7.5±2.5, n=2Mean flock size, individuals 9.26±0.38, n=230 5.46±0.49, n=26 9.73±0.41, n=202 12±1, n=2


and Wallace et al.31. Briefly, they can be charac-terised as a wide variety of native, primarilysecond-growth forests, grazed native forests andsome highly modified habitats in the vicinity oftourist resorts and inhabited areas. Prominent treespecies in most localities included Bucida burseras,Bursera simaruba and Lysiloma latisiliquum;Ceiba pentandra, Conocarpus erecta and Sabalparviflora were also noticeable, among a variety ofother species. Stature of the vegetation in theselocalities was usually less than 20 m.

Field methodsWe observed mixed-species flocks while walkingtrails and transects, both specifically searching forflocks, and as supplementary observations duringother work11. Observations were made primarilyduring the boreal winter when migrants arepresent on Cuba, in January 1987–89 and 1992,February 1989, 1991, 1992, and March 1989.Additional observations were made in September1988 and April 1989. Upon encountering a flock, wefollowed it and observed as many constituents aspossible13. We recorded numbers of individuals, byage and sex when possible, of each speciesencountered. Individuals within c.20 m of otherbirds were considered to be within a flock, thus our

tallies indicate both active and passive partici-pants.

Because we concentrated on flocks, we did notsystematically record the occurrence of solitaryindividuals of Teretistris spp., or of other species.Our data are thus useful as a characterisation ofobvious flocks, but not necessarily a characterisa-tion of the tendency of each species to flock. Toassess the latter, we compared the frequency ofoccurrence of species in flocks with that in pointcounts15 made at the same study site, at LosSábalos in the Ciénaga de Zapata, Matanzasprovince11.

Statistical analysis

Flock composition. We summarised information onthe size and species composition of flocks and thefrequency of occurrence and abundance of eachspecies within flocks. We conducted correlationanalyses of abundance of the most frequent species,P2 contingency table analyses of occurrence of lessfrequent species in relation to more abundantspecies.

Occurrence on point counts vs flocks. Sufficientnumbers of point counts15 for statistical comparisonof flock participation with occurrence on point

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Table 2. Significant associations among species in mixed-species flocks in Cuba, after Bonferroni correction.Associationsdetermined between abundance of individuals recorded in 230 flocks, measured by r; and frequency of occurrence in flocks,measured by P2

1 from 2 ↔ 2 contingency table.Values reported are those whose P<0.0002 for abundance and P<0.0003for frequency of occurrence.

Species Associatesa r P21

Dumetella carolinensis Vireo altiloquus 0.28 nsPolioptila caerulea Contopus caribaeus ns 12.7

Dendroica magnolia ns 15.5Dendroica caerulescens ns 18.1

Parula americana Polioptila caerulea 0.40 24.8Mniotilta varia 0.47 18.4Setophaga ruticilla 0.26 ns

Setophaga ruticilla Polioptila caerulea 0.24 nsVireo gundlachii ns 15.5Dendroica discolor 0.30 ns

Helmitheros vermivorus Dendroica caerulescens 0.24 12.3Mniotilta varia 0.35 16.4Icterus dominicensis ns 17.1

Teretistris fernandinae Polioptila caerulea ns 13.1Parula americana 0.32 17.6(Dendroica palmarum) ns (45.0)Mniotilta varia 0.30 nsSetophaga ruticilla 0.28 19.7

Teretistris fornsi Xiphidiopicus percussus 0.28 nsIcterus dominicensis Chlorostilbon ricordii 0.27 ns

Priotelus temnurus 0.24 nsDendroica magnolia ns 15.5Dendroica discolor ns 13.9

a Parentheses indicate that the relationship between these species is negative, suggesting disassociation.


counts were taken only in semi-deciduous forest onkarst substrate at Los Sábalos, Matanzasprovince11. We used P2 contingency table analysis tocompare the relative frequency of species in flockswith their relative frequency on point counts at LosSábalos.

All analyses were undertaken using proceduresin SAS28. Results are presented as ± SE. Weaccepted statistical significance at P=0.05, afterBonferroni correction to account for the often largenumber of simultaneous comparisons used.

ResultsWe recorded 56 species in at least one flock. Ofthese, 30 were Cuban resident species, six wereCuban endemics and 11 were represented byendemic Cuban subspecies. Among 26 migratoryspecies were 25 Nearctic breeders that visit Cubain winter and Black-whiskered Vireo Vireoaltiloquus, a Neotropical species which breeds inCuba and winters to the south.

We observed a total 230 flocks (Table 1)comprising 2,129 birds. Kirkconnell tallied 74flocks, including all those in Ciego de Ávila (n=26)and Pinar del Río provinces (n=2). Hamel andcolleagues counted 156 flocks in Matanzasprovince. Mean flock size was 9.3 ± 0.4 birds (range2–31) of 5.4 ± 0.2 species (range 1–14).

Flocks were observed during all daylight hoursand all months. Flock size did not vary according totime of day (Fig. 2; Kruskall-Wallis test for numberof species, P2=12.9, 11 d.f., P=0.30; Kruskall-Wallistest for number of birds/flock, P2=7.9, 11 d.f.,P=0.72).

Flock compositionT. fernandinae was the most abundant and mostfrequent species encountered, with 537 individualsencountered in 167 (82%) of 204 flocks observed inits range, and a mean 3.2 ± 0.13 birds per flock(range 1–10). T. fornsi could only have beenencountered in 26 flocks tallied within the species’range, at Cayo Coco, Ciego de Ávila province, where28 individuals were observed in 11 flocks (42%),with a mean 2.5 ± 0.45 birds per flock (range 1–6).The combined occurrence of Teretistris spp.included 565 individuals in 178 (77%) of 230 flocks(Fig. 3). The mean number of Teretistris spp. was3.1 ± 0.12 birds per flock when present. Theproportion of all individuals observed in flocks thatwere either of these two species was 0.27.

On average, flocks included 6.8 ± 0.34individuals of 4.6 ± 0.19 species other thanTeretistris spp. Wood warblers are a majorcomponent of the migrant avifauna on Cuba, and 26species appear in our dataset. Excluding T.fernandinae and T. fornsi (the only warbler speciesin 18 flocks), at least one wood warbler species wasfound in each of 210 of the 230 mixed-species flocks

recorded. On average, those 210 flocks included 4.7± 0.27 warblers of 3.0 ± 0.12 species other thanTeretistris spp.

Participation by resident and migrant speciesin flocksResident birds were observed in 219 flocks (95%).The mean number of residents was 4.4 ± 0.18 perflock, of 2.2 ± 0.08 species including Teretistris spp.Thus the average flock included 1.5 individuals of asingle resident species additional to Teretistris spp.

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Table 3. Comparison of species occurrence in flocks withoccurrence on point counts at Los Sábalos, Matanzasprovince, Cuba. Species are included for which a combinedtotal of 19 individuals was recorded on 34 point counts and34 randomly selected flocks1.

Species P21

P > P21

Group A. Species equally frequent in flocks and in pointcounts Dumetella carolinensis 3.06 0.08Polioptila caerulea 2.43 0.12Dendroica magnolia 0.03 0.87Dendroica virens 0.98 0.32Dendroica dominica 0.22 0.64Setophaga ruticilla 2.62 0.11Seiurus aurocapillus 0.80 0.37Melopyrrha nigra 0.03 0.86Tiaris olivacea 2.81 0.09Unidentified woodpecker 2.36 0.12

Group B. Species more frequent in flocks than in countsParula americana 21.38 0.000Dendroica caerulescens 5.50 0.02Dendroica discolor 6.80 0.01Mniotilta varia 13.98 0.000Teretistris fernandinae 13.89 0.000

Group C. Species more frequent in counts than in flocksGlaucidium siju 54.42 0.000Todus multicolor 30.53 0.000Priotelus temnurus 22.95 0.000Chlorostilbon ricordii 18.54 0.000Xiphidiopicus percussus 3.85 0.05Sphyrapicus varius 5.83 0.02Contopus caribaeus 44.33 0.000Tyrannus melancholicus 25.07 0.000Myiarchus sagrae 36.45 0.000Turdus plumbeus 45.17 0.000Vireo gundlachii 8.91 0.003Dendroica palmarum 6.87 0.01Geothlypis trichas 8.64 0.003Spindalis zena 3.85 0.05Icterus dominicensis 9.15 0.002

1 Species uniquely found on point counts include Fulicaamericana, Falco sparverius, Buteo platypterus, Bubulcus ibis,Columbina passerina, Gallinula chloropus and Dives atroviolacea.

Species uniquely found in flocks include Dendroica tigrina,Wilsonia citrina and Helmitheros vermivorum.


Migrants were observed in 215 flocks (91%). Themean number of migrants was 5.4 ± 0.30individuals per flock, of 3.5 ± 0.14 species.

Occurrence of individual species in flocksProduct-moment correlation and P2 contingencytable analysis of the occurrence and abundance of31 species that occurred in at least ten of 230 fullyinventoried flocks indicated a number of strongassociations between species. The number of associ-ations where P<0.05 (97 of 357 pairwisecomparisons of frequency; 88 of 465 pairwisecomparisons of abundance) is far larger than thatexpected by chance, indicating that at least somespecies associate with each other in flocks (Table 2).Very few associations were negative. Frequency ofoccurrence of T. fernandinae and D. palmarum didindicate a significant disassociation (Table 2).

Occurrence of species in flocks was compared tothat on point counts made in the same habitat atLos Sábalos, Matanzas province11. Sufficient data(19 occurrences on points/flocks) were available tocompare frequencies of occurrence for 29 species. Of

these, 15 species occurred more frequently on pointcounts than in flocks, five species occurred morefrequently in flocks than on point counts, and ninespecies occurred at indistinguishable frequency inflocks and on point counts (Table 3). Three speciesof Nearctic breeding migrants occurred only in thedataset from flocks, Dendroica tigrina, Helmitherosvermivorum and Wilsonia citrina. Seven otherspecies were found only on point counts (Table 3).Species more likely to be found, or only found inflocks numbered seven migrant and one residentspecies, whilst residents outnumbered migrants 12to 3 amongst birds more often recorded on pointcounts.

DiscussionClearly, Teretistris spp. are important participantsin mixed-species flocks in Cuba. Most flocks innative forest habitats included at least oneindividual of one of these two species. Garrido9

noted that they forage in a variety of ways. In thisrespect, as well as their flocking behaviour, they arereminiscent of mainland species of Paridae1. T.fernandinae is perhaps a more prominent memberof mixed-species flocks than is T. fornsi. However,the small sample of flocks observed in the range ofthe latter species invites additional study of flocksof T. fornsi.

Cuban mixed-species flocks appear to becomposed primarily of migrant birds in associationwith one or more individuals of Teretistris spp.Ewert & Askins7 also noted that migrantscomprised 91% of birds in 28 flocks they describedin the US Virgin Islands. The much greaterfrequency of predators (Glaucidium siju) in pointcounts than in the vicinity of flocks suggests thatflocks and their predators do not occur together.Ground-foraging birds, such as resident Turdusplumbeus and migratory Seiurus spp., are notcommon in flocks in Cuba, although they are inPuerto Rico (F. Vilella pers. comm.). Seiurusaurocapillus does associate with Limnothlypisswainsonii, another ground-foraging migrant17.Study of marked birds would assist in clarifying thequestion of the function of flocking in Cuban birds.

Resident species appear not to participate inmixed-species flocks to the same extent asmigrants. Even such frequent flock associates asContopus caribaeus and Vireo gundlachii occurredsignificantly more frequently on point counts thanin flocks. The combination of these findingssuggests to us that anti-predator functions may bea partial explanation for the formation of flocks bytemporary residents8,22, birds presumably lessfamiliar with the locations and behaviour ofpredators in the winter grounds than are thepermanent residents. Detection of predators is adifficult task, however (O. Garrido pers. comm.),reinforcing Chipley’s3 contention that predation

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Figure 2. Occurrence of mixed-species flocks in Cubanhabitats, by time of day.

Figure 3. Frequency of group sizes of Teretistris spp. in mixed-species flocks observed in Cuba. In addition to sample of 230mixed-species flocks, the occurrence of eight observations ofunaccompanied single T. fernandinae is included.


need not be conspicuous to be important. Withoutadditional data on food resources and foragingbehaviours of birds in and out of flocks, it isimpossible to eliminate alternative explana-tions12,14,23,25,27.

Our work is a first step to understanding thesignificance of mixed-species flocks in the Cubanavifauna. Mixed-species flocks, because they soprominently include migrants, are probably of greatimportance to the non-breeding biology of migrantsin Cuba, particularly parulids. Further work onhabitat associations, patterns of movements offlocks, changes in flock composition during differentparts of the winter season, and differences in flockbehaviour in the presence of various predators andpredator abundance would be valuable.

AcknowledgementsWe thank Graeme Gibson for making this projectpossible and Orlando Garrido for the inspiration toconduct it. The efforts of Martín Acosta, DaysíRodríguez, Esteban Godínez, Hiram González Alonso,Colleen Hyslop, Jon McCracken, Martin McNicholl,Doug McRae, Lourdes Mujica, Ronald C. Ridout,Jacques Sirois and George Wallace observing flocksmade the dataset as large as it is. Hamel wassupported by the Tennessee Department ofConservation and the Pan-American Section ofBirdLife International. The joint Cuba Project of theLong Point Bird Observatory/Bird Studies Canada,Canadian Wildlife Service and Laboratory ofMigratory Birds of the Cuban Academy of Sciencesmade many of observations of mixed-species flockspossible. The manuscript was reviewed by OrlandoGarrido, Craig Rudolf and Francisco Vilella, who alsoimproved the abstract.

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28. SAS Institute (1988) SAS/STATÔ User’s Guide,Release 6.03 Edition. Cary, NC: SAS Institute.

29. Staicer, C. A. (1992) Social behavior of theNorthern Parula, Cape May Warbler, and PrairieWarbler wintering in second-growth forest insouthwestern Puerto Rico. In: Hagan, J. M. &Johnston, D. W. (eds.) Ecology and conservation ofNeotropical migrant landbirds. Washington DC:Smithsonian Institution Press.

30. Wallace, G. E. (1995) Following migrant birds toCuba. World Birdwatch 17: 16–19.

31. Wallace, G. E., González Alonso, H., McNicholl, M.K., Rodríguez Batista, D., Oviedo Prieto, R.,Llanes Sosa, A., Sánchez Oria, B. & Wallace, E. A.H. (1996) Winter surveys of forest-dwellingNeotropical migrant and resident birds in threeregions of Cuba. Condor 98: 745–768.

Paul B. HamelUSDA Forest Service, Southern Hardwoods Lab., POBox 227, Stoneville, MS 38776, USA. E-mail:[email protected].

Arturo KirkconnellMuseo Nacional de Historia Natural de Cuba, CalleObispo No. 61, Plaza de las Armas, Ciudad de LaHabana, CP 10100, Cuba.

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Araripe Manakin Antilophia bokermanni is arecently described and Critically Endangeredspecies known from a few localities in the foothillsof the Chapada do Araripe, in southern Ceará,Brazil2,4,6. Few data are available concerning itsecology, and its overall population is estimated asbeing fewer than 50 individuals4. We aimed todetermine the species’ breeding period, byevaluating the months with greatest vocal activityin adult males, which is of key importance informulating an efficient conservation plan for themanakin, as censusing territorial males is probablythe most cost-effective method for monitoring itspopulation trends.

MethodsAraripe Manakin occurs in the humid forest thatcovers the north-east slope of the Chapada doAraripe, at elevations of 600–800 m2,4,6. TheChapada do Araripe is an enclave of cerrado (drysavanna) surrounded by semi-arid areas covered incaatinga (thorn forest) at lower elevations, withhumid forest along part of its slope, due to thepresence of abundant watercourses14 (294 springsrepresenting 85% of the region’s water resources8).These forests extend for c.200 km along the slope ofthe Chapada and are similar to the Atlantic Forest,consisting of 8–15-m-high trees, of an estimated100+ species1. In this region, mean annual rainfallis 1,033 mm8.

Field work was undertaken monthly from June2002 to May 2003, at two localities: (1) Nascente doSítio Melo (07o18’S 39o23’W), municipality ofBarbalha; and (2) Nascente da AABEC (07o15’S39o29’W), municipality of Crato. Forests at thestudy sites are threatened by agriculturaldevelopment, and there is evidence of selectivelogging and small dams being constructed.

Sample effort encompassed 288 hours ofobservation between dawn (05h30) and dusk(18h00), and localities were sampled equally11.Song and calls were discriminated and organisedaccording to their number per hour. Months with

greater vocal activity were interpreted as corre-sponding to the species’ breeding period5. Toestimate the number of males during periods withgreater vocal activity, the number of individualssinging simultaneously or at intervals of up to fiveseconds was differentiated. A Spearman RankCorrelation13 was used to compare vocal activityand rainfall, with a significance level set at P < 0.05(two-tailed).

ResultsSome 8,858 songs of probably nine males (five atNascente do Sítio Melo and four at Nascente daAABEC) were recorded. Vocal activity and rainfallwere negatively correlated (Fig. 1). Greatest vocalactivity was in September–October, and lowestactivity in March–May. Vocalisation occurredduring the entire day but peaks were notedbetween 12h00 and 13h00 and 14h00 and 16h00(Fig. 2). The geographical coordinates of the twosites in this study correspond to the north-westernmost points for Araripe Manakin. Althoughpreviously cited as a new north-west limit for thespecies by Azevedo Júnior et al.2, those authorsrepeated (for the municipality of Crato) thegeographical coordinates of the type locality,Nascente do Farias, in Barbalha (07o19’S 39o24’W).The geographical coordinates of Fazenda BebidaNova are 07o14’S 39o29’W.

DiscussionAccording to Marini11, in Helmeted Manakinhighest vocal activity occurs in August–November(peaking August), with the breeding season lastingfrom July to December, and brood patches noted inAugust–January. Additionally, two females werefound nesting in late September and October11.Ihering10 considered October to be the laying periodof Helmeted Manakin.

Highest vocal activity recorded for the AraripeManakin was in August–January (one monthlonger than in Helmeted Manakin), with a peak inSeptember–October. Given the similarities between

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Breeding period of Araripe Manakin Antilophia bokermanniinferred from vocalisation activityWeber Girão and Antonio Souto

Cotinga 24 (2005): 35–37

O presente estudo objetivou estimar o período reprodutivo de Antilophia bokermanni através daquantidade mensal de emissões sonoras de machos adultos. Foram coletadas amostras de canto deA. bokermanni entre os períodos de junho de 2002 a maio de 2003, em floresta úmida na Chapadado Araripe, Brasil. A maior atividade vocal ocorreu entre os meses de agosto e janeiro com um picoentre setembro e outubro. Baseando-se, principalmente, na vocalização da ave observada e os dadosexistentes para Antilophia galeata sugerimos que o período reprodutivo de A. bokermanni começaem agosto, atinge o seu ápice entre setembro e outubro, e termina em fevereiro. A postura dos ovosocorreria entre os meses de setembro e dezembro.


the species, and the observation of two femaleAraripe Manakins with the initial stage of a broodpatch in late July2, the Araripe Manakin’s repro-ductive period probably commences in August,peaks in September–October, and ends in February,with females laying eggs probably inSeptember–December.

Significant negative correlation between vocalactivity and rainfall presumably reflects the end ofthe Araripe Manakin’s breeding season, whichcoincides with the rainfall peak in March. At thistime, nestlings would require more food and fructi-fication is also higher in the Chapada do Araripe.During the wet season (January–April) c.76% ofcerrado tree species bordering gallery forestsoccupied by Araripe Manakin are fruiting7.

Efficient population monitoring of a threatenedspecies is crucial for its conservation3. Annualcensuses between 10h00 and 14h00 (when vocalisa-tions peaked) in September–October would permit

males to be counted per stream, and an estimationof females and young could be arrived at using sexand age ratios for similar species: according toSick12, the sex ratio in Helmeted Manakin is 1:1.

Surveys of other patches of suitable forest alongstreams on the slopes of the Chapada do Araripe,especially in September, are needed in order tosearch for new meta-populations or subpopulations,as these could still evolve through colonisation byyoung forced to leave already-occupied territories9.

AcknowledgementsWe are grateful to CAPES (Fundação Coordenação deAperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior) forproviding a scholarship to WG; to Fábio Olmos andGuy Kirwan for comments on the manuscript; to theheads of the protected area in Araripe (Área deProteção Ambiental do Araripe), Jackson Antero andAna Feitosa, for research permission; to the AssociaçãoAtlética Becista do Cariri—AABEC and WolkmarPeixoto, for research permission for his property; andto Luiz Lima Verde, for suggesting one of the studysites. We are also grateful to Péricles Rego, GilmarFarias, Ciro Albano, Paulo Brito, Sidnei Dantas,Everardo Ribeiro and family for their assistance in thefield, and to Caio Carlos and Carolina Lins e Silva fortranslating the manuscript.

References1. Accioly, L. J. de O., Pacheco, A., da Costa, T. C. e C.,

Lopes, O. F. & Oliveira, M. A. J. (2002) Relaçõesempíricas entre a estrutura da vegetação e dadosdo sensor TM/LANDSAT. Rev. Brasil.Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental 6: 492–498.

2. Azevedo Júnior, S. M., Nascimento, J. L. X. &Nascimento, I. L. S. (2000) Novos registros deocorrência de Antilophia bokermanni Coelho eSilva, 1999 na Chapada do Araripe, Ceará,Brasil. Ararajuba 8: 133–134.

3. Bibby, C. J., Burgess, D. N. & Hill, D. A. (1992) Birdcensus techniques. London, UK: Academic Press.


5. Brown, J. L. (1964) The evolution of diversity inavian territorial systems. Wilson Bull. 76:160–169.

6. Coelho, G. & Silva, W. (1998) A new species ofAntilophia (Passeriformes: Pipridae) fromChapada do Araripe, Ceará, Brazil. Ararajuba 6:81–84.

7. Costa, I. R., Araújo, F. S. & Lima-Verde, L. W.(2004) Flora e aspectos auto-ecológicos de umencrave de cerrado na chapada do Araripe,nordeste do Brasil. Acta bot. bras. 18: 759–770.

8. Departamento Nacional de Produção Mineral(DNPM) (1996) Projeto avaliação hidrogeológicada bacia sedimentar do Araripe. Recife: DNPM.

9. Hanski, I. A. & Simberloff, D. (1997) The metapop-ulation approach, its history, conceptual domain,and application to conservation. In: Hanski, I. A.& Gilpin, M. E. (eds.) Metapopulation biology:

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Figure 1. Comparison between rainfall and song intensity inAraripe Manakin Antilophia bokermanni in the Chapada doAraripe. Source (rainfall from June 2002 to May 2003):Instituto Nacional de Metereologia. Statistics: N=12;rs=–0,608; P < 0.05.

Figure 2.Vocalisation peaks in Araripe Manakin Antilophiabokermanni during daytime.


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ecology, genetics and evolution. San Diego:Academic Press.

10. Ihering, H. von (1900) Catálogo crítico-comparativo dos ninhos e ovos das aves do Brasil.Rev. Mus. Paulista 4: 1–237.

11. Marini, M. Â. (1992) Notes on the breeding andreproductive biology of the Helmeted Manakin.Wilson Bull. 104: 168–173.

12. Sick, H. (1979) Notes on some Brazilian birds.Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 99: 115–120.

13. Siegel, S. (1975) Estatística não-paramétrica paraas ciências do comportamento. São Paulo:McGraw-Hill.

14. Veloso, H. P., Rangel-Filho, A. L. R. & Lima, J. C. A.(1991) Classificação da vegetação brasileiraadaptada a um sistema universal. Rio de Janeiro:Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística.

Weber GirãoAssociação de Pesquisa e Preservação de EcossistemasAquáticos, Programa de Pesquisa e Conservação daBiodiversidade, Praia de Iparana s/n, SESC Iparana,

Caucaia, CE, CEP 61600-000, Brazil. E-mail: [email protected].

Antonio SoutoDepartamento de Zoologia da Universidade Federal dePernambuco (UFPE), Av. Professor Moraes Rego, Recife,PE, CEP 50670-901, Brazil. E-mail:[email protected].


Chapada Flycatcher Suiriri islerorum is a recentlydescribed species, specimens of which had beenoverlooked as Campo Suiriri S. affinis, to which itbears a strong morphological resemblance14. Theconservation status of S. islerorum is unknown, itbeing presently known from just 12 localities acrossthe Brazilian cerrado, reaching southern Amazoniaand the east bank of the rio Madeira14. The onlyrecord outside of Brazil is from dpto. Santa Cruz, ineastern Bolivia14. Here I present new site records ofS. islerorum, discussing the inherent conservationimplications. To assist ornithologists andbirdwatchers in identifying the species, I alsopresent, for the first time, photographs depictingthe diagnostic characters of S. islerorum and S.affinis.

MethodsI examined material in several Brazilian ornitho-logical collections not listed in the type descriptionof S. islerorum14: the Coleção Ornitológica doDepartamento de Zoologia da Universidade Federalde Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte (DZUFMG);Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro (MNRJ); FundaçãoMuseu de Ornitologia, Goiânia (FMO); ColeçãoOrnitológica da Reserva Ecológica do InstitutoBrasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, Brasília(IBGE); and the Coleção Ornitológica MarceloBagno da Universidade de Brasília, Brasília(COMB). Data concerning specimens housed in theMuseu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo,São Paulo (MZUSP), and Museum of ComparativeZoology, Harvard, (MCZ), were provided by LemuelO. Leite and Floyd E. Hayes respectively.

The ranges of S. islerorum and S. affinis arelargely restricted to the cerrado14. Thus, we mightexpect that the number of specimens in themuseums mentioned above would express, at lastbroadly, the relative abundance of each taxon. Toinvestigate the hypothesis that S. islerorum and S.affinis are not equally abundant in the cerrado, Isearched for differences in the number of available

specimens of each species and the number ofexpected individuals if the probability of collectionwas the same using a Chi-square test13, adopting asignificance level of 5%. The form bahiae, whichcould be confused with either islerorum or affinis,was not included in my analysis because its rangeis allopatric with the other taxa, it being restrictedto the caatinga of north-east Brazil14. Because mostspecimens were shot, I assumed that anydifferences in behaviour between the species wereinsufficient to influence their probability ofcollection.

Between August 2002 and January 2004, 11pairs of S. islerorum and 14 pairs of S. affinis weresystematically studied in the Estação Ecológica deÁguas Emendadas, Planaltina, Distrito Federal,Brazil. During this period I studied severalattributes of the species’ breeding biology, territory,habitat use, foraging behaviour and diet6. Duringthe field work, I observed several morphologicaland behavioural traits that appear helpful in theidentification of both species.

Results

New site records of S. islerorumI discovered nine new localities for S. islerorum(Table 1), including one in Minas Gerais and two inMato Grosso do Sul, both states from where thespecies was previously unknown, and one forDistrito Federal, where it was only recentlyrecorded7. Parker & Rocha10, in describing thebehaviour of a supposed S. affinis pair, stated thatthe birds ‘occasionally lifted their wings andwagged their tails while vocalizing’. Thisdescription almost certainly refers to the wing-lifting display of S. islerorum and was considered asthe second record of S. islerorum in Bolivia6. S.islerorum proved to be significantly rarer than S.affinis (Table 2; P2 = 37.79; d.f. = 1; p <0.001).

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Field identification and new site records of Chapada FlycatcherSuiriri islerorumLeonardo Esteves Lopes

Cotinga 24 (2005): 38–41

Suiriri islerorum (suiriri-da-Chapada) é um Tyrannidae descrito em 2001, tendo sido até entãoconfundido com S. affinis (suiriri-do-cerrado). Neste trabalho são apresentadas, pela primeira vez,fotos ilustrando os caracteres diagnósticos de ambas as espécies. Após a análise dos espécimesdepositados em diversas coleções científicas, bem como de registros de campo, são apresentadasnove novas localidades de ocorrência para esta espécie, que deve ser considerada endêmica doCerrado. A sua distribuição geográfica conhecida foi consideravelmente ampliada no sudeste esudoeste do Brasil, alcançado agora, respectivamente, o centro do estado de Minas Gerais e leste doMato Grosso do Sul. S. islerorum mostrou-se significativamente mais raro que S. affinis, sendonecessárias investigações mais profundas sobre o status de conservação desta espécie.


Species identificationThe easiest means of identifying both species is byvocalisations14, which are highly typical (duets ofboth species in digital format are available onrequest). The wing display during the duet,diagnostic of S. islerorum, is also extremely helpfulas a field mark14. After early morning, S. islerorumis typically silent, making identification throughmorphological characters necessary. The small billof S. islerorum, in comparison to that of S. affinis14,as well as the greater contrast between the ocularstripe and white chin and throat of S. islerorum, aregenerally the best field marks (Figs. 1a,b). The paleterminal fringe to the tail is broader in S. islerorum(Fig. 1c), but absent in S. affinis (Fig. 1d)14.Nevertheless, this character can be difficult toobserve in the field, depending in large part onlighting conditions. Both species periodically wagtheir tail downward in a very diagnostic fashion,particularly on changing perch14. Such behaviour isalso very helpful in distinguishing the genusSuiriri from similar-sized tyrant-flycatchers suchas Elaenia, permitting identification even in poorlight conditions or at long distance.

With practice, it is also possible to identify bothspecies solely on behaviour. Whilst foraging, S.affinis constantly moves its head, carefullyscanning adjacent foliage. S. islerorum generally is

static, waiting for prey, or moves in small hops, itstail slightly raised, in a very characteristic manner.My observations contrast with those presentedelsewhere14, which found S. islerorum ‘moreconstantly in motion’ and ‘more agile and acrobaticin pursuing prey’. Details concerning the foragingbehaviour of both species are presented elsewhere6.

DiscussionAll known sites for S. islerorum are located withinthe cerrado1, corroborating its endemic status11.The degree of sensitivity of S. islerorum to habitatdisturbance is unknown, but its absence fromurban areas of Brasília, where S. affinis iscommon6, suggests a greater sensitivity than thelatter. Despite its vast range the rarity of S.islerorum in ornithological collections suggests thatit is only locally distributed in the cerrado, whichcould mean that the species is of conservationconcern. Given that the cerrado is among the mostthreatened biomes in the world, with more than80% of its primary vegetation converted to cropsand pastures8,9,11, detailed investigations into thedistribution, abundance and sensitivity of S.islerorum are imperative.

In addition to S. islerorum, several other crypticspecies have recently been described from theNeotropics (e.g. Cercomacra laeta3, C. parkeri5 andMicrastur mintoni12). Just as S. islerorum remainedundiscovered, until now, in the Distrito Federal,that part of the cerrado with the best-studiedavifauna2, Cercomacra laeta went unrecognised inthe Manaus area, one of the best-sampled parts ofAmazonia3. Impressive is that both S. affinis and S.islerorum were collected in Planaltina, DistritoFederal, in 1927, by the ornithologist EmilieSnethlage. Herbert Berla also collected bothspecies, in 1942, in the Lagoa Santa region of MinasGerais, where recently, in August 2004, rediscov-ered by G. M. Kirwan (pers. comm.). All thesespecimens are deposited in MNRJ. This factreinforces the expectation that our knowledge of

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Field identification and new site records of Chapada Flycatcher

Table 1. New site records of Suiriri islerorum (localities listed from north to south).

Locality Coordinates SourceAldeia do Ponto, Maranhão, Brazil 06o07’S 45o09’W MZUSP-38172, MZUSP-38173Cerro San Simón, dpto. Beni, Bolivia 13o36’S 62o15’W Parker & Rocha8

Fazenda Cachoeira, Flores de Goiás, Goiás, Brazil 14o18’S 46o59’W J. B. Pinho (pers. comm.)Planaltina, Distrito Federal, Brazil 15o32’S 47o37’W Lopes et al.5, MNRJ-13879Aragarças, Goiás, Brazil 15o55’S 52o15’W MNRJ-(H?)2626 (No. partially illegible)Fazenda Recreio, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil 18o30’S 54o45’W MCZ-198598Lagoa Santa, Minas Gerais, Brazil 19o37’S 43o55’W MNRJ-22031, MNRJ-23309Arapuá, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil 20o48’S 52o04’W MCZ-69318Retiro da Telha, Mato Grosso*, Brazil Not traced MZUSP-64110, MZUSP-64111

*Specimens collected in 1964, prior to the state partitioning into Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul.

Table 2. Number of individuals of each form of Suiriri inornithological collections covered by this study.

Collection Number of individualsaffinis islerorum suiriri ‘bahiae’

MNRJ 16 4 11 0COMB 10 0 0 1DZUFMG 2 0 0 0FMNH* 12 1 77 1IBGE 7 0 0 0FMO 4 0 0 0Totals 51 5 88 2

*Data from individuals deposited in the Field Museum of Natural History,Chicago, visited by K. J. Zimmer for the description of S. islerorum, wereobtained via FMNH4.


cryptic biodiversity has only reached the tip of animmense iceberg awaiting discovery3.

AcknowledgementsI thank ESECAE/SEMARH for authorising the study.Field work was partially supported by a fellowshipfrom Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal deNível Superior (CAPES), grants from the Universidadede Brasília and by a fellowship (Bolsa deProdutividade em Pesquisa) from the ConselhoNacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico(CNPq) to Miguel Â. Marini. The following curatorskindly permitted access to collections in their care:Marcos Rodrigues (DZUFMG), Jorge Nacinovic andMarcos Raposo (MNRJ), Marina de L. F. Resende(IBGE), Miguel Â. Marini (COMB), José Hidasi (FMO)and Luís Fábio Silveira (MZUSP). Lemuel O. Leite andFloyd E. Hayes provided invaluable information onMZUSP and MCZ specimens. I also thank G. M.Kirwan and J. B. Pinho for sharing site records of S.islerorum. Comments by Miguel Â. Marini, Luiz P.Gonzaga, Mauro Pichorim, Guarino R. Colli, KevinZimmer and G. M. Kirwan on an earlier draft werevery helpful.

References1. Ab’Saber, A. N. (1977) Os domínios morfoclimáticos

na América do Sul. Primeira aproximação.Geomorfologia 52: 1–21.

2. Bagno, M. A. & Marinho-Filho, J. (2001) A avifaunado Distrito Federal: uso de ambientes abertos eflorestais e ameaças. In: Ribeiro, J. F., Fonseca, C.E. L. & Sousa-Silva, J. C. (eds.) Cerrado: caracter-ização e recuperação de matas de galeria.Planaltina: Embrapa Cerrados.

3. Bierregaard, R. O., Cohn-Haft, M. & Stotz, D. F.(1997) Cryptic biodiversity: an overlookedspecies and new subspecies of antbird (Aves:Formicariidae) with the revision of Cercomacratyrannina in northeastern South America. In:Remsen, J. V. (ed.) Studies in Neotropicalornithology honoring Ted Parker. Orn. Monogr.48. Washington DC: American Ornithologists’Union.

4. Field Museum of Natural History (2003) Birdcollection database. Chicago: Field Museumof Natural History. Available at:http://fm1.fieldmuseum.org/collections/search.cgi?dest= birds.

5. Graves, G. R. (1997) Colorimetric and morphomet-ric gradients in Colombian populations of DuskyAntbirds (Cercomacra tyrannina), with adescription of a new species, Cercomacra parkeri.In: Remsen, J. V. (ed.) Studies in Neotropicalornithology honoring Ted Parker. Orn. Monogr.48. Washington DC: American Ornithologists’Union.

6. Lopes, L. E. (2004) Biologia comparada de Suiririaffinis e Suiriri islerorum (Aves: Tyrannidae) noCerrado do Brasil central. M.Sc. thesis. Brasília:Universidade de Brasília.

7. Lopes, L. E., Leite, L. O., Pinho, J. B. & Goes, R. (inprep.) New bird records at the Estação Ecológica

de Águas Emendadas, Planaltina, DistritoFederal.

8. Machado, R. B., Ramos Neto, M. B., Pereira, P. G.P., Caldas, E. F., Gonçalves, D. A., Santos, N. S.,Tabor, K. & Steininger, M. (2004) Estimativas deperda da área do cerrado brasileiro. Unpubl.report. Brasília: Conservation International.

9. Myers, N., Mittermeier, R. A., Mittermeier, C. G.,Fonseca, G. A. B. & Kent, J. (2000) Biodiversityhotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403:853–858.

10. Parker, T. A. & Rocha, O. (1991) La avifauna delCerro San Simón, una localidad de camporupestre aislado en el Depto. Beni, noresteBoliviano. Ecol. Bolivia 17: 15–29.

11. Silva, J. M. C. & Bates, J. M. (2002) Biogeographicpatterns and conservation in the South AmericanCerrado: a tropical savanna hotspot. BioScience52: 225–233.

12. Whittaker, A. (2002) A new species of forest-falcon(Falconidae: Micrastur) from southeasternAmazonia and the Atlantic rainforests of Brazil.Wilson Bull. 114: 421–445.

13. Zar, J. H. (1996) Biostatistical analysis. London,UK: Prentice-Hall International.

14. Zimmer, K. J., Whittaker, A. & Oren, D. C. (2001) Acryptic new species of flycatcher (Tyrannidae:Suiriri) from the Cerrado region of central SouthAmerica. Auk 118: 56–78.

Leonardo Esteves LopesDepartamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biologia,Universidade de Brasília, CEP 70910-900, Brasília,DF, Brazil. Current address: Rua Cacuí, 80, NovaSuíça, 30460-240, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. E-mail:[email protected].

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Caption to plate on opposite pageFigure 1. Diagnostic characters of Suiriri islerorum (a, c and e)and S. affinis (b and d). Note the smaller bill of S. islerorum, aswell as the presence of a pale terminal fringe to the tail(Leonardo Esteves Lopes)


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Furnariidae usually feed exclusively on arthropods,but also take other invertebrates such as molluscs,crustaceans and earthworms, and some vegetablematerial such as seeds2–4,6–10,12,13. However, thefeeding and foraging accounts by Skutch10 and areview by Remsen7 for the whole family, include,aside from the expected invertebrates, a large scopeof food items from berries and drupes to frogs andlizards. The latter vertebrates are frequent fooditems for treehunters Thripadectes7,10. Also, SurfCinclodes Cinclodes taczanowskii—a sedentaryFurnariidae that lives by the ocean—opportunisti-cally includes small fish in its diet, some of themtaken from regurgitates of Inca Terns Larosternainca1.

Species of Cinclodes eat mostly invertebrates,but also take seeds, carrion, molluscs, and evensteal butter and cooked meat7,10,12,13. Research onSeaside Cinclodes C. nigrofumosus in Chile, thesister species of Peruvian C. taczanowskii, showedthat over 90% of its diet comprised crustaceans andmolluscs, the remainder being insects9. On theother hand, Furnarius species have only beenobserved feeding on insects, their larvae, andearthworms7,10.

Pacific Hornero Furnarius [leucopus] cinnamomeusPacific Hornero is a common and conspicuousspecies from west Ecuador to north-west Peru11.Observations of fishing by the hornero were madeat El Angolo dry forest, where there is a long dryperiod in April–November, and a short rainy seasonin December–March. The following observationswere made in October 1994 at an altitude of 600 maround a large shallow pool beside a creek. In afive-day period, the pool was monitored for a total of3h20m over three different days, all mid morning to13h00.

At least two individuals—of seven PacificHorneros around the pool—were observed by JBfeeding on the fish Lebiasina bimaculata(Lebiasinidae). Eighteen fishing attempts were

observed, but only five were successful, includingone fish that escaped after capture. Their strategyinvolved patrolling the margins of the pool peckinginsects from cattle manure while watching fish thatapproached the sides or that tried to cross betweena series of stepping stones in very shallow water(less than 1 cm deep). Two catches were made fromthe stepping stones, including the fish that subse-quently escaped. The other three fish were caughtbeside the pool. They included a very small fishwhich was swallowed whole, a large one that wascaught, pecked and carried away from the area, andtwo small ones taken first to the nearby land andthen eaten. The fish that escaped was a very largeone for the Pacific Hornero, apparently c.6–7 cmlong.

No measures of food availability for PacificHornero, i.e. invertebrate abundance, at the sitewere made. However, there appeared to beabundant food given the numerous insectsassociated with cattle manure. Pacific Horneroswere common and conspicuous in the El Angololowlands, but very few were observed fishing,suggesting that such behaviour was probably notenforced by food shortage. Pacific Hornero isconsidered less dependent on water than F.[leucopus] leucopus4, but was definitely takingadvantage of the shallow waterholes during the dryseason to expand or supplement its diet.

Surf Cinclodes Cinclodes taczanowskiiSurf Cinclodes is a common species restricted torocky areas of the central and southern Peruviancoastline1,5,11. Fishing observations were made alongthe rocky shoreline of Pucusana Bay, a coastalfishing resort 60 km south of Lima, in December2003–February 2004, whilst conducting research onMarine Otter Lontra felina.

Surf Cinclodes was frequently observed by JVfeeding on Tomicodon chilensis clingfishes(Gobiesocidae), which live adhered to inter-tidalrocks. This feeding behaviour was observed from

Fishing by two Furnariidae: Pacific Hornero Furnarius [leucopus]cinnamomeus and Surf Cinclodes Cinclodes taczanowskiiJavier Barrio and Juan Valqui

Cotinga 24 (2005): 42–44

Se reportan y describen las primeras observaciones de Furnariidae alimentándose de peces. Las dosespecies observadas pescando fueron Furnarius [leucopus] cinnamomeus y Cinclodes taczanowskii.F. [leucopus] cinnamomeus fue observado en el bosque seco pescando desde el borde de pozas deagua de poca profundidad a Lebiasina bimaculata, un pez de aguas continentales. Cinclodestaczanowskii fue observado en la bahía de Pucusana, pescando en las rocas de zonas intermarealesa Tomicodon chilensis, un pez que se adhiere a las rocas. Los comportamientos de ambas especiesde aves serían ocasionales o aprendidos. Los datos sobre F. [leucopus] cinnamomeus son adicional-mente los primeros del género Furnarius alimentándose de vertebrados.


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the shoreline and from a kayak. Fishing by thecinclodes occurred in almost all observation periodsfrom the shoreline—three hours twice a day—andin almost all kayak trips around the bay.Clingfishes caught by the cinclodes measured 2 cmto c.6 cm (i.e. up to three times the bird’s billlength). Fishes were captured at the waterline andcarried to nearby rocks, sometimes away from thewaves, and then ingested.

No measures of food availability for SurfCinclodes, i.e. abundance of molluscs andcrustaceans, were made at the study site. However,both groups appeared numerous on accessiblerocks. Cinclodes species are strongly related towater2,10, but the only feeding data including fishinvolved Surf Cinclodes that were observed eatingInca Tern regurgitates, although unidentified fishremains have been recorded as stomach contents1.Other published data on feeding behaviour of thisspecies and Seaside Cinclodes8 in Chile—withwhich C. taczanowskii forms a superspecies—onlymentioned marine animals in general5, andmolluscs and crustaceans6,9 as food items.

DiscussionThe Furnariidae is rich in species associated withwater-edge habitats, perhaps more so than anyother family among the Passeriformes7. Thus, if anypasserines might be expected to take fishesoccasionally, species of Furnariidae would rankhigh in the list of candidates (J. V. Remsen pers.comm.). Fish-eating in Passeriformes has beendocumented for just a few species (e.g., Pitangusflycatchers and Quiscalus grackles), so our observa-tions are distinctly unusual (J. V. Remsen pers.comm.).

Furnarius and Cinclodes species are notcapable of swimming, and unable to catch fish onthe water surface from the air, restricting theirfishing strategy to the edge of waterbodies. PacificHornero may only fish in shallow waterholes, whichonly appear during dry seasons, and rivers that areprobably best when they are shallow. SurfCinclodes has a broader chance to fish in areasalong the coastline where rocks with evensurfaces—where clingfishes adhere—are present.

Published data on behaviour and feeding habitsin Furnarius and Cinclodes species do not includefishing or feeding on live vertebrates1,3,4,6–10,12,13. Itis unlikely that such behaviour was overlooked byprevious authors, as any fishing activity would beeasily observed or discovered by examiningstomach contents. We also assume that consider-able observation time has accumulated on thesespecies, mostly by birdwatchers. Moreover, previousdata on feeding habits were based both on stomachcontents1,6,9,12,13 and on direct observations1,2–4,8,10.

Thus, the observations described above (whichwere also photographed) might illustrate either anoccasional or a learnt behaviour specific to thepopulations concerned. Pacific Hornero fishingbehaviour appears to be restricted to a fewindividuals. However, the entire Surf Cinclodespopulation at Pucusana Bay seems to indulge insuch behaviour.

AcknowledgementsWe thank J. V. Remsen for comments on themanuscript, as well as Manuel Arribas, who made JB’sstay at El Angolo possible, Peru Verde who funded JV’sproject at Pucusana, Manuel Nores and ManuelPlenge, who provided several papers, and HernánOrtega and Luis Hoyos, who identified the fish species.

References1. Bertolero, A. & Zavalaga, C. (2003) Observaciones

sobre la biometría y la muda del churretemarisquero (Cinclodes taczanowskii) en PuntaSan Juan, costa sur del Perú. Orn. Neotrop. 14:469–475.

2. Fjeldså, J. & Krabbe, N. (1990) Birds of the highAndes. Copenhagen: Zool. Mus., Univ. ofCopenhagen & Svendborg: Apollo Books.

3. Fraga, R. (1980) The breeding of Rufous Horneros(Furnarius rufus). Condor 82: 58–68.

4. Hilty, S. L. & Brown, W. L. (1986) A guide to thebirds of Colombia. Princeton, NJ: PrincetonUniversity Press.

5. Koepcke, M. (1964) Las aves del departamento deLima. Lima: Gráfica Morson.

6. Paynter, R. A. (1971) Nasal glands in Cinclodesnigrofumosus, a maritime passerine. Bull. Brit.Orn. Club 91: 11–12.

7. Remsen, J. V. (2003) Family Furnariidae(ovenbirds). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Christie,D. A. (eds.) Handbook of the birds of the world, 8.Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.


9. Sabat, P., Fariña, J. & Soto-Gamboa, M. (2003)Terrestrial birds living on marine environments:does dietary composition of Cinclodes nigrofumo-sus (Passeriformes: Furnariidae) predict theirosmotic load? Rev. Chil. Hist. Nat. 76: 335–343.

10. Skutch, A. (1996) Antbirds and ovenbirds. Austin:University of Texas Press.


12. Zotta, A. (1936) Sobre el contenido estomacal deaves argentinas. Hornero 6: 261–270.

13. Zotta, A. (1940) Lista sobre el contenido estomacalde las aves argentinas. Hornero 7: 402–411.


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Javier BarrioQuiroga 576, Urb. Res. Higuereta, Lima 33, Peru.E-mail: [email protected].

Juan ValquiAlguaciles 175, Urb. Las Gardenias, Lima 33, Peru.E-mail: [email protected].

Pacific Hornero Fuarnarius [leucopus] cinnamomeus, fishing, ElAngolo dry forest, Peru, October 1994 (Javier Barrio)

Surf Cinclodes Cinclodes taczanowskii, fishing, Pucusana Bay,Peru (Juan Valqui)


The Atlantic Forest harbours a rich and diversebird community of c.700 species, 200 of which areendemic to this biome and, of these, 140 arepasserines7,21. In Brazil, the Atlantic Forest regionand its subtypes originally extended from the coastof Rio Grande do Norte south to northern RioGrande do Sul, in southernmost Brazil.

As early as the dawn of the 19th century, theprominent Austrian ornithologists Wied and Spixinitiated research in the north-east Atlantic Forest,in southern Bahia, yet even today this vast state ispoorly known ornithologically. The few subsequentinventories of lowland localities have, for the mostpart, never been published. The montane ranges ofinterior southern Bahia were virtually unknownuntil Gonzaga et al.10 documented the avifauna ofthe Serra de Ouricana, near Boa Nova, highlightingthe importance and singularity of the area. Sincethen, new species have been described or rediscov-ered from this and other upland areas of southernBahia9,17, and one centred in the lowlands18.Indeed, Bahia is one of the most complex anddiverse states in Brazil with respect to itsavifauna16, harbouring two areas of endemism forpasserines, central Bahia and coastal Bahia21.

The Serra das Lontras and Serra do Javi havean altitudinal gradient ranging from sea level tomore than 1,000 m, c.35 km inland of the southernBahian coast (Fig. 1). These areas have receivedlittle attention from the conservation community,which has concentrated its efforts in the lowlands,where some federal reserves and national parksalready exist (e.g. the Reserva Biológica de Una,Parque Nacional do Monte Pascoal, EstaçãoVeracruz and Parque Nacional do Descobrimento),despite the call for action by Pacheco et al.18

following their discovery of Acrobatornis fonsecaialmost a decade ago. The principal objectives of the

present study were to gather all availableinformation concerning the avifauna of the Serradas Lontras–Javi complex, based on our ownresearch and data from colleagues, and to aidconservation strategies to be implemented byBirdLife International in collaboration with otherconservation bodies. In addition, a feasibility studywas conducted by the Instituto de Estudos Sócio-ambientais do Sul da Bahia (IESB), the first resultof which was the purchase, in 2003, of 460 ha byIESB and BirdLife, to create a private naturereserve (RPPN). Following this, a project to produceorganic cacao in farms surrounding the reserve isbeing implemented. Such environmental friendlyland use will create a buffer around the protected

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Avifauna of the Serra das Lontras–Javi montane complex,Bahia, BrazilLuís Fábio Silveira, Pedro Ferreira Develey, José Fernando Pacheco and Bret M.Whitney

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As regiões montanhosas costeiras do sul do estado da Bahia, Brasil, nunca foram objeto de maioresestudos ornitológicos até o início da década passada. A descoberta de uma comunidade única de avesnestas montanhas tem atraído a atenção de diversos pesquisadores, e novas espécies foramdescritas ou redescobertas nestas serras litorâneas. Apesar de serem extremamente interessantesdo ponto de vista biogeográfico, estas áreas são ainda muito pouco conhecidas e sofrem umaconstante pressão antrópica. Dados sobre a avifauna das Serras das Lontras e do Javi foram obtidosem visitas esporádicas desde 1988, e uma visita mais longa foi realizada entre janeiro e fevereirode 2001. Duas localidades em cada uma das serras foram amostradas e 295 espécies de aves foramregistradas. Entre estas, dez espécies são enquadradas na categoria de ameaçadas, nove sãovulneráveis e outras dez são consideradas como quase-ameaçadas. Nestas serras também ocorremoutras duas espécies ainda não descritas de Suboscines. A criação de Unidades de Conservação quepossam proteger adequadamente esta importante e ainda razoavelmente bem preservada área deFloresta Atlântica é recomendada.

Figure 1. Map of southern Bahia showing forest remnants andsampled localities (see text for coordinates): red stars =Serra das Lontras; black stars = Serra do Javi, from left toright: Fazenda Elza, Fazenda Orion, Fazenda Palmeiras andFazenda Monte Sião.The shaded area is the Reserva Biológicade Una, in the lowlands. Black line = BR 101 highway. Scale: 1cm = 50 km.


area, and may provide a sustainable income for thereserve’s management in coming years.

Material and methodsThe region was first visited, in February 1988, byBMW. Visits in 1994 and 1995 by JFP and BMW,with Paulo Sérgio M. da Fonseca, Claudia Bauerand Robert H. Barth, formed the basis for aworking knowledge of the avifauna of these serras,from the surrounding lowlands to near theirhighest elevations, and a further visit by BMW andLFS, which covered the complete elevational range,in 1999, augmented earlier data. With support fromBirdLife International, more intensive surveyswere conducted by LFS and PFD inJanuary–February 2001, with the objective ofrecording all species at selected sites. Sites toinventory were chosen based on available maps andthe previous experience of the Instituto de EstudosSócio-ambientais do Sul da Bahia (IESB) in theregion. Criteria for site selection included foreststate, altitude (above 400 m) and accessibility(roads, trails, etc.). Commencing with the firstvisits, birds were identified and tape-recordedusing Sony TCD-D10 Pro II DAT and TCM-5000cassette tape-recorders and Sennheiser ME80,ME66 and ME67 microphones. Copies of most ofrecordings have been deposited at the ArquivoSonoro Elias Coelho (ASEC, Universidade Federaldo Rio de Janeiro, RJ). GPS readings were taken foreach sampled locality. Several specimens werecollected and deposited at the Museu de Zoologia daUniversidade de São Paulo (MZUSP).

During the 2001 survey, observations wereconducted from 06h00 to c.20h00, and twice (onceeach in Serra do Javi and Serra das Lontras) weextended observations until 01h00 to recordnocturnal species. We conducted c.400 hours of fieldobservations. Birds were classified according totheir global threat level3. Reports from otherauthors4,13 are also included here.

Characterisation of the sampled localities Based on the classification of Ab’Saber1, the studyregion lies in the Atlantic Tropical Forest Domain,which encompasses the area paralleling the coastbetween the states of Rio Grande do Norte and RioGrande do Sul. Predominant vegetation isevergreen Atlantic tropical rainforest11. The areassampled pertain to the montane complex of Serradas Lontras and Serra do Javi, which parallels theBR 101 highway, near the municipality of Arataca,with elevations ranging from 400 m to the crests ofridges at nearly 1,000 m, and occupying an area ofc.300 ha.

The region has been subject to continual humaninfluence for more than 250 years. Timber andcocoa, the latter imported from Amazonia andplanted under the cabruca system whereby natural

canopy is thinned (or, increasingly, introduced treespecies planted) to provide optimal sunlight andshade, were the most important assets to colonists.However, due to the recent epidemic of vassoura dabruxa (Witch’s Broom Fungus), in concert withfalling cocoa prices on the global market, severallarge properties have been abandoned. As a resultof centuries of exploitation, the region has beenheavily degraded and today consists of a mosaic ofcabrucas, second growth, plantations and pastures;almost no intact native forest remains below c.550m. Descriptions of the surveyed localities followAraújo & Santos2.

Serra do JaviFazenda Palmeiras (15o11’S 39o20’W): at 400–800 mcabrucas and rubber trees predominate, with amanioc plantation near a small house, allsurrounded by second growth. Most naturalvegetation has been lost, with the best forestedpatches above 700 m, where several large trees(taller than 30 m) with abundant epiphytes, mostlylarge bromeliads, persist. Understorey is sparse,and lacks bamboo. Higher, above 900 m, foreststructure changes dramatically: trees are stunted(10–15 m high) and covered with small bromeliadsand heavy bryophyte and lichen growth.Understorey is dense and dominated by Geonomapalms and bamboo (Chusquea spp.). Once common,heart-of-palm Euterpe edulis trees have beenintensively harvested throughout, and largeindividuals are now extremely rare.

Fazenda Monte Sião (15o10’S 39o18’W),400–800 m: among inventoried sites in the Serra doJavi, this was the best conserved. There are largetrees (c.40 m high), with many bromeliads and adense understorey with much bamboo (Merostachysspp.). Forest is surrounded by second growth atvarious stages of regeneration.

Serra das LontrasFazenda Orion (15o11’S 39o23’W), 550–900 m:consists of forest in good condition, second growthand cabrucas. Although selectively logged, largetrees (c.40 m high) still occur and forest is generallybetter preserved than in Serra do Javi. Epiphytes,mostly Cyclanthaceae and Araceae, are abundant,along with varied bromeliad species. Above 800 mforest becomes stunted and structure is similar tothat in Serra do Javi. Understorey is dominated bya species of Marantaceae (‘caeté’). There is muchbamboo (Merostachys spp.), and in the secondgrowth another genus of bamboo is found (Guaduaspp.). Some large heart-of-palm trees persist.

Fazenda Elza (15o12’S 39o24’W), 600–750 m:within this property there are large areas of alteredhabitat, with extensive areas of the second growthand cabrucas, and few forested areas. The largestforest patch is in the highest part (above 800 m).

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Here, the vegetation represents a type of transitionbetween tall forest, found originally at lowerelevations, and montane forests typical of higherareas. There is no single block of continuous forest,although ridgelines are largely undisturbed. Thelandscape consists of fragments of well-preservedforests within a matrix of cabrucas, second growthand rubber tree plantations.

Results and discussionOur survey and those of Cordeiro4 and Lambert13

produced a minimum 295 bird species (Appendix 1),ten of which are considered Endangered3 (Table 1).Four, Acrobatornis fonsecai, a new species ofHeliobletus, a new species of Scytalopus andPhylloscartes beckeri, are restricted to eithercabruca plantations18 or montane areas in thenorth-east. In addition, nine species are consideredVulnerable and ten Near Threatened (Table 1). Dueto their restricted distribution within a fragmentedarea, the two undescribed species of passerine birdsare considered here as Endangered, following thecriteria adopted by BirdLife International3.

Comparing the avian communities of the twoserras, we observed that the composition is verysimilar, with only 15 species recorded exclusively inthe Serra do Javi and 72 species recorded only inthe Serra das Lontras (Appendix 1). However, giventheir close proximity and very similar ecologicalattributes, we predict that additional survey workwill reveal that very few, if any forest species arerestricted to only one of the serras.

Mixed-species flocksMixed-species flocks in tropical forests can becharacterised according to the vertical distributionof their members in different vegetational layers.Thus, it is possible to distinguish between canopy

and understorey mixed-species flocks15. Infragmented areas in the Amazon, Stotz22 observedthat understorey flocks disappeared from forestfragments following a period of five years isolationof the fragment. Stouffer & Bierregaard23 alsoverified that understorey mixed-species flocks failto persist in fragmented areas, because flocksgenerally avoid forest edges (common in smallforest fragments) due to a higher risk of predation.Even in continuous forest, understorey mixed-flocks strongly avoid open areas, and are unwillingto cross even narrow roads5. Furthermore, inselectively logged areas, populations of mixed-species flocks may decline by up to 50%25.

The high sensitivity of understorey mixed-species flocks to environmental changes was alsoevident in our study area, where, in contrast tocanopy flocks, understorey flocks were relativelyrare. In the few flocks recorded, Thamnomanescaesius appeared to be the nuclear species, fulfillingthe same role it plays in Amazonian mixed-speciesflocks12.

Canopy flocks, principally comprisingPicumnus exilis (Fig. 5), Tachyphonus cristatus,Tangara seledon, T. cyanocephala, Dacnis cayana,Chlorophanes spiza and Cyanerpes cyaneus, werecommon in the different habitats sampled,including cabrucas. Indeed, canopy birds usecabruca plantations much as they use undisturbedforests. Even second growth, where rich inMyrtaceae and Melastomataceae fruits, attractssmall frugivores such as those in canopy mixed-species flocks. The mosaic landscape of the region,especially the widespread planting of cocoa, whichrequires complete clearance of the understorey, hasbeen disastrous for populations of understoreyspecies characteristic of the forest interior (pers.obs). In fact, according to Laps14, cabrucasrepresent a continuum of the forest environment tocanopy species, but a clear break to understoreybirds.

Montane avifauna and altitudinal gradientGonzaga et al.10 studied birds in the Serra deOuricana near Boa Nova (c.100 km north-west ofthe Serra das Lontras–Javi complex), highlightingthe area’s importance for montane avifauna,including several species previously unknown fromBahia. A total 43 of 74 species considered byGonzaga et al.10 to be ‘montane’ in the Boa Novaarea (although some also occur at lower altitudes insouth-east Brazil) were found in Serra dasLontras–Javi (Table 2). The limited extent andfragmented condition of montane forest in the BoaNova area is not conducive to the long-term preser-vation of the avifauna, without implementation ofprotection measures which, to date, have beenwholly lacking despite the calls of Gonzaga et al.10

and Whitney26 for specific attention to this

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Table 1. Globally threatened bird species found in the Serradas Lontras–Javi complex, Bahia, Brazil. EN: Endangered; V:Vulnerable; NT: Near Threatened.

Tinamus solitarius NT Myrmotherula urosticta ENLeucopternis lacernulatus V Dysithamnus stictothorax NTLeucopternis polionotus NT Drymophila ochropyga NTHarpia harpyja NT Scytalopus sp. ENAratinga auricapillus NT Phylloscartes oustaleti NTPyrrhura cruentata V Phylloscartes beckeri ENPionopsitta pileata (Fig. 2) NT Phylloscartes sylviolus NTTouit surdus N Carpornis melanocephala VAmazona rhodocorytha V Xipholena atropurpurea ENSynallaxis cinerea EN Lipaugus lanioides VHeliobletus sp. EN Procnias nudicollis NTThripophaga macroura (Fig. 3) EN Iodopleura pipra (Fig. 4) ENHylophilus aff. thoracicus EN Sporophila falcirostris VAcrobatornis fonsecai V Sporophila frontalis VMyrmotherula minor V


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2 5

3

4

Figure 2. Pileated Parrot Pionopsitta pileata (Edson Endrigo)

Figure 3. Striated Softtail Thripophaga macroura(Edson Endrigo)

Figure 4. Buff-throated Purpletuft Iodopleura pipra(Edson Endrigo)

Figure 5. Golden-spangled Piculet Picumnus exilis((Edson Endrigo)


problem, further strengthening the importance ofprotecting remaining forests in Serra dasLontras–Javi.

There were no clear differences in avifaunalcomposition between 400 m and 800 m elevations.Above 800 m, however, coincident with a markedchange in vegetation structure, we noted therestricted occurrence of a few species, e.g.Heliobletus sp. and Drymophila ochropyga. In theSerra do Mar, in the south-east Atlantic Forest,avian communities along an elevational gradientare more varied, with some species restricted tocertain elevations8. In montane central-southernBahia, according to Gonzaga et al.10, some speciesmay replace each other altitudinally with, e.g.,Lipaugus vociferans being restricted to lowerelevations, whilst L. lanioides is typical of higherelevations. However, at the crest of the Serra doJavi, both species were tape-recorded (15o10’S39o20’W). Other species characteristic of lowlandforests, recorded at higher elevations in the studyarea, were Piculus flavigula, Carpornismelanocephalus10, Formicarius colma andDrymophila squamata.

Species either restricted to montane Bahia orspecies that, in this area, occur at higher elevations,and closely related species segregated elsewherebut which occur syntopically in these mountainsreveal the presence of different elevational patternscompared to montane south-east Brazil. Suchpatterns can only be a consequence of extensivedeforestation in neighbouring lowland forest,

driving species typically found at lower altitudes tothe best-conserved forest in the serras, where theyare clearly less abundant. Thus, montane central-southern Bahia is important, not only from theconservation standpoint, but from an ecologicalperspective as well, as the region possesses aunique avifauna.

Large raptorsLarge raptors were frequently recorded during thestudy period. A Harpia harpyja was recorded byBMW and LFS in March 2000, along the slopes ofthe Serra das Lontras, and was videotaped carryingnesting material. Galetti et al.6 suggested thepresence of a resident population of the speciesbetween northern Espírito Santo and southernBahia. Similarly, the other large raptors recorded(Spizastur melanoleucus, Spizaetus tyrannus,Leucopternis polionotus and L. lacernulatus) almostcertainly use these mountains for feeding andnesting. Their presence in fair numbers suggeststhat, despite the mosaic of different habitats, thereis still sufficient suitable forest available, and thatthese mountains are important for localpopulations of these raptors.

Illegal hunting and pet tradeLarge gamebirds such as Cracidae, Tinamidae andOdontophoridae either disappear or becomeextremely rare in hunted areas24. Cordeiro4 andLambert13 recorded cracids, but, as suggested bylocal residents, guans and curassows are now veryrare. Crax blumenbachii was recognised only bypersons older than 15 years of age, which suggests,together with the widespread destruction of closedforest in the lowlands, that this species is probablyextirpated in the region.

Two species highly prized by hunters, Tinamussolitarius and Odontophorus capueira, wererecorded at just three sites, one in the Serra doJavi, and two in the Serra das Lontras, beingcommonest at Fazenda Orion. These records wereremarkable, as hunters were encountered severaltimes, gunshots were commonly heard and severalsmall traps were found in the forests.

In addition to hunting for consumption, faunahas also suffered from capture for the illegal pettrade. Bird species most commonly captured are ofthe families Psittacidae, Cotingidae andEmberizidae. For example, Procnias nudicollis wascommonly observed in cages in local houses, butrecorded only once in the field. Residents confirmedthat the species is often captured for trade. Parrotsare frequently sold in local markets and even alongmain highways in southern Bahia. Emberizidaehave probably suffered a reduction in numbers aswell, as Oryzoborus angolensis was also recordedonly once in the field.

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Table 2. Montane birds (following the classification proposedby Gonzaga et al.10) recorded in the Serra das Lontras–Javi.

Crypturellus obsoletus Cichlocolaptes leucophrusLeucopternis polionotus Lochmias nematuraPatagioenas plumbea Heliobletus sp.Pyrrhura frontalis Sittasomus griseicapillusPionopsitta pileata Lepidocolaptes squamatusPhaethornis eurynome Dendrocolaptes platyrostrisTrogon surrucura Phyllomyias burmeisteriScytalopus sp. Phylloscartes oustaletiHypoedaleus guttatus Phylloscartes beckeriMackenziaena severa Hemitriccus diopsDysithamnus stictothorax Todirostrum poliocephalumDysithamnus mentalis Chiroxiphia caudateDrymophila ferruginea Ilicura militarisDrymophila ochropyga Lipaugus lanioidesChamaeza campanisona Oxyruncus cristatusChamaeza meruloides Platycichla flavipesGrallaria varia Hylophilus aff. ThoracicusConopophaga lineata Thraupis ornateSynallaxis cinerea Tangara cyanocephalaAnabazenops fuscus Saltator fuliginosusPhilydor lichtensteini Saltator similesPhilydor rufum


New and recently described taxaAnother reflection of the importance of the Serra dasLontras–Javi complex in the contexts of both conser-vation and science is the presence of new species ofbirds discovered only recently. One species describedand another rediscovered in the Serra de Ouricananear Boa Nova9,17, Phylloscartes beckeri andSynallaxis cinerea27, are also quite common in theSerra das Lontras–Javi. Acrobatornis fonsecai wasdescribed from the Serra das Lontras region18, whereit is still common in the canopy of cabrucas belowc.550 m. Both Serra das Lontras and Serra do Javiharbour at least two more birds new to science (aHeliobletus and Scytalopus), which are currently inthe process of being described by BMW, JFP and LFSet al. These findings stress the importance ofurgently protecting these forests, as they areimportant from an avian biogeographic perspective(a hidden refuge20), and certainly for other fauna andflora as well.

Closing remarksThese unique mountains have been poorly exploredfrom a scientific perspective and have received evenless attention in terms of conservation: reservesand parks in southern Bahia are located in forestedcoastal areas or on offshore islands. The imminentthreat of habitat loss confers on these mountainsan even more urgent need for their protection.Trucks loaded with timber were observed both inArataca and along the BR 101 highway. Apparently,trees are being cut from former cabrucas, which arebeing replanted as coffee plantations or left forpastures. Recently opened clearings were observedin both serras, where residents practice subsistenceagriculture after setting fire to the felled trees. Thissystem rapidly depletes the soil, necessitating theclearance of new areas for plantations. Such areas,once abandoned, take a very long time toregenerate, as we observed in parts of the Serra doJavi.

This study clearly revealed the overallimportance of the Serra das Lontras–Javi complex.The establishment of a reserve with an integratedsystem of protection for these forests, includingremaining cabrucas and secondary growth, iscrucial to maintain the integrity of the region’sunique avifauna.

AcknowledgementsWe thank the Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente edos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (IBAMA) forissuing collecting permits and BirdLife International(Brazil Programme) for other assistance. Jaqueline M.Goerk and an anonymous reviewer contributedsuggestions to the final manuscript. Edson Endrigokindly provided photographs, and Paulo Cordeiroshared his data and sent specimen material to MZUSP.For help and companionship in the field we thankGabriel Rodrigues dos Santos and ‘Rubinho’. Part of

the study was funded by the Rainforest Action Fundwith the logistical support of the Instituto de EstudosSócio-ambientais do Sul da Bahia (IESB).

References1. Ab’Saber, A. N. (1967) Domínios morfoclimáticos e

províncias fitogeográficas do Brasil. Orientação3: 45–48.

2. Araújo, M. & Santos, G. (2000) Caracterizaçãosócio-ambiental do complexo de Serras do Javi eLontras, no Sudeste da Bahia—com ênfase nosaspectos florestais e agrícolas. Unpubl. report ofInstituto de Estudos Sócio-Ambientais do Sul daBahia (IESB) to BirdLife International,Cambridge, UK.


4. Cordeiro, P. H. C. (2003) Padrões de distribuiçãogeográfica da avifauna, com ênfase nas espéciesendêmicas e ameaçadas, nos remanescentes deMata Atlântica no sul da Bahia. In: Prado P. I.,Landau E. C., Moura R. T., Pinto L. P. S., Fonseca,G. A. B. & Alger, K. N. (eds.) Corredor de biodiver-sidade da Mata Atlântica do sul da Bahia.CD-ROM. Ilhéus: IESB / CI / CABS / UFMG /UNICAMP.

5. Develey, P. F. & Stouffer, P. C. (2001) Effects ofroads on movements by understory birds inmixed-species flocks in central AmazonianBrazil. Conserv. Biol. 15: 1416–1422.

6. Galetti, M., Martuscelli, P., Pizo, M. A. & Simão, I.(1997) Records of Harpy and Crested Eagles inthe Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Bull. Brit. Orn.Club 117: 27–31.

7. Goerck, J. M. (1997) Patterns of rarity in the birdsof the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. Conserv. Biol. 11:112–118.

8. Goerck, J. M. (1999) Distribution of birds along anelevational gradient in the Atlantic Forest ofBrazil: implications for the conservation ofendemic and endangered species. Bird Conserv.Intern. 9: 235–253.

9. Gonzaga, L. A. P. & Pacheco, J. F. (1995) A newspecies of Phylloscartes (Tyrannidae) from themountains of southern Bahia, Brazil. Bull. Brit.Orn. Club 115: 88–97.

10. Gonzaga, L. A. P., Pacheco, J. F., Bauer, C. &Castiglioni, G. D. A. (1995) An avifaunal survey ofthe vanishing montane Atlantic forest ofsouthern Bahia, Brazil. Bird Conserv. Intern. 5:279–290.

11. Hueck, K. (1972) As florestas da América do Sul.São Paulo: Polígono.

12. Jullien, J. M. & Thiollay, J. M. (1998) Multi-speciesterritoriality and dynamic of Neotropical forestunderstorey bird flocks. J. Anim. Ecol. 67:227–252.

13. Lambert, F. (2004) Birds of the Serra do Javimountain complex and surrounding agroforestareas of southern Bahia, Brazil. Unpubl. reportto BirdLife International.

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14. Laps, R. R. (2000) Efeito da fragmentação naavifauna da região da Reserva Biológica de Una,Bahia. Unpubl. report to Projeto Restauna.

15. Munn, C. A. (1985) Permanent canopy andunderstory flocks in Amazonia: speciescomposition and population density. In: Buckley,P. A., Foster, M. S., Morton, E. S., Ridgely, R. S. &Buckley, F. G. (eds.) Neotropical ornithology. Orn.Monogr. 36. Washington DC: AmericanOrnithologists’ Union.

16. Pacheco, J. F. & Bauer, C. (1999) Estado da arte daornitologia na Mata Atlântica e Campos Sulinos.Unpubl. report to Conservation International.Accessible at: www.conservation.org.br.

17. Pacheco, J. F. & Gonzaga, L. A. P. (1995) A newspecies of Synallaxis of the ruficapilla/infuscatacomplex from eastern Brazil (Passeriformes:Furnariidae). Ararajuba 3: 3–11.

18. Pacheco, J. F., Whitney, B. M. & Gonzaga, L. P.(1996) A new genus and species of furnariid(Aves: Furnariidae) from the cocoa-growingregion of southeastern Bahia, Brazil. WilsonBull. 108: 397–433.

19. Remsen, J. V., Jaramillo, A., Nores, M., Robbins, M.B., Schulenberg, T. S., Stiles, F. G., Silva, J. M. C.,Stotz, D. F. & Zimmer, K. J. (2004) A classificationof the bird species of South America. AmericanOrnithologists’ Union. Accessible at:www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.html.

20. Rodrigues, M. T., Dixo, M., Pavan, D. & Verdade, V.K. (2002) A new species of Leposoma (Squamata,Gymnophthalmidae) from the remnant Atlanticforests of the state of Bahia, Brazil. Pap. Avul.Zool. 42: 335–350.

21. Silva, J. M. C., Souza, M. C. & Castelletti, C. H. M.(2004) Areas of endemism for passerine birds inthe Atlantic Forest, South America. Global Ecol.& Biogeogr. 13: 85–92.

22. Stotz, D. F. (1993) Geographic variation in speciescomposition of mixed species flocks in lowlandhumid forest in Brazil. Pap. Avul. Zool. 38: 61–75.

23. Stouffer, P. C. & Bierregaard, R. O. (1995) Use ofAmazonian forest fragments by understoryinsectivorous birds. Ecol. 76: 2429–2445.

24. Thiollay, J. M. (1989) Area requirements for theconservation of the rainforests’ raptors and gamebirds in French Guiana. Conserv. Biol. 3:128–137.

25. Thiollay, J. M. (1992) The influence of selectivelogging on birds species diversity in Guianianrain forest. Conserv. Biol. 6: 47–63.

26. Whitney, B. M. (1996) Sites to save. Boa Nova,Bahia, Brazil. World Birdwatch 18: 9–11.

27. Whitney, B. M. & Pacheco, J. F. (2001) Synallaxiswhitneyi Pacheco and Gonzaga, 1995 is asynonym of Synallaxis cinerea Wied, 1831.Nattereria 2: 34–35.

Luís Fábio SilveiraDepartamento de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo,Rua do Matão, Travessa 14, no. 101, Cidade

Universitária, São Paulo, SP, CEP 05508-900, Brazil;and Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo,Caixa Postal 42694, São Paulo, SP, CEP 04299-970,Brazil. E-mail: [email protected].

Pedro DeveleyPós-graduação em Ecologia, Departamento deEcologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão,Travessa 14, no. 101, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo,SP, CEP 05508-900, Brazil; and BirdLife InternationalBrasil Programme, Rua Fernão Dias 219, casa 2, SãoPaulo, SP, CEP 05427-010, Brazil. E-mail:[email protected].

José Fernando PachecoComitê Brasileiro de Registros Ornitológicos, RuaBambina 50, apto. 104, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 22251-050, Brazil. E-mail: [email protected].

Bret M. WhitneyMuseum of Natural Science, 119 Foster Hall, LouisianaState University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, USA.

Appendix 1. List of bird species recorded in the Serradas Lontras–Javi montane complex, Bahia. Obs.: C: recordsmade exclusively by P. Cordeiro4 (17 species); L: recordsmade exclusively by F. Lambert13 (five species). Status(following BirdLife International 2004): EN: endangered;VU: vulnerable; NT: Near Threatened.Taxonomy followsRemsen et al.19.

FAMILY / SUBFAMILY English nameSpecies

TINAMIDAETinamus solitarius Solitary Tinamou NT X XCrypturellus soui Little Tinamou X XCrypturellus variegatus Variegated Tinamou XCrypturellus obsoletus Brown Tinamou X X

ARDEIDAEButorides striata Striated Heron XBubulcus ibis Cattle Egret X

CATHARTIDAESarcoramphus papa King Vulture X XCoragyps atratus Black Vulture X XCathartes aura Turkey Vulture X XCathartes burrovianus Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture X

ACCIPITRIDAELeptodon cayanensis Grey-headed Kite XButeo albicaudatus White-tailed Hawk XButeo brachyurus Short-tailed Hawk XButeo albonotatus Zone-tailed Hawk X XRupornis magnirostris Roadside Hawk X XLeucopternis polionotus Mantled Hawk NT X XLeucopternis lacernulatus White-necked Hawk VU X XHarpia harpyja Harpy Eagle XSpizastur melanoleucus Black-and-white Hawk-eagle XSpizaetus tyrannus Black Hawk-eagle X X

FALCONIDAEHerpetotheres cachinnans Laughing Falcon X

S.do

Javi

S.da

s Lo

ntra

s

Stat

us


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Micrastur ruficollis Barred Forest-falcon X XMilvago chimachima Yellow-headed Caracara X XCaracara plancus Southern Caracara X

CRACIDAEPenelope superciliaris Rusty-margined Guan C

PHASIANIDAEOdontophorus capueira Spot-winged Wood-quail X X

RALLIDAEAramides cajanea Grey-necked Wood-railAmaurolimnas concolor Uniform Crake C XPorzana albicollis Ash-throated Crake X

JACANIDAEJacana jacana Wattled Jacana C

CHARADRIIDAEVanellus chilensis Southern Lapwing C

COLUMBIDAEPatagioenas cayennensis Pale-vented Pigeon CPatagioenas plumbea Plumbeous Pigeon X XColumbina talpacoti Ruddy Ground-dove XClaravis pretiosa Blue Ground-dove XLeptotila verreauxi White-tipped Dove X XLeptotila rufaxilla Grey-fronted Dove XGeotrygon montana Ruddy Quail-dove X

PSITTACIDAEAratinga leucophthalma White-eyed Parakeet XAratinga auricapillus Golden-capped Parakeet NT XAratinga aurea Peach-fronted Parakeet CPyrrhura cruentata Blue-throated Parakeet VU XPyrrhura frontalis Maroon-bellied Parakeet X XForpus xanthopterygius Blue-winged Parrotlet X XBrotogeris tirica Plain Parakeet X XTouit melanonotus Brown-backed Parrotlet EN XTouit surdus Golden-tailed Parrotlet VU X XPionopsitta pileata Pileated Parrot X XAmazona rhodocorytha Red-browed Parrot EN CAmazona amazonica Orange-winged Parrot C

CUCULIDAEPiaya cayana Squirrel Cuckoo X XCrotophaga ani Smooth-billed Ani X XGuira guira Guira Cuckoo XTapera naevia Striped Cuckoo X

STRIGIDAEMegascops atricapilla Variable Screech-owl X XMegascops choliba Tropical Screech-owl XPulsatrix koeniswaldiana Tawny-browed Owl XGlaucidium brasilianum Ferruginous Pygmy-owl X XGlaucidium minutissimum Least Pygmy-owl X X

NYCTIBIIDAENyctibius griseus Common Potoo X

CAPRIMULGIDAELurocalis semitorquatus Short-tailed Nighthawk X XNyctiphrynus ocellatus Ocellated Poorwill XNyctidromus albicollis Pauraque X X

APODIDAEStreptoprocne zonaris White-collared Swift XChaetura spinicaudus Band-rumped Swift XChaetura cinereiventris Grey-rumped Swift X XChaetura meridionalis Sick’s Swift X X

Cypseloides fumigatus Sooty Swift L

TROCHILIDAEGlaucis hirsutus Rufous-breasted Hermit X XPhaethornis squalidus Dusky-throated Hermit XPhaethornis eurynome Scale-throated Hermit X XPhaethornis ruber Reddish Hermit X XEupetomena macroura Swallow-tailed Hummingbird X XFlorisuga fusca Black Jacobin XAnthracothorax nigricollis Black-throated Mango X XLophornis magnificus Frilled Coquette XDiscosura langsdorffi Black-bellied Thorntail X XDiscosura longicaudus Racket-tailed Coquette X XChlorestes notata Blue-chinned Sapphire X XChlorostilbon aureoventris Glittering-bellied Emerald XThalurania watertonii Long-tailed Woodnymph NT CThalurania glaucopis Violet-capped Woodnymph X XHylocharis sapphirina Rufous-throated Sapphire XHylocharis cyanus White-chinned Sapphire X XAmazilia versicolor Versicoloured Emerald XAmazilia fimbriata Glittering-throated Emerald XAphantochroa cirrhochloris Sombre Hummingbird X XClytolaema rubricauda Brazilian Ruby X XHeliothryx auritus Black-eared Fairy X XCalliphlox amethystina Amethyst Woodstar X

TROGONIDAETrogon viridis White-tailed Trogon X XTrogon rufus Black-throated Trogon X XTrogon surrucura Surucua Trogon X X

ALCEDINIDAEChloroceryle americana Green Kingfisher X

GALBULIDAEGalbula ruficauda Rufous-tailed Jacamar X X

BUCCONIDAENotharchus swainsoni White-necked Puffbird XMonasa morphoeus White-fronted Nunbird CMalacoptila striata Crescent-chested Puffbird XChelidoptera tenebrosa Swallow-wing X

RAMPHASTIDAEPteroglossus aracari Black-necked Aracari X XSelenidera maculirostris Spot-billed Toucanet X XRamphastos vitellinus Channel-billed Toucan X X

PICIDAEPicumnus exilis Golden-spangled Piculet X XPicumnus cirratus White-barred Piculet XPiculus flavigula Yellow-throated Woodpecker X XCeleus flavescens Blond-crested Woodpecker LDryocopus lineatus Lineated Woodpecker X XMelanerpes flavifrons Yellow-fronted Woodpecker X XVeniliornis affinis Red-stained Woodpecker X X

RHINOCRYPTIDAEScytalopus sp. tapaculo X X

THAMNOPHILIDAEHypoedaleus guttatus Spot-backed Antshrike X XMackenziaena severa Tufted Antshrike X XThamnophilus palliatus Chestnut-backed Antshrike X XThamnophilus ambiguus Sooretama Slaty-antshrike X XDysithamnus stictothorax Spot-breasted Antvireo NT X XDysithamnus mentalis Plain Antvireo X XThamnomanes caesius Cinereous Antshrike X XMyrmotherula axillaris White-flanked Antwren XMyrmotherula gularis Star-throated Antwren X X


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Myrmotherula minor Salvadori’s Antwren XMyrmotherula urosticta Band-tailed Antwren VU X XTerenura maculata Streak-capped Antwren X XHerpsilochmus rufimarginatus Rufous-winged Antwren X XFormicivora grisea White-fringed Antwren X XDrymophila ferruginea Ferruginous Antbird X XDrymophila ochropyga Ochre-rumped Antbird NT X XDrymophila squamata Scaled Antbird X XPyriglena leucoptera White-shouldered Fire-eye X XMyrmeciza loricata White-bibbed Antbird X

FORMICARIIDAEChamaeza campanisona Short-tailed Antthrush X XChamaeza meruloides Such’s Antthrush X XFormicarius colma Rufous-capped Antthrush X XGrallaria varia Variegated Antpitta X X

CONOPOPHAGIDAEConopophaga lineata Rufous Gnateater X XConopophaga melanops Black-cheeked Gnateater X

FURNARIIDAEFurnarius figulus Wing-banded Hornero XFurnarius rufus Rufous Hornero X XSynallaxis cinerea Bahia Spinetail VU XSynallaxis frontalis Sooty-fronted Spinetail X XSynallaxis spixi Spix’s Spinetail XCranioleuca pallida Pallid Spinetail XCerthiaxis cinnamomeus Yellow-chinned Spinetail XPhacellodomus rufifrons Common Thornbird X XAcrobatornis fonsecai Pink-legged Graveteiro VU X XAnabazenops fuscus White-collared Foliage-gleaner X XPhilydor lichtensteini Ochre-breasted Foliage-gleaner X XPhilydor atricapillus Black-capped Foliage-gleaner XPhilydor rufum Buff-fronted Foliage-gleaner XAutomolus leucophthalmus White-eyed Foliage-gleaner X XThripophaga macroura Striated Softtail VU XCichlocolaptes leucophrus Pale-browed Treehunter X XHeliobletus sp. treehunter sp. X XXenops minutus Plain Xenops X XXenops rutilans Streaked Xenops X XLochmias nematura Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper X X

DENDROCOLAPTIDAEDendrocincla turdina Thrush-like Woodcreeper X XSittasomus griseicapillus Olivaceous Woodcreeper XGlyphorynchus spirurus Wedge-billed Woodcreeper XXiphocolaptes albicollis White-throated Woodcreeper X XDendrocolaptes platyrostris Planalto Woodcreeper X XLepidocolaptes squamatus Scaled Woodcreeper XXiphorhynchus guttatus Buff-throated Woodcreeper CXiphorhynchus fuscus Lesser Woodcreeper X XCampylorhamphus falcularius Black-billed Scythebill X

TYRANNIDAEPhyllomyias fasciatus Planalto Tyrannulet XPhyllomyias burmeisteri Rough-legged Tyrannulet X XCamptostoma obsoletum Southern Beardless-tyrannulet XMyiopagis caniceps Grey Elaenia X XElaenia flavogaster Yellow-bellied Elaenia X XElaenia spectabilis Large Elaenia LSerpophaga subcristata White-crested Tyrannulet XLeptopogon amaurocephalus Sepia-capped Flycatcher X XMionectes oleagineus Ochre-bellied Flycatcher XMyiobius barbatus Sulphur-rumped Flycatcher XMyiornis auricularis Eared Pygmy-tyrant XPhylloscartes sylviolus Bay-ringed Tyrannulet NT XPhylloscartes beckeri Bahia Tyrannulet EN X XPhylloscartes oustaleti Oustalet’s Tyrannulet NT X

Capsiemps flaveola Yellow Tyrannulet XHemitriccus diops Drab-breasted Bamboo-tyrant X XTodirostrum poliocephalum Yellow-lored Tody-flycatcher X XTodirostrum cinereum Common Tody-flycatcher X XRhynchocyclus olivaceus Olivaceous Flatbill CTolmomyias sulphurescens Yellow-olive Flycatcher X XTolmomyias flaviventris Yellow-breasted Flycatcher X XPlatyrinchus mystaceus White-throated Spadebill X XMyiophobus fasciatus Bran-coloured Flycatcher X XContopus cinereus Tropical Pewee X XLathrotriccus euleri Euler’s Flycatcher XFluvicola nengeta Masked Water-tyrant X XColonia colonus Long-tailed Tyrant X XHirundinea ferruginea Cliff Flycatcher X XMachetornis rixosa Cattle Tyrant XAttila rufus Grey-hooded Attila X XAttila spadiceus Bright-rumped Attila CRhytipterna simplex Greyish Mourner X XLaniocera hypopyrra Cinereous Mourner CSirystes sibilator Sirystes XMyiarchus ferox Short-crested Flycatcher X XMyiodynastes maculatus Streaked Flycatcher LPitangus sulphuratus Great Kiskadee X XMegarynchus pitangua Boat-billed Flycatcher X XMyiozetetes similis Social Flycatcher X XConopias trivirgatus Three-striped Flycatcher X XLegatus leucophaius Piratic Flycatcher X XEmpidonomus varius Variegated Flycatcher X XTyrannus melancholicus White-throated Kingbird X XPachyramphus polychopterus White-winged Becard XPachyramphus viridis Green-backed Becard X XPachyramphus castaneus Chestnut-crowned Becard X XPachyramphus marginatus Black-capped Becard X XPachyramphus validus Crested Becard XTityra cayana Black-tailed Tityra X

PIPRIDAE Dixiphia pipra White-crowned Manakin X XPipra rubrocapilla Red-headed Manakin XChiroxiphia caudata Blue Manakin X XIlicura militaris Pin-tailed Manakin X XManacus manacus White-bearded Manakin X XMachaeropterus regulus Striped Manakin X XSchiffornis turdina Thrush-like Schiffornis X X

COTINGIDAECarpornis melanocephala Black-headed Berryeater VU X XXipholena atropurpurea White-winged Cotinga EN XIodopleura pipra Buff-throated Purpletuft NT XLaniisoma elegans Shrike-like Cotinga XLipaugus vociferans Screaming Piha X XLipaugus lanioides Cinnamon-vented Piha NT X XProcnias nudicollis Bare-throated Bellbird VU XOxyruncus cristatus Sharpbill X X

HIRUNDINIDAEProgne tapera Brown-chested Martin XProgne chalybea Grey-breasted Martin X XPygochelidon cyanoleuca Blue-and-white Swallow X XStelgidopteryx ruficollis Southern Rough-winged Swallow X X

TROGLODYTIDAECampylorhynchus turdinus Thrush-like Wren X XDonacobius atricapilla Donacobius CThryothorus genibarbis Moustached Wren XThryothorus longirostris Long-billed Wren CTroglodytes musculus Southern House-wren X X


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MUSCICAPIDAE/SYLVIINAERamphocaenus melanurus Long-billed Gnatwren X X

TURDINAEPlatycichla flavipes Yellow-legged Thrush X XCichlopsis leucogenys Rufous-brown Solitaire X XTurdus rufiventris Rufous-bellied Thrush X XTurdus leucomelas Pale-breasted Thrush X XTurdus albicollis White-necked Thrush X X

VIREONIDAECyclarhis gujanensis Rufous-browed Peppershrike X XVireo olivaceus Red-eyed Vireo X XHylophilus aff. thoracicus Lemon-chested Greenlet X X

EMBERIZIDAE / PARULINAEParula pitiayumi Tropical Parula X XGeothlypis aequinoctialis Masked Yellowthroat X XPhaeothlypis rivularis Neotropical River Warbler X X

COEREBINAECoereba flaveola Bananaquit X X

THRAUPINAEHemithraupis flavicollis Yellow-backed Tanager X XHemithraupis ruficapilla Rufous-headed Tanager XNemosia pileata Hooded Tanager X XTachyphonus cristatus Flame-crested Tanager X XTachyphonus rufus White-lined Tanager X XHabia rubica Red-crowned Ant-tanager X XRamphocelus bresilius Brazilian Tanager X XThraupis sayaca Sayaca Tanager X XThraupis ornata Golden-chevroned Tanager X XThraupis palmarum Palm Tanager X XChlorophonia cyanea Blue-naped Tanager XEuphonia chlorotica Purple-throated Euphonia XEuphonia violacea Violaceous Euphonia X XEuphonia xanthogaster Orange-bellied Euphonia X XEuphonia pectoralis Chestnut-bellied Euphonia X XTangara seledon Green-headed Tanager X XTangara cayana Burnished-buff Tanager X

Tangara cyanocephala Red-necked Tanager X XTangara mexicana White-bellied Tanager X XTangara velia Silvery-breasted Tanager X XDacnis cayana Blue Dacnis X XChlorophanes spiza Green Honeycreeper X XCyanerpes cyaneus Red-legged Honeycreeper X XConirostrum speciosum Chestnut-vented Conebill X

EMBERIZINAEAmmodramus humeralis Grassland Sparrow LSicalis flaveola Saffron Finch XEmberizoides herbicola Wedge-tailed Grass-finch XVolatinia jacarina Blue-black Grassquit XSporophila frontalis Buffy-fronted Seedeater XSporophila falcirostris Temminck’s Seedeater XSporophila leucoptera White-bellied Seedeater X XSporophila lineola Lined Seedeater XSporophila nigricollis Yellow-bellied Seedeater X XSporophila caerulescens Double-collared Seedeater X XOryzoborus angolensis Chestnut-bellied Seed-finch XTiaris fuliginosus Sooty Grassquit XArremon taciturnus Pectoral Sparrow X X

CARDINALINAECaryothraustes canadensis Yellow-green Grosbeak X XSaltator fuliginosus Black-throated Grosbeak X XSaltator maximus Buff-throated Saltator X XSaltator similis Green-winged Saltator X X

ICTERINAE Psarocolius decumanus Crested Oropendola XCacicus haemorrhous Red-rumped Cacique X XCacicus cela Yellow-rumped Cacique CMolothrus bonariensis Shiny Cowbird X X


The avifauna of Santa Catarina is still poorlyknown, although it has received more attentionduring the last decade8,15. Nevertheless, seabirds,especially pelagic species, have been neglected,enabling recent works to steadily add new speciesto the state’s list. Rosário15 cited 16Procellariiformes for Santa Catarina but at leasttwo species were overlooked, namely White-headedPetrel Pterodroma lessoni, found once on a beach onSanta Catarina Island, the only documented recordin Brazil1,2,18, and Antarctic Prion Pachyptiladesolata1,8. A few additional pelagics have beenrecorded in Santa Catarina more recently,including Northern Royal Albatross Diomedeasanfordi12, Light-mantled Sooty Albatross

Phoebetria palpebrata14 and, in recent years,several Catharacta and Stercorarius10,19.

Almost all records of Procellariiformes andStercorariidae in Santa Catarina are of specimensfound on beaches or birds observed offshore. Herewe present data on some of these seabirds recordedin coastal waters of Santa Catarina. In addition, wealso comment on the presence of Sphenisciformesand Laridae in the state.

MethodsBaía Norte is in southern Brazil, between SantaCatarina Island and the mainland (27o30’S48o35’W; Fig. 1). It is a typical shallow sea inlet witha surface area of c.250 km2, and water depth rarely

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Petrels, skuas and other migrant seabirds in a coastal bay inSanta Catarina state, southern BrazilVítor de Queiroz Piacentini, Leonardo Liberali Wedekin and Fábio Gonçalves Daura-Jorge

Cotinga 24 (2005): 55–59

O estudo de aves marinhas em Santa Catarina, especialmente de espécies pelágicas, ainda ébastante escasso. Dentro deste panorama, de janeiro de 2001 a janeiro de 2004 foram registradasas espécies de aves que utilizam a Baía Norte, a qual separa a Ilha de Santa Catarina—em suaporção mais setentrional—do continente. A presença de espécies pelágicas e algumas outrasespécies migrantes foi constante ao longo de todo o estudo. Destacam-se os registros de Macronectesgiganteus, Fulmarus glacialoides, Pachyptila sp., Catharacta maccormiki—o primeiro registro parao estado—, Catharacta chilensis e Stercorarius parasiticus. Todos estes registros são aqui circun-stanciados. Os Procellariiformes parecem utilizar a Baía Norte de forma esporádica, ao passo queos Stercorariidae são visitantes regulares do local. Por fim, Sterna maxima, espécie migratóriaameaçada no Brasil e tida como rara em Santa Catarina, foi registrada regularmente ao longo detodo o estudo.

Figure 1. Map showing the location of the study area in Santa Catarina, southern Brazil, with details of: (A) the coast ofSanta Catarina; (B) Baía Norte, between Santa Catarina Island and the mainland.


exceeds 5 m3. Baía Norte is highly modified andinfluenced by human activities, such asembankment, deforestation and urbanisation of thecoast, sewage pollution, fishing and boat transit.

Between January 2001 and September 2003 wemade 76 cruises to study cetaceans and seabirds.These were undertaken aboard a 5-m yachtequipped with an outboard motor. Departure wasalways between 07h00 and 09h00, and the voyagesended prior to 17h00. The departure point was inthe eastern part of the Baía Norte, and from therewe always travelled counter-clockwise untilreaching the western coast. The route wasinterrupted each time we encountered dolphins,which we would follow in order to collect data. Wealso registered numbers and species of seabirdsobserved on these cruises. Other, opportunisticrecords are also included here, as well as data froma cruise in January 2004. Taxonomy adopted is thatfollowed by Bencke2.

ResultsFour Procellariiformes and three Stercorariidaewere recorded in the Baía Norte. Details of theseare presented below.

Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophrysA juvenile was photographed, on 29 July 2002, by A.Blankenstein north of Santa Catarina Island,between the Baía Norte and open sea. The speciesis the commonest albatross over shelf waters inSanta Catarina8,15, especially frequent in theaustral winter1, and most individuals encounteredin Brazil are juveniles, as waters over the Brazilianshelf are an important feeding ground foryoungsters dispersing from Falklands colonies9,11.

Southern Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteusTwo photographed in Baía Norte on 9 September2002, were both first-year, blackish birds (Fig. 2).During the same period, a dark bird was rescued bythe animal recovery centre (CETRAS) on SantaCatarina Island, and the finding of a SouthernGiant Petrel at Camboriú, in northern coastalSanta Catarina, was reported in local newspapers.The first record for Santa Catarina was of a bandedbird recovered at Garopaba on 25 August 1962(Sladen et al. 1968 apud Olmos11). There are twoother published state records, one from Rincão,southern coastal Santa Catarina, in 1988, and oneon Santa Catarina Island, in 19918,15. Morerecently, another dark young bird wasphotographed by C. H. S. Oliveira, at Moçambiquebeach, on the east coast of Santa Catarina Island,on 17 August 2003 (Fig. 3). These records suggestthat giant petrels are fairly common in SantaCatarina in colder months; indeed, they are noteddaily offshore around the P-14 oil platform, nearthe border with Paraná (J. Soto in litt. 2003).

Southern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialoidesOn 29 April 2002, one was found at Saco Grande, onthe west coast of Santa Catarina Island (Fig. 4).The bird was very bold and easily photographed. Itappeared poorly nourished, as it pecked at floatingdebris in easy reach (e.g. leaves, wood fragments,seeds and other material; Fig. 5). There are severalprevious records from Santa Catarina Island8.

Prion Pachyptila sp.One seen on 29 April 2002 in zigzag flight, c.8 mfrom our research vessel. Two species are known inSanta Catarina, P. desolata and P. belcheri. Sick18

stated that both species are only recorded closeinshore during wrecks (see also Martuscelli et al.5).We are unaware of any storm or mortality event forother seabirds concurrent with this observation,making the record somewhat unexpected. However,it was observed the same day that we registeredFulmarus glacialoides, suggesting that thepresence of these Procellariiformes was related topoor weather conditions.

South Polar Skua Catharacta maccormickiOn 1 September 2000 a skua was photographed inthe Baía Norte (Fig. 6). The bird had darkunderwing-coverts, no capped effect and a slenderbill, permitting identification as C. maccormicki(following Malling Olsen & Larsson4). This appearsto be the first record for Santa Catarina.

Chilean Skua Catharacta chilensisOur first record was in 2001 (date unrecorded),when a bird with a ferruginous breast and dark capwas photographed. Thereafter, we photographedthe species on three occasions: on 23 November2002, 29 July 2003 and 23 September 2003. The twolatter observations involved two individuals, but ineach only one was certainly identified. The firstrecord in Santa Catarina was of a female now in theNatural History Museum, Tring (Saunders &Salvin 1896 apud Silva e Silva et al.19). We agreewith Silva e Silva et al.19 that this female must bethe source for the citation by Pinto13 of C. chilensisin Santa Catarina. More recently, a bird wasphotographed in 1994 (these photographs arestored at the Museu Oceanográfico do Vale do Itajaí[MOVI 16708]), and another was photographed inJuly 2001 in offshore waters of Santa Catarina19.

Arctic Skua Stercorarius parasiticusFrom November 2002 to September 2003 we hadseveral records of Stercorarius skuas on ten cruises,with two records from land in January and April2003, and another on a cruise in January 2004. Therecords are summarised in Table 1. Only on 16April 2003 were we able to identify the speciesinvolved, although based on their kleptoparasiticbehaviour, the apparently all-dark bills and the size

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Petrels, skuas and other migrant seabirds in Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil


and structural similarities to the one positivelyidentified bird, we consider that all records were ofS. parasiticus. We recorded both dark and palemorphs, dark birds being commoner (80.5%). Afirst-winter pale-morph (fide Malling Olsen &Larsson4) was recorded once. The first state recordof a Stercorarius was made by Schiefler & Soares17,but the bird could not be identified to species level.On 25–30 March 1995, Olmos10 photographed 53Pomarine Skuas Stercorarius pomarinus, 17 S.parasiticus and one Long-tailed Skua S.longicaudus following trawlers in shelf waters offSanta Catarina. On 1 October 2003, the recovery innorthern coastal Santa Catarina of a S. parasiticusbanded in Sweden was reported in localnewspapers.

DiscussionIn addition to those Procellariiformes mentionedabove, a Light-mantled Sooty Albatross Phoebetriapalpebrata was found in the channel between theBaía Norte and open sea14, and Rosário15 included arecord of a Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus in1988, also from the Baía Norte. Albatrosses andpetrels appear to use the Baía Norte mostly onpassage or during post-breeding dispersal, andtheir occurrence is further influenced by weathersystems bringing them closer to the mainland.

On the other hand, Stercorarius skuas occurregularly. Although Rosário15 reported threerecords of skuas in Santa Catarina, only one isattributable to species, as she treated all skua taxaunder C. skua, a common usage in Brazil untilrecently. The record of July 1963, also mentioned bySick18, refers to C. antarctica lonnbergi11. We alsoobserved unidentified skuas on several occasions.One of these records was made in the Baía deBabitonga, in the north of the state, on 10 August

2002, whereas the others are from the Baía Norte.All but one of our records of Catharacta spp., aswell as those cited by Rosário15, were made inApril–September (Fig. 7). The paucity of records inOctober–March, despite equal field effort duringthis period, accords with the breeding season ofsouthern skuas, as adults are on the breedinggrounds in Antarctica and southernmost SouthAmerica at this season4.

The presence of Stercorarius in Baía Norte alsofollows the breeding phenologies of these species.Most of our records, including that involving thelargest number of individuals (Table 1), were madein November–April, when birds would be expectedin the southern Atlantic along the coast of SouthAmerica4. Interestingly, it is possible that spatialsegregation between S. parasiticus and S.pomarinus exists: the former is much rarer overdeeper waters far from land10, but thus far is theonly Stercorarius recorded close to mainland SantaCatarina. Such apparent segregation must beviewed critically: S. pomarinus is recorded from thecoast of Rio Grande do Sul2, thus a lack of suchrecords in Santa Catarina may merely reflect anobservational lacuna. Tern abundance in BaíaNorte appears to be the reason for the presence ofStercorarius parasiticus there. We have witnessedmany instances of kleptoparasitism of terns byskuas, as well as skuas following flocks of terns. Wealso observed a Magnificent Frigatebird Fregatamagnificens harassing a skua, after the latter hadstolen prey from a tern.

In winter we also recorded Magellanic PenguinSpheniscus magellanicus in Baía Norte. The speciesis common in colder months on the coast of SantaCatarina, where large numbers, mostly recentlyfledged immatures, are washed-up dead on beaches.It is unclear whether those that survive return toPatagonian Argentina15.

Another species frequently recorded during ourstudies in Baía Norte was Royal Tern Sternamaxima, considered Vulnerable in Brazil due to thecountry’s small breeding population6. This tern isvery common in winter and is observed year-round,although it is always less numerous than Cayenne

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Figure 7. Number of records of Catharacta spp. in coastalSanta Catarina.

Table 1. Summary of records of Stercorarius sp. in Baía Norte,Santa Catarina.

Date No. of birdsStercorarius cf. parasiticus 16 November 2002 3Stercorarius cf. parasiticus 23 November 2002 1Stercorarius cf. parasiticus 13 December 2002 1Stercorarius cf. parasiticus 27 December 2002 2Stercorarius cf. parasiticus 10 January 2003 1Stercorarius cf. parasiticus 13 January 2003 22Stercorarius parasiticus 16 April 2003 1Stercorarius cf. parasiticus 19 April 2003 1Stercorarius cf. parasiticus 21 June 2003 1Stercorarius cf. parasiticus 29 July 2003 3Stercorarius cf. parasiticus 19 September 2003 1Stercorarius cf. parasiticus 23 September 2003 1Stercorarius cf. parasiticus 20 January 2004 4


Tern S. sandvicensis eurygnatha. In Baía Norte,Royal is commoner than South American Tern S.hirundinacea, which is considered the commonesttern in coastal Santa Catarina15. Known from onlyfour localities in the state7,15, we consider S.maxima to have been merely overlooked, and to becommoner than previously known. Recently,Rosário16 found a similar pattern for Royal Tern inBaía Sul, just south of Baía Norte.

AcknowledgementsWe thank J. Soto, A. Blankenstein and C. H. S. Oliveirafor sharing valuable information. Our work greatlybenefited from discussions with F. Olmos concerningseabirds in Baía Norte. Mercury Motores Náuticos doBrasil provided an outboard motor; LLW was partiallyfunded by Socioambiental Consultores; and FGDJ wassupported by CNPq with an undergraduatescholarship for one year.

References1. Azevedo, T. R. & Schiefler, A. F. (1991) Additional

notes on the Procellariiformes of Santa CatarinaIsland and mainland (Brazil). Service d’Ethologieet de Psichologie Animale. Univ. of Liège, Inst.Zool., Rep. 458: 1–10.

2. Bencke, G. A. (2001) Lista de referência das aves doRio Grande do Sul. Porto Alegre: FundaçãoZoobotânica do Rio Grande do Sul.

3. Cerutti, R. L. (1996) Contribuição ao conhecimentoda poluição doméstica na Baía Norte, área daGrande Florianópolis, SC. Dissertação deMestrado. Florianópolis: Universidade Federaldo Santa Catarina.

4. Malling Olsen, K & Larsson, H. (1997) Skuas andjaegers: a guide to the skuas and jaegers of theworld. Robertsbridge: Pica Press.

5. Martuscelli, P., Silva e Silva, R. & Olmos, F. (1997)A large prion Pachyptila wreck in south-eastBrazil. Cotinga 8: 55–57.

6. Ministério do Meio Ambiente (2003) Lista da faunabrasileira ameaçada de extinção. InstruçãoNormativa do Ministério do Meio Ambiente de28.05.2003.

7. Naka, L. N., Mazar Barnett, J., Kirwan, G. M.,Tobias, J. A. & Buzzetti, D. (2001) Records of birdspecies previously considered uncommon inSanta Catarina state. Cotinga 16: 68–70.

8. Naka, L. N. & Rodrigues, M. (2000) As aves da ilhade Santa Catarina. Florianópolis: Ed.Universidade Federal do Santa Catarina.

9. Olmos, F. (1997) Seabird flocks attending bottomlong-line fishing off southeastern Brazil. Ibis139: 685–691.

10. Olmos, F. (2000) Revisão dos registros deStercorarius pomarinus no Brasil, com notassobre registros de S. longicaudus e S. parasiticus(Charadriiformes: Stercorariidae). Nattereria 1:29–33.

11. Olmos, F. (2002) Non-breeding seabirds in Brazil: areview of band recoveries. Ararajuba 10: 31–42.

12. Olmos, F. (2002) First record of Northern RoyalAlbatross (Diomedea sanfordi) in Brazil.Ararajuba 10: 271–272.

13. Pinto, O. M. O. (1978) Novo catálogo das aves doBrasil. São Paulo: Empresa Gráfica da Revistados Tribunais.

14. Roos, A. L. & Piacentini, V. Q. (2003) Revisão dosregistros sul-brasileiros do gênero PhoebetriaReichenbach, 1853 e primeiro registrodocumentado de Phoebetria palpebrata (Forster,1785) (Procellariiformes: Diomedeidae) paraSanta Catarina. Ararajuba 11: 223–225.

15. Rosário, L. A. do (1996) As aves em SantaCatarina: distribuição geográfica e meioambiente. Florianópolis: FATMA.

16. Rosário, L. A. do (2004) Um outro olhar da ViaExpressa Sul. Florianópolis: privately published.

17. Schiefler, A. S. & Soares, M. (1994) Estudocomparativo da avifauna das praias deNavegantes e Laguna, Santa Catarina. Biotemas7: 31–45.

18. Sick, H. (1997) Ornitologia brasileira. Rio deJaneiro: Ed. Nova Fronteira.

19. Silva e Silva, R., Olmos, F. & Lima, P. C. (2002)Catharacta chilensis (Bonaparte, 1857) no Brasil.Ararajuba 10: 275–277.

Vítor de Queiroz PiacentiniComitê Brasileiro de Registros Ornitológicos (CBRO),Rua Marcus Aurélio Homem 285, CEP 88040-440,Florianópolis, SC, Brazil. E-mail:[email protected].

Leonardo Liberali WedekinInstituto Synthesis, Rua João Paulo 2163, CEP 88030-300, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.

Fábio Gonçalves Daura-JorgeInstituto Synthesis, Av. Osni Ortiga 458, CEP 88062-400, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.

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Figure 2. Southern Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus inBaía Norte, Santa Catarina (L. L.Wedekin)

Figures 4–5. Southern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialoides Saco Grande, Santa Catarina Island (L. L.Wedekin)

Figure 3. Southern Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus atMoçambique beach, Santa Catarina Island (C. H. S.Oliveira)

Figure 6. South Polar Skua Catharacta maccormicki in Baía Norte, Santa Catarina; note the slender bill, dark underwing-coverts and absence of a cap (L. L.Wedekin)


The avifauna of the Atlantic Forest, althoughrelatively well known, continues to producesignificant surprises, despite widespread habitatdestruction throughout the biome. In the state ofEspírito Santo we have studied various importantremnant forests, most of them conserved throughprivate initiatives by their owners, and in manycases not previously subject to ornithological inves-tigation. In one of these we recently located apopulation of Cherry-throated Tanager Nemosiarourei, only the second currently known for thespecies.

Cherry-throated Tanager is endemic to a tinyarea of south-east Brazil and is consideredCritically Endangered globally6,7. The species wasdescribed in 1870, on the basis of a specimenreputedly collected at Muriaé, in Minas Gerais, andheld in the Museum für Naturkunde,Zentralinstitut der Humboldt-Universität zuBerlin, although Pacheco16 suggested that the typelocality might actually be Macaé de Cima, in Rio deJaneiro. However, all subsequent records are fromEspírito Santo (Fig. 1). In August 1941, Sick23

observed a group of eight birds in the municipalityof Itarana, at Jatiboca (900 m) and, in October1995, Scott20 observed one, apparently of thisspecies, within a mixed-species flock at AugustoRuschi Biological Reserve, above Santa Teresa(700–900 m). In February 1998, six Brazilianresearchers (among them ACV and PRP)discovered Cherry-throated Tanager at FazendaPindobas IV, in the municipality of Conceição doCastelo1–3,15, where subsequently it has beenobserved frequently down to the present.

Prior to the species’ rediscovery in the late1990s, those authors5,9,10,13,18,22,24–26,31 reviewing thestatus and distribution of Cherry-throated Tanagerhave possessed very few data on which to base their

remarks. Sick & Teixeira25 noted that the singleknown locality, in Itarana (previously Itaguaçu)municipality, had been largely deforested and giventhe lack of subsequent records some authors9,10,18,21

voiced the opinion that the species might prove to

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A new locality and records of Cherry-throated Tanager Nemosiarourei in Espírito Santo, south-east Brazil, with fresh naturalhistory data for the speciesAna Cristina Venturini, Pedro Rogerio de Paz and Guy M. Kirwan

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São relatadas aqui novas observações sobre a Saíra-apunhalada Nemosia rourei, espécie endêmicado Brasil e globalmente ameaçada de extinção, cuja ocorrência atual conhecida era somente de umalocalidade no Espírito Santo descoberta em 1998. Foi descoberta uma segunda área com ocorrênciaregular para a espécie chamada Caetés. Dois registros adicionais para a Reserva Biológica AugustoRuschi foram feitos. São comentados detalhes destes locais e providas novas perspectivas sobre aconservação da espécie, população e informações da história natural, bem como detalhes sobreprocura pela espécie, em outras localidades no Espírito Santo e também nos estados de MinasGerais e Rio de Janeiro.

Sponsored by Neotropical Bird Club

Figure 1. Map showing the municipalities in the state ofEspírito Santo with previous records of Cherry-throatedTanager Nemosia rourei (1–3) and the new locality (4). 1 =Itarana; 2 = Santa Teresa; 3 = Conceição do Castelo; and 4 =Vargem Alta.


be extinct. Nonetheless, surveys undertaken byOriginalis Natura (now Faunativa) in 1998–2000demonstrated that Itarana and Santa Maria deJetibá municipalities still held many remnantforests, albeit highly fragmented, wherein theyfound more than 250 bird species (and 19 ofmammals)17,27–29, of which 70 are endemic to theAtlantic Forest, leading to the region being listed byBirdLife International as an Important Bird Area4.

Since the rediscovery in 1998, our work hascentred on obtaining more complete data for N.rourei, particularly endeavouring to locate newsites for the species and devise actions for itsconservation. We have been assisted by variouscolleagues, principally at Pindobas IV. Variousinformation concerning morphology, feeding, lifehistory, vocalisations and breeding have beenpublished3,30. Our studies have focused on themontane region of Espírito Santo between MunizFreire, in the west, and Santa Teresa, in the east,but other field work, executed by Faunativa, hasinvestigated fragmented forests in the montanecentre of Rio de Janeiro state and eastern MinasGerais. The present contribution aims to collate allunpublished information concerning the speciesgathered since 1998, to announce the discovery of anew locality for the species and to discuss thepresent state of our knowledge of N. rourei.

New records

New site: CaetésThe forest of Caetés lies within Vargem Alta munic-ipality (Figs.1-4), in southern Espírito Santo(20o30’S 41o00’W), at 1,100–1,250 m, and is c.30 kmsouth-east of Pindobas IV. The property where N.rourei has been found covers 240.5 ha, of which

most is forested. However, this area forms only apart of a much larger forested block, belonging toseveral owners (of which the two largest are AokiEmpreendimentos Comércio e Participações Ltdaand Brasif S.A.), totalling over 3,000 ha. The regionreceives heavy rainfall and mild temperatures forpractically the entire year. Most of Caetéscomprises Atlantic Dense Ombrophyllous Forest,with tall trees, heavily covered in epiphytes,abundant palms (including Euterpe edulis) andother species characteristic of such forest inmontane regions14. A narrow, unpolluted streamflows through the property, of which small parts arecultivated, principally avocado, corn and beans.

In addition to N. rourei, we have recorded morethan 200 bird species in Caetés, among them manyAtlantic Forest endemics and globally threatenedspecies (threat status in parentheses: Vulnerable =VU, Near Threatened = NT)7: White-necked HawkLeucopternis lacernulatus (VU), Reddish-belliedParakeet Pyrrhura frontalis, Golden-tailedParrotlet Touit surdus (VU), Tawny-browed OwlPulsatrix koeniswaldiana, Long-trained NightjarMacropsalis forcipata, Scale-throated HermitPhaethornis eurynome, Dusky-throated HermitP. squalidus, Violet-capped WoodnymphThalurania glaucopis, Surucua Trogon Trogonsurrucura, Saffron Toucanet Baillonius bailloni(NT), Red-breasted Toucan Ramphastos dicolorus,Yellow-browed Woodpecker Piculus aurulentus,Yellow-eared Woodpecker Veniliornis maculifrons,Mouse-coloured Tapaculo Scytalopus speluncae,Spotted Bamboowren Psilorhamphus guttatus(NT), Tufted Antshrike Mackenziaena severa, Spot-breasted Antvireo Dysithamnus stictothorax (NT),Star-throated Antwren Myrmotherula gularis,Ferruginous Antbird Drymophila ferruginea,

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A new locality and records of Cherry-throated Tanager in south-east Brazil

Figure 2. Forest cover in the municipality of Vargem Alta: the forested area in the north corresponds, inlarge part, to that known as Caetés (Fundação SOS Mata Atlântica/INPE [after the Atlas dos remanes-centes florestais da Mata Atlântica periodo 1995–2000]).


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3 4

5 6

7 8

9 10


Ochre-rumped Antbird D. ochropyga (NT), Streak-capped Antwren Terenura maculata, White-bibbedAntbird Myrmeciza loricata, Such’s AntthrushChamaeza meruloides, Rufous GnateaterConopophaga lineata, Pallid Spinetail Cranioleucapallida, White-collared Foliage-gleanerAnabazenops fuscus, White-browed Foliage-gleanerAnabacerthia amaurotis (NT), Pale-browedTreehunter Cichlocolaptes leucophrus, Oustalet’sTyrannulet Phylloscartes oustaleti (NT), Pin-tailedManakin Ilicura militaris, Hooded BerryeaterCarpornis cucullata (NT), Chestnut-vented PihaLipaugus lanioides, Bare-throated BellbirdProcnias nudicollis (VU), Elegant MournerLaniisoma elegans (NT) and Brown TanagerOrchesticus abeillei (NT). Most of these have beendocumented with sound-recordings or photographs.We have also recorded the following primates:Buffy-headed Marmoset Callithrix flaviceps,Masked Titi Callicebus personatus, Black TuftedCapuchin Cebus nigritus and Northern MuriquiBrachyteles hypoxanthus (Critically Endangered).

On 12 September 2003, at 11h20, while leadinga group of birdwatchers, one of us (PRP) heard thedistinctive vocalisations of several N. rourei, andimmediately used playback in order to bring thebirds into view. Initially, two birds were visible, butsubsequently PRP, ACV and the entire groupobserved eight birds, perched together on twobranches in the crown of the same tree (the largestsingle group of birds recorded since Sick’sobservation in 194123,24).

Thereafter, until July 2004, groups of N. roureihave been observed a further five times at the samesite, usually along the same 200 m of trail. On5 October 2003, all three of us, together with agroup of birdwatchers, observed five individuals at

10h50, apparently unassociated with a mixed-species flock or at least somewhat separated fromone. At 06h30 on 10 October 2003, PRP, ACV andanother group of birdwatchers again observed fivebirds, this time closely following behind a mixedflock led by Syristes sibilator. On the morning of 2November 2003, PRP alone observed a group of atleast three birds. On 20 March 2004, in the sameplace the first two authors briefly heard and saw(without playback) a single Cherry-throatedTanager. Finally, on 26 July 2004 PRP and ACVheard various individuals slightly distant from theusual area during the course of the morning.

These records confirm our previously heldsuspicion that the species occurred at Caetés,although we had been unable to document previoussightings (at the boundary of Fazenda FornoGrande da Brasif S.A. and in the same area as thenew occurrences). Such confirmation, only gainedsince 1998, further demonstrates the apparentlygenuine rarity of the species, which appears torequire comparatively large feeding territories andis difficult to locate unless its vocalisations areknown and playback is used.

Other possible sitesAnother four possible encounters with N. rourei inprivate land north of Caetés and Pindobas IV arebeing further investigated. These comprise a briefvocalisation (an even smaller part of which wasrecorded), two very brief sightings, both involvingsingle birds (for which we prefer to await morecomplete observations) and a possibly heard vocali-sation. However, the habitat in one of the areas (atSanta Maria de Jetibá) for which a sight record wasavailable, has subsequently been substantiallymodified by the landowner (see below).

Recent records in Augusto RuschiThe Augusto Ruschi Biological Reserve (previouslyNova Lombardia Biological Reserve) is a well-known area amongst ornithologists andbirdwatchers, and was the site of Scott’s20 1995observation which, it is worth re-emphasising, weconsider could only plausibly refer to N. rourei.Despite Scott’s prompt publication of this record,but perhaps due to his understandable caution overreporting such a momentous observation, few fieldworkers that have visited the area since appear tohave either actively searched for the species (itsvocalisation is presented on at least two commer-cially available recordings) or to have held anyexpectation of finding it there again. Clearly, thesingle observation, despite many years of ornitho-logical work in the reserve, offers a degree offurther evidence of Nemosia’s natural rarity (seeBauer et al.3 and below), although it might equallybe noted that, whilst Augusto Ruschi is compara-tively well worked for a Brazilian location,

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Captions to plates on opposite page

Figure 3.The interior of Caetés forest (Faunativa)

Figure 4. General view of Caetés forest (Faunativa)

Figure 5.Aerial view of the Pingadeira complex (fragments Aand B), Pindobas IV (Faunativa)

Figure 6.View of Atlantic Dense Ombrophyllous MontaneForest in the Pingadeira complex (Faunativa).

Figure 7.A Nemosia rourei with the red of the lower throat inthe form of a comma (Faunativa)

Figures 8 and 10. Different patterns of red on the throatshown by Nemosia rourei (Faunativa)

Figure 9.A Nemosia rourei with the 'typical' pattern in whichthe red forms a small point on the lower throat (Faunativa)


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compared to birdwatching activity in many areas ofWestern Europe, such field work is, practically,miniscule.

GMK has been visiting the reserve at leastannually since 1998 and, equipped with recordingsof the species’ vocalisations, using playback tosearch for N. rourei. On 10 October 2002, whileworking a huge mixed-species flock along one of theprincipal dirt roads through the reserve GMKheard the immediately recognisable sharp calls ofprobably two Nemosia and, alerting the other fourobservers present, immediately commencedplayback. Unfortunately, it proved impossible tolocate either of the birds within the enormous flockof perhaps 100+ individuals of tanagers, woodcreep-ers, tyrant-flycatchers and furnariids, and the N.rourei rather swiftly ceased to call. During furtherfield work in the same area, on 20 January 2003,GMK again heard the diagnostic and easilyidentified vocalisations of Nemosia, and this timeobserved briefly but conclusively at least one, andprobably two, individuals in tall canopy treeswithin a mixed-species flock. These new observa-tions demonstrate the, at least intermittent,presence of a, perhaps tiny, population within theAugusto Ruschi area and demonstrate theimportance of observers visiting the site being alertfor the species and learning its vocalisations.

Knowledge of the species

Other recent sightingsSince the species’ rediscovery, on 22 February 1998,and late-July 2004, we have collectively madeobservations of N. rourei on 52 days (the vastmajority at Pindobas IV) and totalling 64 contacts,with records in all months and at various times ofday from 06h30 to c.17h20. At Caetés the sixrecords (on different days) are insufficient forpertinent analysis, but all were made duringmorning hours.

On 21 February 1997 (one day prior to thespecies’ rediscovery at Pindobas IV) PRP observed,at the border of a forest fragment, a bird with asimilar appearance to Cissopis leverianus but withred, rather than black, on the throat. This wasprobably the first modern encounter with N. roureiand occurred some distance from the so-called‘Pingadeira complex’, from where all subsequentsightings at Pindobas IV have come. The localityhas not been subject to detailed investigation since.Additionally, during the same period, the specieswas probably heard in another forest fragment justeast of the ‘Pingadeira complex’ (J. F. Pacheco pers.comm.).

LongevityWith the aim of studying the species’ behaviour andterritory use, as well as gathering biometric andother data, it was decided to band at least one of theN. rourei at Pindobas IV, given the birds responsive-ness to playback (sometimes descending very low inthe trees). In July 1998, together with L. A. P.Gonzaga and G. Castiglioni, PRP and ACV made an

Table 1. List of species recorded in mixed flocks with Cherry-throated Tanager Nemosia rourei.

Scientific name English name

PICIFORMES

PicidaePiculus aurulentus Yellow-browed WoodpeckerVeniliornis maculifrons Yellow-eared Woodpecker

PASSERIFORMES

ThamnophilidaeDysithamnus stictothorax Spot-breasted Antvireo

FurnariidaePhilydor lichtensteini Ochre-breasted Foliage-gleanerPhilydor rufum Buff-fronted Foliage-gleanerXenops rutilans Streaked Xenops

DendrocolaptidaeSittasomus griseicapillus Olivaceous WoodcreeperXiphocolaptes albicollis White-throated WoodcreeperDendrocolaptes platyrostris Planalto WoodcreeperLepidocolaptes squamatus Scaled WoodcreeperCampylorhamphus falcularius Black-billed Scythebill

TyrannidaePhyllomyias burmeisteri Rough-legged TyrannuletPhyllomyias virescens GreenishTyrannuletPhylloscartes ventralis Mottle-cheecked TyrannuletSirystes sibilator SirystesMyiarchus swainsonii Swainson’s FlycatcherPachyramphus castaneus Chestnut-crowned BecardTityra cayana Black-tailed Tityra

CotingidaeCarpornis cucullata Hooded BerryeaterPiprites chloris Wing-barred PipritesOxyruncus cristatus Sharpbill

VireonidaeCyclarhis gujanensis Rufous-browed Peppershrike

EmberizidaeDendroica cf. striata Blackpoll WarblerOrchesticus abeillei Brown TanagerHemithraupis ruficapilla Rufous-headed TanagerThraupis ornata Golden-chevroned TanagerEuphonia pectoralis Chestnut-bellied EuphoniaChlorophonia cyanea Blue-naped ChlorophoniaTangara cyanocephala Red-necked TanagerTangara desmaresti Brassy-breasted TanagerTangara cyanoventris Gilt-edged TanagerDacnis cayana Blue Dacnis


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unsuccessful attempt to mist-net the species.Thereafter, on 4 September 1998, GC, M. P. Rehenand ACV returned to the site and were successful incapturing one bird in the ‘Pingadeira complex’(hereafter referred to as fragment B). Although twobirds approached closely in response to playback,only was captured in the mist-net, c.2 m above theground, the other bird narrowly evading beingcaught but vocalising intensely for several minutesin the close vicinity before departing. A metal band,no. 511 (H. Sick collection), was placed on the lefttarsus, with two plastic bands, one black and onepale blue, being fitted on the right tarsus. Biometricdata for this individual were already presented byBauer et al.3. In the hand it was also possible toverify certain details of the species’ plumage, butwe did not find any ectoparasites or note anyevidence of moult. The absence of a brood-patchsuggests that the bird was not breeding (the onlynesting datum is the observation of nest building inNovember30). A final effort, again unsuccessful, wasmade to capture and band N. rourei in October2000, by Faunativa, C. Bauer, J. F. Pacheco and B.M. Whitney.

Since capture, the banded bird has beenobserved on several occasions, always withinmixed-species flocks and with other N. rourei (ingroups of 2–6 birds), in October 1998, February1999, April 2000, May 2000, June 2000, October2002, November 2002 and October 2004. Thus, thisindividual, which was perhaps already adult inSeptember 1998, survived at least six years onemonth.

Intra-specific interactionsWithin a group, on many occasions we haveobserved that, prior to the entire party commencingvocalising, one bird maintains a more elevatedperch and vocalises more than the otherindividuals. Such behaviour was frequentlyobserved in the banded bird (suggesting that it wasa flock leader), but other individuals have also beennoted assuming this role. In addition, presumedadults have been observed directly feeding birds ofsimilar plumage, assumed to be juvenile, as suchbehaviour did not take the manner of courtshipfeeding. Interactions during nest building weredescribed by Venturini et al.30. In October 2000,GMK et al. observed an apparent pair of N. roureiengaged in a type of display, during which one bird(assumed to be male) faced the other, on a highbranch, while holding the wings half-open, perpen-dicular to the body, and slightly fluttering them,simultaneously slightly raising the head andcalling rather quietly (calls as described in Bauer etal.3). GMK has witnessed similar, apparentcourtship behaviour in Hooded Tanager N. pileata,the species’ only conspecific.

Inter-specific interactionsDuring our observations, N. rourei has beenobserved within mixed-species flocks on 23occasions (35% of all contacts). It is possible that onother occasions birds were associated with a nearbymixed flock, but this was not obviously apparent.Venturini et al.30 noted that the nest-building birds,in November 1998, were not directly associatedwith a mixed flock. Sick23 noted that the eight birdshe observed, in August 1941, were unassociatedwith other birds (this observation was made priorto the species’ voice being known) and, given thatthey were flocking together, not breeding.

Mixed flocks in which we recorded Nemosiarourei were usually led by Sirystes sibilator. Otherspecies that were always present (or, at least, mosteasily detected) within these groups wereChestnut-crowned Becard Pachyramphuscastaneus and Rufous-headed TanagerHemithraupis ruficapilla. Larger flocks alwayscontained other tanagers, as well as woodpeckers,woodcreepers, furnariids, tyrant-flycatchers andcotingids. A list of all those species recorded inmixed flocks with N. rourei is presented in Table 1.

Two agonistic interactions were noted, one witha Golden-chevroned Tanager Thraupis ornata,which pursued a N. rourei that had a largeLepidoptera in its bill (see Feeding). On anotheroccasion, a Black-necked Aracari Pteroglossusaracari that was constantly vocalising close tothree N. rourei appeared to attack one of the N.rourei, which only just avoided the toucan, beforeboth birds disappeared from view and ACV andPRP were unable to observe any further interac-tions between them.

EctoparasitesIn October 2002, one individual that remainedperched on the same high branch for severalminutes was observed through binoculars toremove an ectoparasite, apparently a femaleIxodidae, from the left side of the throat. The birdappeared calm and was not heard to vocalise.

FeedingBesides those prey items, namely caterpillars, anant and small arthropods, already noted3, we haveseen a bird with a large butterfly (Lepidoptera) inits mandible. It is impossible to know if the N.rourei consumed this prey, as the individual wasimmediately pursued from view by a Thraupisornata; when we relocated the bird the butterflywas gone. On another occasion, several birds wereobserved foraging within the flowers of aEucalyptus sp., but it was impossible to be surewhether they were searching for nectar orassociated insects.


PopulationFor now, only two groups of N. rourei are definitelyknown, a population of at least six individuals atPindobas IV and the other of at least eight atCaetés, although there are also now further obser-vations from Augusto Ruschi, suggesting thepresence of a low-density population in thatreserve.

At Pindobas IV we initially observed up to fiveindividuals in one fragment (hereafter A) and fivein another (B), but, in May 2000 up to six werepresent in the latter area, including the bandedindividual, with five still present in A, where wehave never observed the banded N. rourei. Bothfragments are within the ‘Pingadeira complex’,which occupies two hills whose slopes practicallymeet in a narrow valley with less dense vegetation(Figs. 5–6). Given that Faunativa has, on more thanone occasion, observed groups apparently movingbetween the two fragments, it is possible that theestimate of ten birds3 in Pingadeira is incorrect,and that just six are present. As mentioned above,at Caetés we have observed up to eight individualssimultaneously. Thus, the presently knownpopulation consists of a minimum of 14 individuals.

All observations have involved 1–8 individuals,with most contacts being of 2–3 birds (17 observa-tions) or four birds (11 observations), but on at leastsome occasions perhaps not all of those presentwere counted. At Caetés, since the initialobservation of eight birds, we have observed groupsof three and five individuals, and it appearspossible that these birds were of the same group,which had (temporarily) disbanded.

Despite the larger area of possible occurrence,elsewhere in Espírito Santo, as well as in Rio deJaneiro and Minas Gerais, it may be premature tosuggest that the species numbers as many as50–249 individuals (albeit ‘in decline’)6.Nonetheless, we continue to search for newpopulations and localities for the species in theregion.

TerritorialityThere are still no precise data concerning territorysize of N. rourei due to several factors: our relativeinability to find the species in certain seasons usingplayback, despite it being easily encountered in thesame areas at other times; and its apparentpropensity for relatively long flights and ability toutilise plantations of coffee, Pinus and Eucalyptusspp. between forest patches, although the species’demonstrably high responsiveness to playbackmakes us believe that the same group is using anextensive area, perhaps the entire ‘Pingadeiracomplex’, an area of probably more than 400 ha.Nonetheless, it is now apparent that, in PindobasIV, the species has become somewhat less

responsive to playback, a factor that to some extentmitigates further study.

At Pindobas IV we have noted at differentseasons and in the two fragments comprising the‘Pingadeira complex’ that groups follow a regular‘circuit’ during the course of the day, thus weobserved in fragment A along certain sections oftrail birds always arriving from the same directionat the same time of day, and, on several occasions,in fragment B we have observed the group movingthrough the same valley within the forest or, inother periods, regularly traversing the same forestborder with a coffee plantation. It has beenimpossible to determine what factors areinfluencing such behaviour, but we do know thatexternal factors can, apparently, modify it (seeThreats).

Plumage variationThe existence of individuals, possibly young birds,with throat colour different to the usual bright red,has already been reported3; these had a brownish oryellowish-brown cast to the throat patch. One lonebird (apparently a N. rourei), which was very brieflyobserved on 10 November 2001 (during thesupposed breeding period), had an entirely darkcrown and vent with the red patch much smaller,and on the breast (not reaching the throat), forminga concave line immediately below the black.Further, unlike previously described plumages, butalso undocumented photographically, we haveobserved variation in the crown colour (betweenwhite and grey) and the red of the throat patch (inits size and shape), which appears to vary individu-ally and, in many cases, according to lightconditions, rather than genuine morphologicalvariation (Figs. 7–10). One individual appeared tohave the red patch a sharp-pointed comma shape,whilst another was observed with a trace of redextending beyond the throat.

HabitatUntil now, N. rourei has only been recorded at850–1,250 m in Atlantic Dense OmbrophyllousMontane Forest (following MME14), and there is noevidence, as yet, to indicate that the species occursin Open Ombrophyllous Forest (as at Pindobas IV),which exists in the region. Occurrence in coffeeplantations and those of Eucalyptus sp. and Pinusspp. are sporadic and relate to movements betweenforest fragments through these corridors ofotherwise unsuitable habitat.

Surveys outside Espírito SantoThrough a grant awarded by NBC/Field Guides,during the year 2000 Originalis Natura (nowFaunativa) undertook three short surveys of areasin Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro for N. rourei.

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On 22–24 February we visited the area aroundMuriaé in Minas Gerais. We were unable to locatesuitable habitat for the species, based on ourcurrent knowledge of its requirements, on the northbank of the rio Paraíba do Sul, which area appearsgenerally too low for N. rourei, despite the, untilrecently, widely held opinion that this arearepresents the type locality3,16 (see introduction).We were assisted by various local residents, whoindicated the highest points within the district ofPirapanema (610 m), and visited a number ofproperties, but found only second growth, unworthyof further attention. Subsequently we moved to thedistrict of Belisário where the Pico do Itajuru, atc.1,600 m, marks the highest point in the munici-pality of Muriaé8,11. Here, the area that held mostinterest was Fazenda Iracambi (Rosário de Limeiramunicipality). Access is reasonable, but in order toreach the best forest at higher altitudes (1,130 m) itis necessary to traverse a stream, which provedimpossible during our visit due to high water levelscaused by heavy rainfall. During our short visit weemployed playback unsuccessfully for N. rourei.

Thereafter, on 13–17 September, Faunativavisited Rio de Janeiro/Minas Gerais, working theso-called ‘Centro-Serrana’ of Rio de Janeiro,starting at Macaé de Cima (22o25’S 42o31’W, 1,065m), in Nova Friburgo municipality. This areaapparently holds high potential for the species,given the habitat, altitude and extensive area oflargely continuous forest, now partially incorpo-rated within the Parque Estadual dos Três Picos(46,350 ha), created in 2002 and situated within themunicipalities of Teresópolis, Nova Friburgo,Guapimirim, Silva Jardim and Cachoeiras deMacacu19. Again, we used playback at variouslocalities, but without success. This same regionwas identified by Pacheco16 as possibly being thetrue type locality of N. rourei. We continued towardsPetrópolis and Teresópolis, within the same part ofRio de Janeiro state. We conducted field work inhigher parts of the Parque Nacional da Serra dosÓrgãos, another region which appears highlysuitable for N. rourei, although it has beenrelatively well worked previously by ornithologistsand birdwatchers, and the large area of suitablehabitat, much of it relatively inaccessible, makeslocation of a low-density species, such as N. rourei,extremely difficult, as has proved the case withCalyptura cristata. Thereafter we proceededtowards Pirapetinga, in Minas Gerais, from wherethere is a possible sighting of the species, by E. P.Brettas in 19943, having previously confirmed thecoordinates of the locality concerned with theobserver. We found altitude at the site to be 230 m,rather than the c.150 m previously cited3, in eithercase somewhat lower than elevations from whichthe species is currently known. Since Brettas’report, no further sightings have been made,

despite visits to the area in August 1994, June 1995and July 19963, and our search, on 17 September2000, was also unsuccessful, when the site wasapparently being explored for its granitic deposits.

The other trip was made to easternmost MinasGerais, close to the border with Espírito Santo, inthe region of Lajinha (at c.470 m), but we wereunable to locate any suitable habitat, as forestdestruction in this region has been almostcomplete.

Other surveyed areas in Espírito SantoThe entire region around Pindobas IV and Caetés,including the municipalities of Conceição doCastelo, Muniz Freire, Brejetuba, Venda Nova doImigrante and Vargem Alta, has been investigatedfor new populations of N. rourei. Further north, ourfield work has centred (principally in 1998–2000)on the environs of Itarana, based on Sick23.Through the assistance of various members of thelocal population, we have accessed manyinteresting forest fragments in this region,including that worked by Sick in 1941–42. We havealso made widespread searches through SantaMaria de Jetibá, again finding diverse potentialforest fragments. In both these municipalities wehave gained interesting data on birds andmammals, among them the discovery thatNorthern Muriqui was quite well known to somelocal people17. Elsewhere, we have worked in themunicipality Santa Teresa, in the Reserva BiológicaAugusto Ruschi (see above), but also in otherimportant forest fragments. More recently (sinceearly 2004) we have searched for potential localitiesbetween the two largest blocks of forest (PindobasIV/Caetés and Santa Teresa/Santa Maria deJetibá), in the municipalities of Domingos Martinsand Marechal Floriano, at altitudes above 700 m. Inall of these areas there are forests that demandfurther and more intensive field work: at Itarana,Barra Encoberta/Alto Jatibocas, Alto Santa Mariaand Alto Santa Joana; around Santa Maria deJetibá, the localities of Plantojo, Simão, Sabino,Cristal, Garrafão and remnant forests near the rioBonito dam; around Domingos Martins, Chapéuand Paraju; at Marechal Floriano the region aroundthe rio Fundo; whilst around Brejetuba/MunizFreire there is a considerable area meritorious offuture investigation. With the exception of Itaranaand Santa Maria de Jetibá, where our work hasbeen most intensive and has produced threerecords requiring verification, the areas above haveonly been identified as potential localities to searchfor N. rourei, but it has not been possible to properlysurvey them.

Threats and future perspectivesGiven available information, we believe that N.rourei is a naturally rare species, which occurs at

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low densities and, in the present day, is restricted tomontane Espírito Santo.

The major threat to N. rourei is destruction andexploitation of the little that remains of its habitat:removal of granite, limestone and marble, illegalpalm extraction, small-scale logging for firewood,and expansion of existing coffee plantations.Timber extraction is still a significant problem,including that for the production of charcoal. In2000 a landowner neighbouring Pindobas IV(abutting the ‘Pingadeira complex’) felled an area inorder to expand his coffee plantations (prior to ourholding discussions with him), and in late 2002 acompany commenced exploration of a private areaof pasture and coffee just below fragment A inPindobas IV (where nest building was noted inNovember 1998) for marble and granite, withexplosives being used to partially extract theserocks. IBAMA (the federal environment agency)and the environmental police took action, and theresearch was apparently suspended for anunknown period. In April 2004, the samelandowner mentioned above ‘threatened’ tosuspend access to his property in ‘reprisal’ for theorder concerning granite extraction. The impacts ofsuch work would be significant, both directly (interms of habitat destruction) and indirectly, as wenoted an apparent reduction in activity by manybird species in the area, including N. rourei, duringthe period when detonations were made.

In general, we should note that most of theproperties visited in Itarana and Santa Maria deJetibá are held by a rather closed community ofsmall, rather poor landowners, cultivatingvegetables and without plans to substantiallyincrease or otherwise develop their holdings, e.g. bydeforesting large areas to plant coffee. Nonetheless,it is probable that sporadic and low-intensitytimber extraction for firewood continues in someparts of these regions. Recently, however, ACV andPRP returned to the area within Santa Maria deJetibá municipality wherein they had made apossible sighting of N. rourei to discover that onelandowner had felled most of the forest (17 ha) onhis property in early 2004; his action had beenclandestine (although known to certain otherresidents) as it would have been subject to variousfines. Caetés and Pindobas IV are both largefazendas (of more than 800 ha) of which the majorparts are still forested and possess corridors ofsilviculture connecting forest blocks, but mostneighbouring landowners are smallholders (of10–50 ha), exploiting their properties diversely, andare generally rather poor.

We have observed human use of the species’habitat to have an obvious effect on its behaviour,and the birds once appeared to disappear fromfragment A at Pindobas IV during the ‘Enduro da

Polenta’, an annual event, in October, marking the‘Festa da Polenta’ in the municipality adjoiningVenda Nova do Imigrante. Without the knowledgeor consent of the landowners, the organisersdecreed that the event should traverse Pindobas IV,via the same trail from which N. rourei is mostfrequently observed. Related to this, on the sameday more than 90 vehicles passed through the areabetween 09h00 and 15h00. Evidence of the event(remains of maps, deep tyre tracks in certainsections, and the borders of the property damagedby the heavy traffic) was very obvious. We haveobserved the pressures and results (namely theinvasion of private land, without official consentand with no respect for the ability of an area towithstand such usage) of similar events elsewherein Espírito Santo, e.g. at Reserva Biológica de DuasBocas, Cariacica.

More positively, it is apparent that plantationsof Eucalyptus sp. and Pinus spp. separatingdifferent forest blocks (as at Pindobas IV) functionwell as corridors permitting forest species(including N. rourei) to move between areas.

Action is urgently required to secure thespecies’ future, which for now is principally andrather perilously bound with the conservation ofjust two privately owned areas in southern EspíritoSanto. Creating a Reserva Particular do PatrimônioNatural (RPPN) in Pindobas IV, a conservationcategory of some security but which does not affectits ownership, will be a major step forward. It isalso necessary to continue the searches for thespecies in new areas initiated in 1998. As notedabove, several potential areas have been identified,principally in Espírito Santo, but also in MinasGerais and Rio de Janeiro, and these require morethorough investigation than has yet been possible.For such work financial resources are needed. Therecently agreed partnership between the BirdLifeInternational–Brasil Program and Faunativa isstudying the viability of developing conservationaction for N. rourei in both currently known majorsites, and in this are being presently supportedfrom the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund(CEPF), but additional resources will be required inthe future.

AcknowledgementsPrincipal thanks must go to the owners of Caetés fortheir foresight in protecting the area, particularlyBruno V. Leal and Lucio S. de Andrade who permittedaccess to their property, and Dinho, as well as CamiloCola and D. Ignez Massad Cola and their staff forconserving Pindobas IV and assisting our field work.Pastor Ido Port helped ACV and PRP at Itarana, andmany other local residents both there and in SantaMaria de Jetibá showed much interest in our work.ACV and PRP are further grateful to those at Muriaéwho offered assistance: Paulo R. B. da Silva, Abílio G.


de Almeida, D. Nina and Fazenda Iracambi. TheIBAMA director and staff of the Augusto RuschiBiological Reserve, Santa Teresa, are thanked foraffording relevant permissions for field work therein.Claudia Bauer was instrumental by inviting ACV andPRP to join her and Fernando Pacheco’s study of forestremnants in southern Espírito Santo, during which N.rourei was rediscovered. Luiz Gonzaga provided theinspiration, and directed attempts, to capture N.rourei, in which Gloria Castiglioni also participated.Dr Alexandre P. Aguiar helped identify the ectopara-site. NBC and Field Guides financially supported ACVand PRP’s field work, in which M. P. Rehen, L. P. doCarmo, Manoel A. A. Netto also participated. BretWhitney also joined the field work and provided avideotape of the species. Toucan Tours, Birding Brazil,VENT, Field Guides, Ornifolks, BirdQuest, BouteExpeditions, Focus on Nature Tours and all of thebirdwatchers who joined their various tours greatlyaided our work, providing encouragement and partici-pating in the exciting discovery of the new locality.BirdLife International–Brasil Program has beeninvolved in plans to conserve the species (madepossible by a donation from CEPF). Fábio Olmos,Jaqueline Goerck and Fernando Pacheco madevaluable suggestions concerning the manuscript.

References1. Bauer, C. (1999) Padrões atuais de distribuição de

aves florestais na região sul do estado do EspíritoSanto, Brasil. Dissertação de Mestrado (Zool.).Rio de Janeiro: Museu Nacional do Rio deJaneiro.

2. Bauer, C., Pacheco, J. F., Venturini, A. C., Paz, P. R.de, Rehen, M. P. & Carmo, L. P. do (1998) Oprimeiro registro documentado do séc. XX daSaíra-apunhalada Nemosia rourei Cabanis,1870, uma espécie enigmática do sudeste doBrasil. Atualidades Orn. 82: 6.

3. Bauer, C., Pacheco, J. F., Venturini, A. C. &Whitney, B. M. (2000) Rediscovery of the Cherry-throated Tanager Nemosia rourei in southernEspírito Santo, Brazil. Bird Conserv. Intern. 10:97–108.

4. Bencke, G. A. & Mauricio, G. N. (2002) Programade IBAs no Brasil, fase preliminar: compilação eanálise de informações disponíveis para a regiãoda Mata Atlântica. Unpubl. report. São Paulo:BirdLife International.

5. Bernardes, A. T., Machado, A. B. M. & Rylands, A.B. (1990) Fauna brasileira ameaçada de extinção.Belo Horizonte: Fundação Biodiversitas para aConservação da Diversidade Biológica.

6. BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds ofthe world. Cambridge, UK: BirdLifeInternational & Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.


8. Caixa Econômica Federal (1999) Parcerias para odesenvolvimento. Perfil do município de Muriaé—MG. Rio de Janeiro: Caixa Econômica Federal.

9. Collar, N. J., Gonzaga, L. P., Krabbe, N., MadroñoNeto, A., Naranjo, L. G., Parker, T. A. & Wege, D.C. (1992) Threatened birds of Americas: theICBP/IUCN Red Data Book. Cambridge, UK:International Council for Bird Preservation.

10. Collar, N. J., Crosby, M. J. & Stattersfield, A. J.(1994) Birds to watch 2: the world list ofthreatened birds. Cambridge, UK: BirdLifeInternational (Conservation Series 4).

11. Faria, M. A. (1995) O que ficou dos 178 anos dahistória de Muriaé. Unpubl. report.

12. Fundação SOS Mata Atlântica & InstitutoNacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (no date) Atlasdos municípios da Mata Atlântica. Online:http://www.sosmatatlantica.org.br/?secao=atlas.

13. Isler, M. L. & Isler, P. R. (1987) The tanagers.Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.

14. Ministério das Minas e Energia (MME) (1983)Levantamento de recursos naturais, 32. Rio deJaneiro: MME.

15. Pacheco, J. F. (1998) Cherry-throated TanagerNemosia rourei rediscovered. Cotinga 9: 41.

16. Pacheco, J. F. (1999) É de Minas Gerais o exemplarúnico e original de Nemosia rourei? AtualidadesOrn. 89: 7.

17. Paz, P. R. & Carmo, L. P. (2000) Contribuição aoconhecimento dos mamíferos dos municípios deSanta Maria de Jetibá e Itarana. Neotrop.Atlântico 1(2).


19. Rocha, C. F. D., Bergallo, H. G., Alves, M. A. S. &Sluys, M. V. (2003) A biodiversidade nos grandesremanescentes florestais do estado do Rio deJaneiro e nas restingas da Mata Atlântica. SãoCarlos: Rima.

20. Scott, D. A. (1997) A posible re-sighting of theCherry-throated Tanager Nemosia rourei inEspírito Santo, Brazil. Cotinga 7: 61–63.

21. Scott, D. A. & Brooke, M. de L. (1985) Theendangered avifauna of southeastern Brazil: areport on the BOU/WWF expeditions of 19080/81and 1981/82. In: Diamond, A. D. & Lovejoy, T. E.(eds.) Conservation of tropical forest birds.Cambridge, UK: International Council for BirdPreservation (Tech. Rep. 4).

22. Sibley, C. G. & Monroe, B. L. (1990) Distributionand taxonomy of birds of the world. New Haven& London, UK: Yale University Press.

23. Sick, H. (1979) Notes on some Brazilian birds.Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 99: 115–120.


25. Sick, H. & Teixeira, D. M. (1979) Notas sobre avesbrasileiras raras ou ameaçadas de extinção.Publ. Avul. Mus. Nac. 62: 1–39.


27. Venturini, A. C. & Rehen, M. P. (2000) Contribuiçãoao conhecimento das aves dos municípios de

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Santa Maria de Jetibá e Itarana. Neotrop.Atlântico 1(2).

28. Venturini, A. C., Rehen, M. P., Paz, P. R. & Carmo,L. P. (2000) Contribuição ao conhecimentodasaves da região centro serrana do Espírito Santo:municípios de Santa Maria do Jetibá e Itarana(parte 1). Atualidades Orn. 98: 11–12.

29. Venturini, A. C., Rehen, M. P., Paz, P. R. & Carmo,L. P. (2001) Contribuição ao conhecimentodasaves da região cantro serrana do Espírito Santo:municípios de Santa Maria do Jetibá e Itarana(parte 2). Atualidades Orn. 99: 12.

30. Venturini, A. C., Paz, P. R. & Kirwan, G. M. (2002)First breeding data for Cherry-throated TanagerNemosia rourei. Cotinga 17: 42–45.

31. Wege, D. C. & Long, A. J. (1995) Key Areas forthreatened birds in the Neotropics. CambridgeUK: BirdLife International (ConservationSeries 5).

Ana Cristina Venturini and Pedro Rogerio de PazOriginalis Natura Consultoria e Projetos Ltda, RuaFrancisco Corteletti, 333, Nova América, Vila Velha, ES29111-070, Brazil.

Guy M. Kirwan74 Waddington Street, Norwich NR2 4JS, UK.



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E-mail: [email protected] / web: www.andeanbirding.com


Brazilian Merganser Mergus octosetaceus isCritically Endangered at both national and globallevels3,14, and its world population is presentlyestimated at just 250 individuals7,8. The speciescurrently occurs in Argentina and Brazil (in thestates of Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Goiás, Tocantins,Paraná and Santa Catarina, and historically in Riode Janeiro15), and is almost always associated withfast-flowing, clear-water rivers with falls andrapids2,6,16,19. Habitat loss and destruction, throughdeforestation, construction of hydroelectric damsand river pollution are considered the main threatsto the species3,7,8. Brazilian Merganser was recentlyobserved on the rio Novo, Tocantins6, and rediscov-ered in Argentina5. Despite studies in Serra daCanastra National Park1,12,19 its biology is poorlyknown. In October 2002, the second meeting of theBrazilian Merganser Recovery Team, held inBrasília, aimed to establish conservation strategiesfor the species via an action plan11, whichrecommends surveys of ‘new’ areas and those ofhistorical occurrence (Y. Barros pers. comm.).

The first record of Brazilian Merganser inGoiás was of two specimens held in a privatecollection13, which lack precise details of where theywere collected. Another specimen is known from therio das Pedras, municipality of Nova Roma, thatwas sent to the Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiroby Rudolf Pfrimer in 195018, although it is possiblethat all of these individuals were collected in the1920s and 1930s (J. F. Pacheco pers. comm.). Morerecent records were made by Yamashita & Valle20,who observed several pairs on the rio Preto withinChapada dos Veadeiros National Park (CVNP), byLeeuwenberg7 at the same location, and in EmasNational Park8. Here we report new sightings onthe rio das Pedras, near CVNP.

Study area and observationsChapada dos Veadeiros National Park (CVNP) andenvirons are on a montane plateau with isolatedmountains, rocky outcrops, several waterfalls anddifferent types of cerrado habitat10. The hundredsof springs in the area form rivers with clean waters

that flow to the lowlands with many rapids andfalls.

We worked in CVNP on 27 August–1 September2003 and on 14–21 May 2004, with the aim ofreviewing and evaluating the new boundariesproposed for the park’s enlargement (Fig. 1).During these periods, we undertook both ground-based surveys, using a 4WD vehicle, and aerialtransects over the entire area by helicopter. Ourgoals were to check for potential problems andconflicts concerning land use at the proposedboundaries, and to evaluate levels of humanoccupancy and disturbance at the current limits ofthe park. Among areas we sampled was the rio dasPedras basin, where we performed three aerialsurveys, on two days in 2003 and once in 2004, all

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New records of Brazilian Merganser Mergus octosetaceus in therio das Pedras, Chapada dos Veadeiros, BrazilCarlos A. Bianchi, Sérgio Brant, Reuber A. Brandão and Bernardo F. Brito

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Este trabalho apresenta novos registros do Pato-mergulhão Mergus octosetaceus, espécie critica-mente ameaçada de extinção, para o rio das Pedras na região da Chapada dos Veadeiros. O períodode muda ou a existência de filhotes são discutidos considerando a diferença dos comportamentosdas aves durante as observações. A ocorrência de Mergus na bacia do rio das Pedras indica aexistência de ambientes muito preservados e justifica sua inclusão nos novos limites do ParqueNacional da Chapada dos Veadeiros.

Figure 1. Map of the rio das Pedras basin.


commencing in the morning and made underpartially cloudy conditions.

Our first record of M. octosetaceus was on 31August 2003, at 12h40, when we observed twoindividuals swimming together and a third c.30 maway. By the time we turned the helicopter the lonebird had disappeared. We spent ten minutesfollowing the two mergansers (Fig. 2). The birdsswam quickly up and downstream, diving andsearching for cover along the riverbank. The secondsighting was made next day (1 September 2003)whilst undertaking another survey of the rio dasPedras basin, starting at the headwaters and againflying 20–30 m above ground, mainly over the river.On this occasion, only a pair was observed (at09h50), in the same area as the preceding day. Weagain followed them for several minutes as themergansers sought cover along the riverbank.

On 16 May 2004, at 14h35, during a flight overthe rio das Pedras, we found a pair of mergansersc.8–9 km upstream of our sightings in September2003. We flew above the birds for several minutes,although as we initially approached the pair flewoff upriver for c.3 km, before seeking cover invegetation along the riverbank, where they werelost to view.

DiscussionWe consider the pair observed in 2004 to be thesame as in 2003, considering the distance betweenthe sightings and knowledge of the species’territory size19. Behaviour in September 2003clearly differed from that in 2004. That the birdsonly dived and swam as we hovered over them in2003 may suggest that they were moulting asneither individual attempted to fly, unlike in May2004 when, at the first approach of the helicopter,the pair immediately took flight. Anotherhypothesis is that those in 2003 were young birds,unable to fly, or adults with unseen young nearby,given that September is the known breeding season(L. F. Silveira pers. comm.).

The rio das Pedras (Fig. 1) is an importanttributary of the rio Paraná and floods torrentially,as do most rivers in the central Brazilian cerrado.During the dry season (June–October) the river isat low water, with just small pools of calm water indeeper sections along its course (as described bySilveira & Bartmann19 for the Serra da Canastra).The das Pedras is an oligotrophic river with clearwaters, rapids and small waterfalls in somestretches, a varied depth and width, and a bed thatalternates from rocky to stony or sandy soil. Theheadwaters are at c.1,200 m, and after 96 km theriver flows into the rio Paraná, at c.350 m.Vegetation where we recorded the mergansers wastypical cerrado and campo rupestre10, with sparseshrubs, low to mid-height trees and many rockyoutcrops. The river was enclosed by a steep valley,

not within a canyon of exposed cliffs, but similar tothat described by Yamashita & Valle20. From thevalley’s head towards the riverbank vegetation wasdenser but did not form gallery forest. Given ourobservations, and notwithstanding thatmergansers occur on rivers fringed by galleryforests elsewhere in the range19, we consider thatforest width and continuity are not importantfactors governing the species’ occurrence, as hasbeen previously observed6,19,20. Habitat beside therio das Pedras appears to possess suitable breedingsites for Mergus, based on descriptions byPartridge16 and Lamas & Santos12.

Habitat loss and degradation are consideredcritical threats to the species2,3,7,8, especiallythrough silting of rivers and water pollution5. Oursurveys revealed significant habitat degradation inthe rio das Pedras basin, both in the headwatersand the cerrado along the lower course of the river.Large deforested areas were observed on severalfarms, where natural vegetation has recently beenconverted to pasture. Silting is initiated by defor-estation, and subsequent erosion was observed ontributaries upstream of the 2003 merganserobservation, the water appearing muddied anddark. Agriculture and charcoal production werealso noted on a smaller scale.

Habitat composition and the species’ shybehaviour require close consideration indetermining strategies for Mergus conservation.Yamashita & Valle20 suggested that BrazilianMerganser habitat is typically linear, disjointedand scarce. We believe that due to its fragile naturesuch habitat may be drastically changed, either bycattle grazing and agriculture (which may resultfrom large-scale deforestation), and even throughlower impact activities such as ecotourism. Thus,the most effective action to protect mergansers isthe creation of reserves in key areas for the species.Recommendations are already in place concerningthe legal protection of Brazilian Merganser and itshabitat7.

According to the proposed CVNP expansion, therio das Pedras basin is the main area to be includedwithin the new boundaries as it lies in the PousoAlto region, which is considered of extremely highbiological importance and a priority for conserva-tion in the cerrado biome9. Beyond the importanceof the rio das Pedras as a tributary of the Paraná,the varied vegetation types in its basin differ fromthose within the current park limits andapparently benefit a broader diversity of species.Our records of M. octosetaceus are a furtherindication of habitat quality and the area’s conser-vation importance. Given the observations ofYamashita & Valle20 and other recent data7, theBrazilian Merganser population in north-eastGoiás appears to be among the largest in the world,after Serra da Canastra19 and western Bahia17. Our

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New records of Brazilian Merganser in Goiás, Brazil


sightings of M. octosetaceus represent a strongreason to expand the boundaries of CVNP, thusprotecting the species, its habitat and the overallbiodiversity of the rio das Pedras basin.

AcknowledgementsWe thank J. F. Pacheco for information concerninghistorical data for Goiás state and B. Hughes forassistance with the English revision. P. Scherer-Netoand L. F. Silveira also made valuable comments on themanuscript.

References1. Bartmann, W. (1988) New observations on the

Brazilian Merganser. Wildfowl 39: 7–14.2. Benstead, P. J., Hearn, R. D., Jeffs, C. J. S.,

Callaghan, D. A., Calo, J., Gil, G., Johnson, A. E.& Stagi Nedelcoff, A. R. (1993) An expedition toassess the current status of the BrazilianMerganser Mergus octosetaceus in Argentina:final report. Unpubl. report. Slimbridge:Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust.

3. BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds ofthe world. Cambridge, UK: BirdLifeInternational & Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.

4. Bosso, A. (2003) Brazilian Merganser rediscoveredin Argentina. TWSG News 14: 9.

5. Bosso, A. & Gil, G. (2000) Sobre la situación delPato Serrucho (Mergus octosetaceus) en laArgentina. Unpubl. report.

6. Braz, V., Abreu, T. L. S., Lopes, L. E., Leite, L. O.,França, F. G. R., Vasconcellos, M. M. & Balbino, S.F. (2003) Brazilian Merganser Mergus octose-taceus discovered in Jalapão State Park,Tocantins, Brazil. Cotinga 20: 68–71.

7. Brazilian Merganser Recovery Team (2003)Species Action Plan: Brazilian Merganser.Unpubl. report.

8. Collar, N. J., Gonzaga, L. P., Krabbe, N., MadroñoNieto, A., Naranjo, L. G., Parker, T. A. & Wege, D.C. (1992) Threatened birds of the Americas: theICBP/IUCN Red Data Book. Cambridge, UK:International Council for Bird Preservation.

9. Conservation International (1999) Ações prior-itárias para a conservação do Cerrado ePantanal. Belo Horizonte: ConservationInternational.

10. Eiten, G. (1994) Vegetação do Cerrado. In: Pinto,M. N. (ed.) Cerrado: caracterização, ocupação eperspectivas. Brasília: UnB/SEMATEC.

11. Hughes, B. (2003) Brazilian Merganser workshop.TWSG News 14: 10.

12. Lamas, I. R. & Santos, J. P. (2004) A BrazilianMerganser Mergus octosetaceus nest in a rockcrevice, with reproductive notes. Cotinga 22:38–41.

13. Miranda-Ribeiro, A. (1937) Considerações prelim-inares sobre a zoogeographia brasileira. OCampo: 49: 54–57.

14. Ministério do Meio Ambiente (2003) Lista nacionalde espécies da fauna brasileira ameaçada deextinção. http://www.mma.gov.br/lista.htm.

15. Pacheco, J. F. & Fonseca, P. S. M. (1999) Evidênciade ocorrência histórica do pato-mergulhão(Mergus octosetaceus) no estado do Rio deJaneiro. Atualidades Orn. 88: 10.

16. Partridge, W. H. (1956) Notes on the BrazilianMerganser in Argentina. Auk 73: 473–488.

17. Pineschi, R. B. & Yamashita, C. (1999) Occurrence,census and conservation of the BrazilianMerganser (Mergus octosetaceus) in Brazil withnotes about feeding behaviour and habitatpreferences. Proc. Neotrop. Waterfowl Symp.,Monterrey, Mexico.

18. Sick, H. (1958) Resultados de uma excursãoornitológica do Museu Nacional à Brasília, novoDistrito Federal, Goiás, com a descrição do umnovo representante de Scytalopus(Rhinocryptidae, Aves). Bol. Mus. Nac., nov. sér.Zool. 185.

19. Silveira, L. F. & Bartmann, W. (2001) Naturalhistory and conservation of the BrazilianMerganser Mergus octosetaceus at Serra daCanastra National Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil.Bird Conserv. Intern. 11: 287–300.

20. Yamashita, C. & Valle, M. C. (1990) Ocorrência deduas aves raras no Brasil central: Mergus octose-taceus e Tigrisoma fasciatum fasciatum.Ararajuba 1: 107–109.

Carlos A. BianchiUnited Nations Development Programme, CoordenaçãoGeral de Fauna, SCEN Trecho 02 Edifício Sede,IBAMA. Correspondence address: EPTG QE 04, BlocoA7, Apto. 204, Brasília, DF, CEP 71.030-000, Brazil. E-mail: [email protected].

Sérgio Brant, Reuber A. Brandão and BernardoF. Brito Coordenação Geral de Regularização Fundiária, SCENTrecho 02 Edifício Sede, IBAMA, Brasília, DF, CEP 70818-900, Brazil. E-mails: [email protected];[email protected]; reuber.brandã[email protected].

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Figure 2. Pair of Brazilian Mergansers Mergus octosetaceous onthe rio das Pedras, Goiás, Brazil, September 2003 (Carlos A.Bianchi)


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The systematics of the Pyrrhura leucotis–pictacomplex is one of the major taxonomic conundrumswithin Neotropical Psittacines. Recent work7,8,13

has suggested that many taxa formerly consideredsubspecies are best treated as species, thusreverting to former arrangements, and dramati-cally increasing the number of recognised species.Of seven taxa formerly lumped within Pyrrhuraleucotis, five are now accorded specific status. Twoof these (P. caeruleiceps and P. emma) are restrictedto rain and cloud forests in northernVenezuela1,7,11,15, whilst three others are endemic toBrazil, isolated from the others by thousands of kmthat are occupied by the several taxa of the relatedPyrrhura picta species-group7,8,13.

The three endemic Brazilian taxa are: White-eared Conure Pyrrhura leucotis, a bird of lowlandand foothill forests (below 500 m) east of theBrazilian coastal range from southern Bahia(c.14oS), to Sepetiba, just south of the city of Rio deJaneiro; Pfrimer’s Conure P. pfrimeri, an endemic ofdry, deciduous forests on a narrow band oflimestone-derived soils west of the Serra Geralmassif in Goiás and southern Tocantins, and Grey-breasted Conure P. griseipectus13. All three possessdistinctive morphology, habitats and ecology, whollyallopatric ranges and complete lack of intermedi-ates or contact zones, and can be considered speciesunder any concept available7,13.

The coloration of Pyrrhura griseipectus,especially the breast, resembles two widely disjuncttaxa, P. caeruleiceps of Venezuela and P. eisenmannifrom Panama, the latter formerly included in P.picta7. Nevertheless, P. griseipectus differs fromcaeruleiceps and eisenmanni in its all-brown pileum(fore- and hindcrown blue in caeruleiceps,forecrown dull red in eisenmanni), maroon cheeks(dull red in caeruleiceps and eisenmanni) and redshoulders (green in eisenmanni)8.

Grey-breasted Conure was described asPyrrhura griseipectus by Salvadori in 1900 basedon a cagebird of unknown origin. Seven specimenscollected in the Serra do Baturité, Ceará, permitted

Hellmayr6 to pinpoint the taxon to north-eastBrazil. Following then-current trends, Hellmayr6

considered griseipectus a subspecies of leucotis.Subsequently, it was suggested that P. anaca(Gmelin, 1788) has priority over griseipectus23. Thisarrangement has not been widely accepted,although P. anaca is included in the Brazilianthreatened species list (as Critically Endangered)12

and national bird species list4. The illustrationrepresenting the type of anaca differs from Grey-breasted Conure in its breast pattern andapparently represents a different species within theleucotis group (L. Joseph in litt. 2004), an issue thatis currently being studied by L. F. Silveira and J. F.Pacheco (in litt. 2004). Thus, in this paper, wechoose the widely used griseipectus in order toavoid further confusing an already complex issue.

The status and natural history of Pyrrhuragriseipectus are poorly known, despite the speciesbelonging to a charismatic group of birds wellknown to aviculturists both in Brazil and abroad.Here we bring together available information on itstaxonomic status, habitat and conservation.

Taxonomic considerationsPyrrhura griseipectus, P. pfrimeri and P. leucotishave completely allopatric distributions, beingeffectively isolated from each other by thousands ofkm. P. pfrimeri is both the most disjunct andoccupies the most distinctive habitat compared toall other taxa in the group, being the only speciesrestricted to dry forests and to occur outside theAtlantic Forest. P. pfrimeri and P. leucotis aresimilar in size, with no significant differences inwing length, culmen length and mandible depth,but differ in coloration, the most striking characterin pfrimeri being the complete absence of the whiteto pale buff auricular patch of leucotis andgriseipectus, and the contrasting dark red face andpale blue forehead, crown, occiput and nape, thiscolour spreading to the neck- and throat-sides, andgrading to green on the breast. In contrast, leucotishas blue only on the forehead (sometimes also just

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Grey-breasted Conure Pyrrhura griseipectus, an overlookedendangered speciesFábio Olmos,Weber A. G. Silva and Ciro Albano

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Pyrrhura griseipectus, também conhecida como P. leucotis griseipectus and P. anaca, éconsiderada ameaçada no Brasil, embora a confusa situação taxonômica do grupo a tenhatornado invisível para a comunidade conservacionista internacional. A espécie é endêmica dasflorestas úmidas de alguns poucos brejos de altitude no Ceará e Pernambuco, existindopossíveis registros visuais em duas áreas de Alagoas. Sua ecologia é muito pouco conhecida,mas sabe-se que pode utilizar cafezais sombreados e florestas secundárias. Embora suasituação na natureza seja grave, a espécie se reproduz bem em cativeiro e há uma significativapopulação cativa.


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Grey-breasted Conure, an overlooked endangered species

Figure 1. Grey-breasted Conure Pyrrhura griseipectus,Guaramiranga, Serra do Baturité, Brazil (Ciro Albano)


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Figure 2.Ventral (top left) and lateral (above right) viewsof Pyrrhura leucotis (left and bottom), P. griseipectus (middle)and P. pfrimeri (right and top) showing differences incolour pattern. Note the large whitish ear-patch of anacaand its mostly grey breast compared to the other birds.Specimens from the Museu de Zoologia da Universidadede São Paulo. Pyrrhura leucotis: Itaúnias, Espírito Santo(MZUSP 34495), P. griseipectus: Serra do Baturité (MZUSP41515 ), P. pfrimeri: Nova Roma, Goiás (MZUSP 15769)(Luis Fabio Silveira)

Figure 3. Close-up of a captive Pyrrhura griseipectus,showing the diagnostic cap, ear-patch and breast colourpattern.The eye-ring, usually whitish, becomes darkerwhen the bird is excited (Ciro Albano).

Figure 4. Satellite imagesof northern Cearáshowing the forestedmassifs (green) withinthe otherwise drylandscape. Shown arefour of the knownlocalities for P.griseipectus (left), andQuixadá municipality.On the right a closerview of the Serra doAratanha, with a view ofthe small Serra Negra(inset) at the same scalefor a size comparison.


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above the eyes), the crown and nape being buff orgrey. P. pfrimeri is thus one of the most distinctivetaxa in the picta–leucotis species group7 (seeFig. 2).

Although both Atlantic Forest taxa mightappear to be closely related, based on theirgeographical proximity6,19, P. griseipectus seems tobe more divergent from P. leucotis than P. pfrimeri.Both are distinguished by differences in the perio-phthalmic ring (dark blue in leucotis and pfrimeri,whitish to slaty in griseipectus), auricular patch(cream to yellowish in leucotis, often with a bufftinge; pure white or cream in griseipectus, andnotably larger in the latter), head colour (front,nape and neck-sides suffused blue in leucotis; noblue in griseipectus) and breast feathers (greenwith a blue suffusion, more intense near the neck,and with a broad pale grey or buff subterminalband and narrow blackish terminal one in leucotis;dusky grey with a broad cream to pale buffterminal band in griseipectus)13 (see Figs. 1–2). P.griseipectus is the same size as leucotis in winglength, but an important difference is the signifi-cantly longer bill of griseipectus and its deepermandible6,13. P. griseipectus is proportionally largerheaded than other Brazilian taxa, which should bevisible in skull comparisons and make skeletalremains diagnosable11, but there is no difference inbill width between griseipectus and leucotis13. As inP. pfrimeri, the even more marked morphologicaldifferences, the geographical isolation and verydifferent habitat are sufficient to accord speciesstatus to P. griseipectus, as proposed by severalauthors7,13,21. The degree of morphological differen-tiation of the three is at least comparable to thatbetween accepted species taxa such as P. frontalis,P. devillei and P. molinae. It should be pointed outthat some recent illustrations of the Brazilian taxabear little resemblance to the birds in life9, anotherfactor that has delayed their acceptance as species.

Distribution and habitatPyrrhura griseipectus has been documented fromjust three areas: the Serra do Baturité, the easternslope of the Serra de Ibiapaba, both in Ceará, andthe tiny Serra Negra (38o00’S 08o40’S), inPernambuco26. Specimens of griseipectus are fromthe Serra Negra26, Ipú in the Ibiapaba range(04o20’S 40o42’W), Quixadá (04o58’S 39o01’W), justsouth of the Baturité range, and Guaramiranga(04o15’S, 38o56’W), atop Baturité7,16. The Quixadáspecimens at the American Museum of NaturalHistory (New York)7 may appear anomalous, as thearea lies wholly within the xeric caatinga.Nevertheless, the Baturité range is just to thenorth, and three small ranges reaching 500–1,000 m(the serras do Machado [04o30’S 39o35’W], Céu[04o30’S 39o45’W] and Estevão [04o54’S 39o08’W],

the last about 45 km from Baturité) dot the area.Now largely denuded, these ranges formerlysupported lushier vegetation, as documented byearlier visitors22, and are the probable source of thespecimens (the old monastery at Serra do Estevãowas an obligatory stop for travellers heading toQuixadá22), as the birds would have been capable ofoverflying the 15-km dry stretch between theserras do Machado and do Céu, where Quixadá lies.

Additionally, the often overlooked work ofAntonio Bezerra Meneses10 describes a P. griseipec-tus he was given at Tianguá (03o40’S 40o57’W), c.70km north of Ipú and also in the eastern Serra deIbiapaba, although the specimen has subsequentlybeen lost. Also, based on sight records, the specieshas been reported from Murici25, a montane foresttract in Alagoas (c.09o15’S 35o50’W), but not fromnearby lowland forest17. It is interesting that thecoordinates provided by Teixeira et al.25 for Murici(09o47’S 36o50’W) actually lie near Palmeira dosÍndios, close to the well-known Pedra TalhadaBiological Reserve.

Several small massifs in northern Ceará mayhold (or held until recently) populations of P.griseipectus. Local people in the Serra de Aratanha(03o58’S 38o39’W) have reported to WS the presenceof a ‘wholly dirty’ or ‘painted’ parakeet, whilstsimilar descriptions were made by inhabitants ofthe Serra do Machado. Interviews made by CA inthe Serra de Maranguape (formerly Serra doCastelo; 03o52’S 38o43’W) resulted in detaileddescriptions agreeing with P. griseipectus. The birdswere described by elders, who informed CA that themost recent sightings were 15–20 years ago. Ofcourse such reports are unproven.

The confirmed localities are montane (above500 m) humid forest enclaves in the otherwisesemi-arid north-east Brazil. These wet areas areknown in the Brazilian literature as ‘brejos’ or‘brejos de altitude’. Brejos receive orographic rainsbecause of their altitude and situation relative tothe prevailing moisture-laden winds, and are cladin humid forests within areas facing the winds.These grade into semi-deciduous forest andeventually into dry, xeric caatingas in lower areas.The Serra de Ibiapaba is a sandstone plateauaveraging 750 m, where rainfall is 1,400–2,000mm/p.a., depending on the locality. Serra doBaturité, peaking at 1,114 m, is a granite massifwhere annual rainfall is c.1,500–1,700 mm, approx-imately three times that at lower altitudes. Thehumid forests atop the Baturité massif form acontinuous canopy c.20 m tall, with someemergents. Common tree species in less disturbedareas are Myrcia multiflora, Byrsonima sericea,Clusia nemorosa, Casearia guianensis andStryphnodendron purpureum3.


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The brejos of Ceará harbour several inverte-brate, reptile and bird taxa with both Atlantic andAmazonian affinities2, including many endemics,and can be considered part of theAmazonian–Atlantic forest crossroads in north-eastBrazil and a remnant of a larger forested area informer periods. P. griseipectus, being close to P. pictaof northern Brazil and Guianas, is one testament tosuch exchange.

The Serra Negra is a relict sedimentary plateau800 m wide and 3 km long and 800–1,036 m high.The top of the plateau is covered in dense forestwith emergents reaching 35 m. Conspicuous treespecies are the large Manilkara salzmanii(Sapotaceae), Trichilia emarginata (Meliaceae),Albizia polycepha (Mimosaceae), Gallesia integrifo-lia (Phytolaccaceae), Myrcia falax, M. multiflora(Myrtaceae) and Terminalia brasiliensis(Combretaceae). Myrtaceae bearing fruit eaten bybirds are common. There is low similarity betweenforest atop the plateau and semi-deciduous forestsof lower areas20.

ThreatsThere is no estimate of the original forest coveragein the mountains that P. griseipectus inhabits. Dataon current forest cover are also scarce, withestimates of just 13% of original forest coverremaining in the Baturité massif in the early1990s5.

All forested massifs in Ceará have seen theirforests cut for shade-coffee plantations and this isthe most traditional activity in areas like Baturité,where the coffee is shaded mainly by fast-growingInga trees. Sugarcane was formerly an importantculture, but has declined, as has cultivation of fruittrees. In 1972–74, the Brazilian Coffee Instituteattempted to eradicate shade coffee plantations andturn them into sun coffee. The coffee varietiesimported to the region failed to adapt and theprogramme was abandoned causing an economiccrisis, but not before increased deforestation hadswept the area5.

P. griseipectus has long been kept by avicultur-ists, as evidenced by the type being a cagebird.Crates of wild-caught birds from Baturité werecommonly seen for sale at Parangaba fair inFortaleza until ten years ago (L. W. Lima-Verdepers. comm.) and, although the species is now veryrare, there is still trade in wild birds. The ubiquityof caged conures among amateur bird fanciersthroughout north-east Brazil (and more seriousbreeders worldwide) is one of the main causes of thespecies’ decline.

A number of protected areas have been decreedwithin the range of P. griseipectus, mostly in theBaturité massif. The state-run Serra de BaturitéEnvironmental Protection Area (APA) was created

in 1990 covering 32,690 ha in seven municipalities.This area category is similar to IUCN category Vand, in practice, has been of little use for conserva-tion as it imposes few restrictions on land use andeven urban areas are included in APAs.

Guaramiranga Ecological Park was decreed bythe Ceará state government in 1979, covering 3,320ha in Guaramiranga and Pacoti. In the smallsatellite mountains north of Baturité, another APAwas decreed in 1998 by the state government, atSerra da Aratanha (6,448 ha), whilst Aratanhamunicipality decreed all areas above 100 m beincluded within an APA.

In the Ibiapaba massif, there is a 1,592-ha APAdecreed by the federal government, and the state-run 3,485 ha APA Bica do Ipu. Additionally,Ubajara National Park (now covering some 5,000ha) was decreed in 1959 and has beenimplemented. It protects some humid forest, butthere is no available information on the presence ofP. griseipectus in the park. Indeed, current evidencesuggests that P. griseipectus may be extinct in theIbiapaba massif. If so, Ubajara is a naturalcandidate area for a reintroduction project.

The very disjunct population of P. griseipectusin Pernambuco occurs in the Serra Negra BiologicalReserve (1,100 ha), a federal protected area for over50 years. Nevertheless there is an ever-possiblethreat of Serra Negra losing its protected status asthe Kambiwá and Pipipã people, currentlyinhabiting a 27,500-ha Indian land adjacent to thereserve, consider it part of their territory withreligious significance, and have demanded itsinclusion within their indigenous land on severaloccasions. Currently, the Kambiwá have access tothe reserve for specific purposes, but it is uncertainif this arrangement will persist. Also, the region isrenowned for chronic violence, the result of acombination of local culture and marijuanaplantations, so there is limited control over thereserve and field work there is deemed very unsafe.There are no recent records of the species in thisarea, although it was reportedly common in theearly 1980s (A. G. Coelho pers. comm.).

As witnessed, most known sites for P. griseipec-tus are within APAs, thus conservation of habitatsrelies more on the will of landowners than on legalenforcement. Fortunately, the Baturité massif isstrategic in the water supply of the state capital,Fortaleza, and the need to conserve water sourcesand that shade coffee outperforms sun coffee meansthere is real incentive for retaining some forestcover5.

Status and ecologyBased on current records, there are two confirmedareas where P. griseipectus still occurs (the Baturitémassif and Serra Negra Biological Reserve) and at


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least another three where it probably does so butfor which proof is lacking (serras de Aratanha,Maranguape and Machado). There are no data onthe species’ current status in the Ibiapaba massif,including Ubajara National Park.

The species has not been found at Murici(Alagoas) despite monthly field work by WSthroughout 2002 and 2003. J. F. Pacheco (in litt.2004) reported watching a group of six Pyrrhura inflight there on 4 January 1991 that could have beengriseipectus, athough plumage details were notobserved. This is the last such record from Muriciand it is possible such birds were the result ofreleases of confiscated birds by environmentalagencies, a common practice that has resulted bothin puzzling records and range extensionsthroughout the country. The possibility that thespecies occurs at Pedra Talhada Biological Reservealso requires investigation, and a fairly large rangenear the Serra Negra, which appears in satelliteimages to be forest-covered (the Serra do Arapuá),should also be explored for P. griseipectus and otherbrejo species.

Present evidence suggests P. griseipectus has arelict distribution, being a genuine endemic of thebrejos, the forested ‘sky islands’ amid the xericcaatinga of north-east Brazil and (should theMurici records ever prove to relate to indigenousbirds) high-altitude forest enclaves. The disjunctpopulation at the small Serra Negra suggests theformer range was more extensive, but is now muchreduced by loss of forest cover both through humanagency and climate change.

The sole available information on the ecology ofP. griseipectus comes from Baturité24. The nestingseason is February–May. One nest was found inApril, 8 m high in a 30-cm diameter hollowed Ingabahiensis. The nest cavity was 31 cm deep and12 cm wide, with a 6-cm round entrance. Clutchsize is 2–4 and one egg measured 25.1 ↔ 19.9 mmand weighed 5.4 g. Young are drabber coloured, andattain plumage similar to adults after their secondyear.

The conures use the higher strata of humid andsemi-deciduous forests, and shade coffeeplantations, but there is no information on relativeuse of different habitats. Reported foods are thefruit of the legume Inga bahiensis (a tender-seededspecies with sweet pulp), seeds of the euphorbCroton sp., and fruits of cultivated Byrsonima sp.,Syzigium jambolanum and Eryobotria japonica.

That P. griseipectus has been long considered amere subspecies and new taxonomic treatmentshave been slow to gain acceptance have made itsplight invisible to conservationists, and certainlyprevented its study becoming a matter of import.From the limited information available, wildpopulations are in a dire situation and it may prove

to be among the most threatened Neotropicalparrots. We still know very little concerning itsprecise range, populations and specific threats, andsuch baseline data are urgently required to plan forthe species’ conservation.

More positively, P. griseipectus breeds well incaptivity and is held in some numbers both inBrazil and abroad. Thus, it is one of the few speciesof parrots where captive-breeding may play asignificant role in restoring wild populations.Nevertheless, captive populations need to bemanaged in a coordinated way in order to maintaintheir genetic diversity and assure their long-termviability. It is hoped this paper, by revealing theconservation plight of the species, will promptaction by private aviculturists and zoological parkassociations.

AcknowledgementsLeo Joseph made relevant suggestions on an earlierversion of this paper. We are grateful to Luís FábioSilveira (Museu Zoologia do Universidade de SãoPaulo) for providing photographs of specimens in hiscare. José Fernando Pacheco provided information onthe birds at Murici and on the actual status of P.anaca.

References1. Arndt, T. (1993) Atlas of conures. Neptune City, NJ:

TFH.2. Borges-Nojosa, D. M. & Caramaschi, U. (2003)

Composição e análise comparativa dadiversidade e das afinidades biogeográficas doslagartos e anfisbenídeos (Squamata) dos brejosnordestinos. In: Leal, I. R., Tabarelli, M. & Silva,J. M. C. (eds.) Biologia e conservação da caatinga.Recife: Ed. Universidade Federal de Pernambuco.

3. Cavalcante, A. de M. B., Soares, J. J. & Figueiredo,M. A. (2000) Comparative phytosociology of treesinusiae between contiguous forests in differentstages of succession. Rev. Bras. Biol. 60: 551–562.

4. Comitê Brasileiro de Registros Ornitológicos(2004) Lista das espécies de aves do Brasil.http://www.ib.usp.br/cbro.

5. Durán, T. A. (1996) Área de proteção ambiental: omaciço de Baturité. In: Lopes, I. V., Filho, G. S. B.,Biller, D. & Bale, M. (eds.) Gestão ambiental noBrasil: experiência e sucesso. Rio de Janeiro: Ed.Fundação Getúlio Vargas.

6. Hellmayr, C. E. (1929) A contribution to theornithology of northeastern Brazil. Publ. FieldMus. Nat. Hist., Zool. 12: 235–526.

7. Joseph, L. (2000) Beginning an end to 63 years ofuncertainty: the Neotropical parakeets known asPyrrhura picta and P. leucotis comprise morethan two species. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci.Philadelphia 150: 279–292.

8. Joseph, L. (2002) Geographical variation,taxonomy and distribution of some AmazonianPyrrhura parakeets. Orn. Neotrop. 13: 337–364.


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9. Juniper, T. & Parr, M. (1998) Parrots: a guide to theparrots of the world. New Haven: Yale UniversityPress.

10. Meneses, A. B. (1965) Notas de viagem. Fortaleza:Imprensa Universitária do Ceará.

11. Hilty, S. L. (2003) Birds of Venezuela. Princeton,NJ: Princeton University Press.

12. Ministério do Meio Ambiente (2004) Lista dasespécies da fauna brasileira ameaçadas deextinção (instrução normativa 3 de 27 de maio de2003). http://www.mma.gov.br.

13. Olmos, F., Martuscelli, P. & Silva e Silva, R. (1998)Ecology and habitat of Pfrimer’s ConurePyrrhura pfrimeri, with a reappraisal ofBrazilian Pyrrhura leucotis. Orn. Neotrop. 8:121–132.

14. Pelzeln, A. (1871) Zur ornitologie Brasiliens:resultate von Johann Natterers Reisen in denJahren 1817–1835. Wien.

15. Phelps, W. H. & Phelps, W. H. (1958) Lista de lasaves de Venezuela y su distribucíon. Bol. Soc.Venez. Cien. Nat. 19 (90): 1–317.

16. Pinto, O. M. O. (1938) Catálogo das aves do Brasile lista dos exemplares que as representam noMuseu Paulista. Rev. Mus. Paulista 22: 1–566.

17. Pinto. O. M. O. (1956) Resultados ornitológicos deduas viagens científicas ao estado de Alagoas.Pap. Avulsos Zool,. São Paulo 12: 1–98.

18. Pinto, O. M. O. (1978) Novo catálogo das aves doBrasil, 1. São Paulo: Empresa Gráfica Revistados Tribunais.

19. Pinto, O. M. O. & Camargo, E. A. (1961) Resultadosornitológicos de quatro recentes expedições dodepartamento de zoologia ao nordeste do Brasil,com a descrição de seis novas subespécies. Arq.Zool., São Paulo 11: 193–284.

20. Rodal, M. J. N. & Nascimento, L. M. (2002)Levantamento florístico da floresta serrana daReserva Biológica de Serra Negra, microrregiãode Itaparica, Pernambuco, Brasil. Acta Bot.Brasil. 16: 481–500.

21. Silva, J. M. C. (1989) Análise biogeográfica daavifauna de florestas do interflúvioAraguaia–São Francisco. M.Sc. thesis.Universidade de Brasília.

22. Sousa, J. B. (1967) Serra do Estevão: dadosgeográficos e históricos. Fundações religiosas, 2.Fortaleza: Ed. Gráfica Recol.

23. Teixeira, D. M. (1991) Revalidação de Pyrrhuraanaca (Gmelin, 1788) do nordeste do Brasil(Psittaciformes, Psitacidae). Ararajuba 2:103–104.

24. Teixeira, D. M. (1992) Notas sobre Pyrrhura a.anaca (Gmelin, 1788) no nordeste do Brasil.Resumos do II Congr. Brasil. Orn., CampoGrande.

25. Teixeira, D. M., Nacinovic, J. B. & Luigi, G. (1988)Notes on some birds of northeastern Brazil (3).Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 108: 75–79.

26. Yamashita, C. & Coelho, A. G. M. (1985) Ocorrênciade Ara maracana and Pyrrhura leucotis emSerra Negra (PE). Resumos XII Congr. Brasil.Zool., Campinas: 255–256.

Fábio OlmosBirdLife International—Programa do Brasil, AlamedaGrécia 297, 06474-010, Barueri, SP, Brazil. E-mail: [email protected].

Weber A. G. SilvaAQUASIS, Rua Praia de Iparana s/n, SESC Iparana,Caucaia, CE, Brazil. E-mail: [email protected].

Ciro AlbanoAQUASIS, Rua Praia de Iparana s/n, SESC Iparana,Caucaia, CE, Brazil. E-mail: [email protected].



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Parati is a historic town on the coast of Brazil, c.150km west-southwest of Rio de Janeiro, at 23o12’S44o43’W. Here, Parati refers to the municipality andParati town to the urban centre of that name.Numerous tourists holiday here but few ornitholo-gists visit the area, despite the Atlantic Forestbeing a very popular region for birding due to thelarge number of endemic species found there (it isthe third richest region for endemics in theNeotropics and the richest in Brazil23). Parati hasbeen neglected as a birding destination in favour ofbetter known nearby sites such as Itatiaia NationalPark and Ubatuba because of lack of bothknowledge of the avifauna and a birding infrastruc-ture. Recent ornithological exploration of Parati,described below, reveals that the avifaunacompares well with better-known areas. What isnow missing is a birding infrastructure, and I hopethat this paper will encourage its creation.

The study area is shown in Fig. 1. The munici-pality of Parati covers c.93,000 ha on the westernside of Baía da Isla Grande. It contains the south-ernmost point in Rio de Janeiro state, which is c.10km north of the Tropic of Capricorn. Parati has ac.100 km land border, c.80 km with São Paulo stateand c.20 km with the municipality of Angra dosReis. Coastline is very irregular and is c.200 km inlength. Altitude varies between 0 and c.1,850 m andc.47% of the municipality is above 500 m. A largepercentage is covered by Atlantic Forest. At lower

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The birds of Parati, south-east BrazilP.W. P. Browne

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Este estudo tem por objetivo compilar todas as informações prontamente acessíveis a respeito dasaves do município de Parati, na floresta Atlântica do sudeste do Brasil, a partir de observaçõespessoais a dados de outros. Um total de nove fontes foi utilizado para estabelecer uma lista de 379espécies. Cada espécie é comentada, quando adequado, de acordo com sua abundância, hábitat ealtitude, status de ameaça ou endemismo, fontes dos registros e tipos de evidências. Os dadostambém foram obtidos das observações pessoais, a partir do diferencial entre a detecção de espéciesflorestais pelos métodos auditivos e visuais, bem como novas datas de reprodução para algumaspoucas espécies. Espécies endêmicas da floresta Atlântica respondem por 31% de todas as espéciesregistradas em Parati e 42% de todas as espécies florestais. Nos hábitats florestais, a porcentagemde espécies endêmicas aumentou conforme a altitude, sendo c.27% ao nível do mar, até c.47% nos1.000 m. Os níveis de endemismo em Parati foram acentuadamente maiores do que os relatados naregião vizinha de Ubatuba. Até o momento, a riqueza de espécies não foi adequadamente medida,mas um novo procedimento permite isto. Uma vez que c.90% das aves florestais foram detectadasatravés das suas vocalizações, equipamentos para gravação e arquivos sonoros apropriados sãomais úteis do que instrumentos ópticos e guias de campo, em tais hábitats. Aumentos dedistribuição, tanto para migrantes Neárticos, quanto para espécies residentes são listados. Houvemudanças nos níveis de abundância para muitas aves desde 1941, com uma tendência de reduçõesrelativas para as aves maiores e aumentos, talvez como resultado de um maior nível do conheci-mento das vocalizações, para as espécies menores. Aproximadamente 52% da área de Parati estáprotegida por um parque nacional e por uma reserva ecológica, as quais, combinadas com a altaproporção de endêmicos fazem de Parati um excelente centro para a pesquisa sobre aves da florestaAtlântica.

Figure 1.The municipality of Parati showing highland andprotected areas and the main observation locations.Theboundaries of the PNSB and the REJ are approximate.


altitudes, this is much degraded, especially nearParati town, but at higher altitudes extensiverelatively undisturbed forest remains. Berla1

described the secondary forest at Pedra Branca asbeing 60 years old in 1941, and Buzzetti3 the forestat most of the sites he visited in 1997 as densetropical rain forest, but it is unknown if primaryforest remains in Parati.

Approximately 40% of the municipality iswithin the southern part of the Serra da BocainaNational Park (PNSB) and another 12% withinJoatinga Ecological Reserve (REJ). The entire REJlies in Parati and c.34% of PNSB. Nearly all landabove 500 m and all that above 1,000 m lie withinthese protected areas. In view of the serious threatsto regional avifauna from deforestation4,22, Parati,with 52% of its land area already protected, is wellsituated to play a leading role in the advancementof knowledge of Atlantic Forest birds.

MethodsI was present in Parati in the second half of March1997 and January to mid-March 2001, duringwhich periods I made 176 hours of observations inthe municipality. Field work focused on localitieswithin c.15 km of the town, accessible on foot, bybike, car, bus and boat, and usually commencedbetween 06h00 and 07h00, and continued c.4 hours,but I also made numerous short opportunisticobservations.

Sight identification, using binoculars andtelescope, was based principally on del Hoyo et al.10

for non-passerines and Ridgely & Tudor18 forpasserines, with reference to Souza24, and toRuschi20 for hummingbirds. I developed the abilityto identify birds by voice in Parati area during mystay. Prior to my arrival, I was already reasonablyfamiliar with the vocalisations of some species.From the outset, I tape-recorded unknown oruncertain vocalisations. Using field observations(some prompted by playback), cassettes of birds ofsouth-east Brazil and the Remold CD-ROM17, I wasable to learn their identity. Geographical positionswere established using a Garmin GPS andaltitudes also with this unit, as well as, moreaccurately, from 1:50,000 topographic maps(Ministério do Planejamento e Coordenação Geral,1972) with contours at 20-m intervals, using GPS-established horizontal coordinates. I kept fieldnotes on all birds detected and, each evening,entered the data for that day on spreadsheets.

I also obtained information from other ornithol-ogists who had visited Parati by personal referrals,making contact through the internet and searchingstandard works (Collar et al.4, Paynter & Traylor16

and Sick21,22). I was thus able to accumulate muchadditional information. These data were subjectedto various statistical analyses (association betweenendemism and habitat, low altitude, high altitude

and threatened status; regression of endemism onaltitude; regression of change in abundance ratingssince 1941 on body length).

Data sourcesInformation on birds in Parati was obtained fromnine sources. These were (in descending order ofnumber of species recorded by each).

1. DRCB: 302 species detected during a study inFebruary–November 1997 at 11 locations inParati by Buzzetti3. These sites are marked inFig. 1, and were scattered throughout forestedareas in the municipality, from north to south.The study also embraced seven sites in neigh-bouring Angra dos Reis, but only Parati recordsare used here. The total number of hours ofobservation in both municipalities was 210 butthe number in Parati is unknown (if propor-tional to the number of sites investigated it wasc.130 hours).

2. PWPB: 206 species during 176 hours in March1997 and January–March 2001 by myself anddescribed in the methodology section above. The12 main locations were all in the south of themunicipality and encompassed varied habitats.They are marked in Fig. 1.

Other locations: JM, HR and DB (sources 3, 4and 6) made most of their observations in Paratitown and up to c.10 km along the Cunha road thatextends west from the town (precise locationsunknown). This area corresponds roughly to the sixPWPB locations west of Parati town (Fig. 1). Inaddition, JM made observations at Patrimônio, c.10km south of Parati town, and HR at a location nearthe most northerly of the PWPB sites. The localitiesof observations in sources 7–9 are unknown.

3. JM: 156 species detected by J. Minns (pers.comm.) during seven days in the years1995–2003.

4. HR: 140 species detected by Remold17 (pers.comm.) during three days in 1994.

5. HFB: 107 species known from specimenscollected at Pedra Branca (a montane areabetween and just to the north of the two DRCBsites, situated 7 and 12 km north-west of Paratitown), by H. F. Berla between 1940 and 1968.Skins of 101 of these species are in the MuseuNacional do Rio de Janeiro1,12 and those of 28species in the Natural History Museum of LosAngeles county (Paynter & Traylor16, K. Garrettpers. comm.).

6. DB: 74 species detected by Don & Peg Burlett(pers. comm.), with Ricardo Parrini as guide, on15–17 April 2000.

7. JFP: 73 species recorded from Parati by J. F.Pacheco, R. Parrini, D. R. C. Buzzetti, B. M.

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Whitney, C. Bauer & P. S. M. Fonseca, inaddition to those listed in Buzzetti3 (50 speciesin Pacheco et al.12 and 23 species by J. F.Pacheco pers. comm.).

8. RDB (Red Data Book)4: seven threatenedspecies recorded in Parati by diverse observersup to 1992.

9. HS: five species mentioned for Parati in theEnglish version of Sick22.

The total effort expended in the ornithologicalexploration of Parati by these sources probablyamounts to c.500 hours or what could comfortablybe devoted to such work by one observer during oneyear.

Results The total number of species recorded in Parati is379 (listed in Appendix 1). Nomenclature andtaxonomy follow the Comitê Brasileiro de RegistrosOrnitológicos (CBRO) list (augmented withPortuguese names). Each species is annotatedaccording to apparent abundance, habitat, altitude(except 11) and sources. Some also have indicationsif they are threatened or endemic, and if evidencecategories are known. Annotations weredetermined as follows.

A. Apparent abundanceThis required some consideration as so manysources of information were used. Three measuresof species abundance were calculated, thenweighted, averaged and scaled to acquire an overallapparent abundance index whose value (lowestabundance to highest) was 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. Theadjective ‘apparent’ was used, as the index isneither an absolute, nor a valid comparativeindication of species density. The index wascompiled from the observations of manyindividuals, without common methodology toestimate abundance, and some did not recordcommonly detected species. Recording all speciesencountered is important to avoid bias. However,the index does provide an indication of the relativeease with which a species may be located in Parati,within its preferred habitat and altitudinal range.

The first two of the three measures were givenequal weight and were based on the data of DRCBand PWPB, who were the only observers to providecomplete locality data and to record all speciesencountered. Location data enabled records to betied, in most cases, to habitat and altitude, each ofwhich has a critical effect upon species occurrence.These abundance measures were calculated basedupon the preferred habitat and altitude of eachspecies. In the case of DRCB, the measure was thepercentage of localities in the preferred habitat andaltitudinal range at which the species wasrecorded. For PWPB, it was the percentage of days

that the species was recorded in the preferredhabitat and altitudinal range. The third measurewas the number of the other sources reporting aspecies. Because of unquantifiable biases in thismeasure, arising from the non-recording of commonspecies, this measure was given half the weight ofthe other two. However, it ensured that all species,even those not recorded by DRCB or PWPB,contributed to the index.

B. HabitatIn Appendix 1, the habitats in which each specieswas found are indicated. Mostly only one habitat isgiven, but when more than one is listed, they arepresented in order of frequency. Habitat codes inparentheses indicate presumed habitats, when Ipossessed no indication of actual habitat from thesource. Habitat classification is based on Parker etal.15, with four designations: forest, non-forest,aquatic and built-up. Each is described further inAppendix 1. Buzzetti3 provided detailed descrip-tions of forest habitats at his sites in Parati.

C. AltitudeAltitude exerts great influence on the avifauna ofParati, and was the main topic addressed byBuzzetti3. For all personal observations, I recordedaltitude at which they were made. Such data wereavailable for some, but not all, observations fromother sources (Buzzetti3 presented sites at whicheach species was recorded and the altitudinal rangeof each site, but some of these ranges are consider-able making it impossible to be precise concerningthe altitude of some of his observations). However, Ihave determined for all but 11 species of the 379 ifthey were detected above or below 500 m, and thisinformation is presented in Appendix 1. Table 1shows the totals found in each altitudinal range.

D. Threatened speciesThe threat classification for each species is shownin Appendix 1, as defined in the list of globallythreatened bird species on BirdLife International’swebsite (http://www.birdlife.net/action/science/species/globally_tbu/), wherein 14 species areconsidered threatened and 19 near threatened.

E. Endemic speciesAlso indicated are species endemic to the AtlanticForest region based on Parker et al.15, modified

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Table 1. Number of species in altitudinal ranges (of 368 forwhich altitude is known).

Altitudinal range Total number of Number of speciesspecies in range exclusively in this range

<500 m 323 167>500 m 200 44Both <500 m and >500 m 156 156


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where necessary to bring taxonomy in line with theCBRO list. Endemics numbered 116, 31% of thetotal number of species detected in Parati.However, all endemic species are also entirely orprimarily forest species (according to habitat asindicated in Appendix 1), and forest speciesnumbered 274, making 42% of them endemic.

F. SourcesThe source numbers listed above are presented inAppendix 1 for each species. The maximum numberof sources reporting a species was seven (of nine). Atotal 86 species was recorded by only a singlesource.

G. Evidence categoriesA description of each category is presented inAppendix 1. Categories are given for all species,except those included solely on the basis of one ormore of the four literature sources (1, 7, 8 and 9),apart from a few specimens mentioned therein.Evidence categories were thus determined forc.80% of species. Categories given for a species arethose reported by all sources, except that categoryH (vocalisation heard but not recorded) is used onlywhen it was the sole evidence category.

DetectionDuring my stay in Parati (January–March 2001), Iidentified 308 individual birds of 54 species byvocalisation alone (i.e. heard but not seen). Table 2shows figures for the seven commonest forestspecies of the 54.

Discussion

Rare speciesOf the 379 species reported in Parati, 48% (182) areclassed as rare, scarce or local (apparent abundance= 1 in Appendix 1). This is unsurprising in view ofGoerck’s5 finding that 68% of species in the AtlanticForest of Brazil are rare, and that 86 of the 379species known in Parati were identified by only oneof the nine sources. Of course, there is the

possibility that some single-source species weremisidentified, and these species are most needingconfirmation from Parati. A probable occurrence ofthe Harpy Eagle Harpia harpyja has been reportedin Parati13 but is not included in the appendixbecause of uncertainty expressed by the observer.

It is noteworthy that, as is clear from Fig. 1,only a small part of the municipality has beenexplored ornithologically, and only c.500observation hours have been devoted to this work.Some 682 species are known from the AtlanticForest region23; thus we can assume that furtherexploration will yield more species.

EndemismThe Atlantic Forest region has the highest number(199) of endemics of any region in Brazil and thethird most in the Neotropics, after the CentralAndes with 216 and Northern Andes with 22223.Because of the interest of visiting birders inendemics and because of their intrinsic biologicalinterest, I have undertaken my most detailedanalysis on these species. Some 31% of all speciesand 42% of forest species in Parati are endemic,compared to 40% endemic species in a forest studyat Ubatuba6.

Table 3 reveals the association betweenendemism and four other biological factors (habitat,low altitude, high altitude, threatened status) inAppendix 1, obtained by cross-tabulatingendemism with each of these factors in turn, andtesting the resulting contingency table for statisti-cally significant departure from chance distributionby the Chi-squared test. All were highly significant(p < .0001).

Of the effects connected with endemism inTable 3, two are quite expected: those of habitat andthreatened status. Regarding habitat, sinceendemic species are those restricted to the AtlanticForest region, it is unsurprising that they occur inforest. However, the very close relationship isperhaps unexpected. Only 11 of the 116 endemics(9.5%) appeared to occur outside forest: Maroon-

Table 2. Percentage of individual birds detected only by vocal-isations.

Species Total Number % number heard heard detected only only

Red-eyed Vireo Vireo chivi 67 56 84Spot-breasted Antvireo Dysithamnus stictothorax 39 34 87Ferruginous Antbird Drymophila ferruginea 28 22 79White-shouldered Fire-eye Pyriglena leucoptera 26 22 85Rufous-browed Peppershrike Cyclarhis gujanensis 17 15 88Lemon-chested Greenlet Hylophilus thoracicus 16 14 88Blue Manakin Chiroxiphia caudata 13 12 92

Table 3. Association of endemism with the other biologicalfactors in Appendix 1.

Annotation Observed effect on endemism

Habitat Endemics were found only or primarily in forest(all in habitats f, (f), and fn except for 1 in b).

Low altitude (<500 m) Endemic species were fewer at low altitudes thanwould be expected if endemism were independentof altitude.

High altitude (>500 m) Endemic species were more numerous at highaltitudes than would be expected if endemismwere independent of altitude.

Threatened species Threatened species were nearly all endemics (32of 33).


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bellied Parakeet Pyrrhura frontalis, Plain ParakeetBrotogeris tirica, Black Jacobin Melanotrochilusfuscus, Sombre Hummingbird Aphantochroacirrhochloris, Yellow-fronted WoodpeckerMelanerpes flavifrons, Spot-breasted AntvireoDysithamnus stictothorax, Ferruginous AntbirdDrymophila ferruginea, White-shouldered Fire-eyePyriglena leucoptera, Red-eyed ThornbirdPhacellodomus erythrophthalmus, Blue ManakinChiroxiphia caudata and Brazilian TanagerRamphocelus bresilius. All of these except A.cirrhochloris were fairly common to abundant andthe majority I detected were in forest, but I alsodetected some in open country with scattered treesor scrub, perhaps indicating adaptation to defor-estation. Goerck5 discovered that 8.5% of endemicsin the Atlantic Forest region used disturbedhabitats. A. cirrhochloris were found at feederswithin an open-plan restaurant (hence in a built-uparea) but the restaurant is surrounded by forest.

That threatened status is associated withendemic species is well known, because endemismis itself associated with risk indicators such assmall range size, ancient isolates, small populationsize, habitat choice and habitat sensitivity5,10.

The effects of low and high altitudes onendemism are interesting, as they appear at first tocontradict the findings of the only comparable

study of which I am aware: Goerck6 in Ubatuba,which is c.45 km south-west of Parati town, on thecoast of São Paulo state. Using point count data,she found larger numbers of endemic species at lowaltitudes than at high altitudes, which seemsopposite to Table 3. I have no similar data fromParati, as the only source to use point count datawas Buzzetti3, and, in relation to this, he did notseparate endemic species in his published analysis.However, in comparing percentages, rather thannumbers, of endemic species at different altitudes,it is apparent that my results correspond to thosefrom Ubatuba. In both areas, the percentage ofendemics increased with altitude. I have calculatedpercentage of endemic species in lowland andhighland forest from my own data (Table 4), and thepercentage of endemic species in relation to allforest species at each of Buzzetti’s3 11 sites(Table 5).

Both tables reveal a higher degree of endemismat higher altitudes than lower. Regression analysis,performed upon the data in Table 5, estimated thatat sea level degree of species endemism was 24%and that it increased by 2.3% over every 100-mincrease in altitude. The rate of increase was statis-tically significant (t = 3.17, d. f. = 9, .01 < p < .02).

Goerck’s6 Ubatuba data, as shown in Table 6,corresponds. It shows that the effect of altitude onpercentage of endemic species occurred even inprimary forest, where Goerck’s study wasconducted, and was not just an artefact of greaterforest disturbance at lower altitudes.

The increase in percentage of endemic birdswith altitude in the Neotropics was remarked byStotz et al.23. For the Atlantic Forest region, theyfound 34% endemic species in lowland and 55% inmontane forests, corresponding well with the twoindependent estimates from Parati: Buzzetti’s data3

gave 24% at sea level and 47% at 1,000 m, whilstmine gave 29% in lowland forest and 47% inmontane forest. At Ubatuba, in contrast, althoughpercentages increased with altitude, they did so toa lesser extent (24% to 32%).

Species richnessOther than degree of endemism, species richness isan important biological parameter in deciding onmeasures for environmental protection25. Thus far,there are no good measures of species richness inParati, which is a common problem in theNeotropics25. Statistical software packages are nowavailable that can utilise point count data, such asthose collected by Buzzetti3 and Goerck6 to makemany kinds of estimates (including error estimates)of species richness. The comparative merits of theseestimates were analysed by Walther & Martin25. Irecommend that future studies of avian

Table 4. Endemism and altitude at Parati: own data.

Altitude (m) All species Endemic species % endemicLowland forest (0–200) 119 35 29Higher forest (900–1,100) 49 23 47

Table 5. Endemism and altitude at Parati: DRCB’s3 data.

Site number Mean altitude All Endemic % endemic(m) species species

1 1 33 1 32 10 68 5 75 15 115 38 336 1 98 25 268 230 108 36 3310 165 82 41 5011 600 107 40 3715 380 80 32 4016 1,000 92 43 4717 875 106 50 4718 1,650 50 29 58

Table 6. Endemism and altitude at Ubatuba: Goerck’s6 data.

Altitude (m) Mean number of species during point countsAll Endemic % endemic

0–100 11.2 2.7 24100–950 7.0 2.0 29950–1,150 3.7 1.2 32


communities in the region incorporate suchestimates.

DetectionThe majority of birds in Parati inhabit forest and,among commoner species, I detected c.90% ofindividuals by vocalisation rather than sight, acommon phenomenon in forests. Tape-recordingsthat can be replayed later for identification arevaluable adjuncts to immediate field recognition.Parker14 recounted that, during a forest survey inAmazonian Bolivia in which 287 species were foundby seven experienced ornithologists during 54 daysof intensive field work (including 36,804 mist-nethours), he tape-recorded 85% of the species withinone week, and presented guidelines for conductingsuch work. Buzzetti3 and Goerck6 utilised suchmethods in their surveys.

For identifying forest birds at Parati, birdsound archives are much more useful than fieldguides, and a tape-recorder more useful thanbinoculars. I have not found descriptions of vocali-sations in field guides and other publicationsparticularly useful compared to sound-recordings.South-east Brazil has not been especially wellserved with publically available material of thistype until very recently. Buzzetti3 used privatearchives for identifying his field recordings.However, the first Remold CD-ROM17 waspublished in 2001 and covers c.50% of species likelyto be heard in the region, including some of themost difficult to identify. Other CDs or CD-ROMshave been7 or are in the process of being prepared(e.g. the second Remold disk, covering theremainder of the passerines, was expected to bepublished in May 2005: H. Remold pers. comm.).

Breeding dataThe following dates extend the known breedingseason of four species in south-east Brazil. Rufous-tailed Jacamar Galbula ruficauda: an apparentlyoccupied nest, 26 February, compared with‘Sept–Dec in Brazil (Minas Gerais)’10; Yellow-chinned Spinetail Certhiaxis cinnamomea: anapparently occupied nest February–Marchcompared with ‘eggs in Oct in S Brazil’9; Red-eyedThornbird Phacellodomus erythrophthalmus: twocertainly and one probably occupied nestsJanuary–March, compared with ‘breeding seasonprobably during austral spring–summer’9; andBlack-cheeked Gnateater Conopophagamelanops: male carrying food, 7 February,compared with ‘breeding Oct and Nov in S half ofrange’9.

Range extensionsBuzzetti3 reported range extensions for severalspecies, of which perhaps the most notable was theglobally threatened Black-hooded Antwren

Formicivora erythronotos, formerly known onlyfrom Angra dos Reis but now also from Parati.

Range extensions I recorded were as follows.Picazuro Pigeon Columba picazuro: up to 110roosted in mangroves by Parati town, 7 January–3March 2001. This species invades deforested areasand exploits urban areas10, which may explain itsapparent recent arrival in Parati. Band-wingedNightjar Caprimulgus longirostris: calling atdawn in high grassland at c.1,100 m on the Cunharoad, on 17 February 2001. Minute HermitPhaethornis idaliae: one in forest, at 100 m, nearLaranjeiras, on 1 February 2001. Sick22 depictedthe species’ distribution as penetrating Rio deJaneiro state, but not as far south as Parati. Tail-banded Hornero Furnarius figulus: one atTrindade beside a sandy freshwater lagoon c.100 mfrom the sea, on 16 February 2001. According toRidgely & Tudor18 this species has spread to Rio deJaneiro state from the north. My record is just 2 kmfrom the São Paulo state border.

The occurrence of highland birds at lowaltitudes in Parati had already been remarked byBuzzetti3 for five species, and I noted three furtherexamples: Blue-billed Black-tyrant Knipoleguscyanirostris (10 January 2001, 100 m), Rufous-capped Antshrike Thamnophilus ruficapillus(2 February 2001, 150 m) and Fawn-breastedTanager Pipraeidea melanonota (10 March 2001,50 m).

MigrationNearctic migrants. Spotted Sandpiper Actitismacularius was the only northern winter residentshorebird, being fairly common on rocky shores andin mangrove channels. Passage migrant shorebirdswere Semipalmated Plover Charadrius semipalma-tus, White-rumped Sandpiper Calidris fuscicollisand Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres. Parati(and much of the coast between Rio de Janeiro andSão Paulo) was not included in aerial shorebirdsurveys conducted 1982–86 in coastal SouthAmerica, because the precipitous coastline wasconsidered unlikely to host many winteringshorebirds11.

Common Tern Sterna hirundo was seen 18January–17 March 2001 in groups of up to 150offshore and on flats at low tide at Parati town.Though this species has not been recorded at Paratiby other observers, its presence is not surprising assouthern Brazil and Argentina are the mostimportant wintering grounds in the WesternHemisphere for adult Common Terns2.

Olive-sided Flycatcher Contopus borealis—three observations of singles: on 3 February 2001 inopen forest at 150 m (PWPB); 10 March 1994 (HR)and 10 November 1990 (JFP), the latter two below500 m. These observations tie in well with c.10records in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states

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between 10 November and 18 March (1983–90) ataltitudes of 100–1,400 m26. Although there arerecords for all months November–March, c.70%occurred in November or March, perhaps indicatingpassage.

Purple Martin Progne subis—one on a roof inParati town 6 February 2001. The large concentra-tions noted in northern São Paulo state8,18 are not afeature in Parati, and this appears to be the soleFebruary record in Rio de Janeiro state22.

Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica—six on passagealong the shore at Parati town 6 March 2001.

Cliff Swallow Hirundo pyrrhonota—reported12

on 23 September 1992, and by Buzzetti3 (dateunknown).

Austral migrants. As my observations weremade during the austral summer, I did not obtainpersonal exposure to austral migrants, nor toaltitudinal movements downslope, which occur inthe austral winter at Parati (e.g. Blue-belliedParrot Triclaria malachitacea22, Black-and-goldCotinga Tijuca atra1,22 and Yellow-legged ThrushPlatycichla flavipes1).

Abundance rating changes since 1941I compared the abundance of various speciespresented in the present paper (rare, fairlycommon, common, very common, abundant) tothose reported by Berla1 over 60 years ago. Of 93species in Berla’s paper, he rated abundance of 43using similar descriptors (raro, bastante comun,comun, muito comun, abundate). These ratingshave been allocated the same numerical values of1–5 respectively as used in Appendix 1.

There is no statistically significant correlationbetween the two abundance ratings for the 43species (t = 0.98, d. f. = 41, .5 < p < .2). However,there were many changes in abundance ratings for

individual species. These have been calculatednumerically: e.g. a change from abundante to fairlycommon is -3, and from raro to common is +2.Table 7 lists the species for each change.

On average, as is evident from Table 7,abundance ratings changed by -1. This could be realor due to different methods of assessment used byBerla and myself. However, the change ofabundance rating varies from -4 to +2 in differentspecies. To explain this broad spread, I used threevariables: threatened status, endemic status andbody size. Threatened or near-threatened speciesare indicated by * and endemic species by +.Threatened and endemic species do not seem to behave been obviously impacted, as indicated by theirbroad spread in Table 7. However, larger speciesappeared, on average, to have been negativelyaffected. This was confirmed by a statisticallysignificant regression (t = 2.87, d. f. = 41, p < .01) ofthe (negative) change in abundance ratings on thelength of the bird (taken from del Hoyo et al.10 andRidgely & Tudor18). Species with negative changesin abundance ratings, among this sample of 43species, included all three tinamous, one wood-quail, one wood-rail and one quail-dove, perhapsindicating that hunting has been a factor in thesechanges. In 1941, Parati was difficult of access fromthe rest of the state, but a highway was constructedin the 1970s3, perhaps resulting in increasedhunting pressure. Another factor tending to givesmaller species increased abundance ratings (e.g.Iodopleura pipra and Hemitriccus furcatus) isalmost certainly likely to be the much-increasedknowledge of vocalisations compared to 1941.

AcknowledgementsTo the sources that kindly permitted me access to theirrecords. To my friends in Parati: Sabina Wenzel for

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Table 7. Species showing various changes in abundance ratings since 1941.

Change in abundance ratings-4 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2

-Chamaeza campanisona -Tinamus solitarius*+ -Micrastur ruficollis -Crypturellus obsoletus -Batara cinerea -Megarynchus pitangua -Hemitriccus furcatus*+-Crypturellus tataupa -Aramides saracura+ -Rupornis magnirostris -Drymophila ferruginea+ -Notiochelidon cyanoleuca -Myiozetetes similis-Geotrygon montana -Lochmias nematura -Knipolegus cyanirostris -Myiodynastes maculates -Euphonia pectoralis+-Baillonius bailloni*+ -Mionectes rufiventris+ -Odontophorus capueira+ -Iodopleura pipra*+

-Tijuca atra*+ -Platycichla flavipes -Piaya cayana -Cyclarhis gujanensis-Geothlypis aequinoctialis -Phaethornis ruber -Hemithraupis ruficapilla+-Cacicus haemorrhous -Trogon viridis -Ramphocelus bresilius

-Notharchus macrorhynchus -Thraupis sayaca-Synallaxis ruficapilla+

-Automolus leucophthalmus+-Dendrocincla turdina+

-Colonia colonus-Oxyruncus cristatus

-Turdus albicollis-Tachyphonus coronatus+-Tangara cyanocephala+-Sporophila caerulescens


hospitality during 1997 and 2001, and access to herhummingbird book; Edmund & Martha Raas forconsistent help and encouragement, including accessto their property; Hans & Adaline König for advice onbirding areas near Parati, permitting me to park mybike in their shed and for many cold drinks followingmy walks; Werner Ploch for trips in his yacht anddetours for birds; Christophe Collet for his topographicmaps of Parati which are out of print; Ney PintoFuanya, director of IBAMA in Parati, for introducingme to some excellent birding locations and to a knowl-edgeable guide; Luiz Eduardo Pontual Marx forsharing his knowledge of the birds of Parati; andRachel Ribas for access to her garden. Jeremy Minns,Fernando Pacheco and Kimball Garrett sent importantreference material. My wife Shirley suffered, withunderstanding, my early risings and protractedabsences whilst in Parati.

References1. Berla, H. F. (1944) Lista das colecionadas em Pedra

Branca, municipio de Parati, estado do Rio deJaneiro, com algumas notas sôbre sua biologia.Bol. Mus. Nac. Rio de Janeiro 18.

2. Bugoni, L. & Vooren, C. M. (2004) Feeding ecologyof the Common Tern Sterna hirundo in awintering area in southern Brazil. Ibis 146:438–453.

3. Buzzetti, D. R. C. (2000) Distribuição altitudinal deaves em Angra dos Reis e Parati, sul do estado doRio de Janeiro, Brasil. In: Alves, M. A. S., Silva, J.M. C., van Sluys, M., Godoy Bergallo, H. & Rocha,C. F. D. (eds.) A ornitologia no Brasil: pesquisaatual e perspectivas. Rio de Janeiro: Ed.Universidade do Rio de Janeiro.

4. Collar, N. J., Gonzaga, L. P., Krabbe, N., MadroñoNieto, A., Naranjo, L. G., Parker, T. A. & Wege, D.C. (1992) Threatened birds of the Americas: theICBP/IUCN Red Data Book. Washington DC:Smithsonian Institution Press.

5. Goerck, J. M. (1997) Patterns of rarity in the birdsof the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. Conserv. Biol. 11:112–118.

6. Goerck, J. M. (1999) Distribution of birds along anelevational gradient in the Atlantic forest ofBrazil: implications for the conservation ofendemic and endangered species. Bird Conserv.Intern. 9: 235–253.

7. Gonzaga, L. P. & Castiglioni, G. (2001) Aves dasmontanhas do sudeste do Brasil. CD. Rio deJaneiro: Arquivo Sonoro Prof. Elias Coelho.

8. Hill, J. B. (1995) Thousands of martins killed.Purple Martin Update 6: 2–3.

9. del Hoyo, J, Elliott, A. & Christie, D. A. (eds.) (2003)Handbook of the birds of the world, 8. Barcelona:Lynx Edicions.

10. del Hoyo, J, Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. (eds.)(1992–2002) Handbook of the birds of the world,1–7. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.

11. Morrison, R. I. G. & Ross, R. K. (1989) Atlas ofNearctic shorebirds on the coast of SouthAmerica. Canadian Wildlife Service Spec. Publ.Ottawa: Canadian Wildlife Service.

12. Pacheco, J. F., Parrini, R., Whitney, B. M., Bauer, C.& Fonseca, P. S. M. (2000) Novos registros de avespara o estado do Rio de Janeiro: Costa Verde.Atualidades Orn. 78: 4.

13. Pacheco, J. F., Fonseca, P. S. M. & Parrini, R. (2003)Coletânea cronológica de registros recentes deHarpia harpyja (L) para os estados do Rio deJaneiro e Espírito Santo. Atualidades Orn. 111:7.

14. Parker, T. A. (1991) On the use of tape recorders inavifaunal surveys. Auk 108: 443–444.

15. Parker, T. A., Stotz, D. F. & Fitzpatrick, J. W. (1996)Ecological and distributional databases. In:Stotz, D. F., Fitzpatrick, J. W., Parker, T. A. &Moskovits, D. K. Neotropical birds: ecology andconservation. Chicago: University of ChicagoPress.

16. Paynter, R. A. & Traylor, M. A. (1991)Ornithological gazetteer of Brazil. Cambridge,MA: Mus. Comp. Zool., Harvard University.

17. Remold, H. (2001) The land birds of southeastBrazil. Disc 2. CD-ROM. Quincy, MA: GGSoftware.

18. Ridgely, R. S. & Tudor, G. (1989, 1994) The birds ofSouth America, 1–2. Austin: University of TexasPress.

19. Ruschi, A. (1951) Tochilideos no Museu Nacional.Bol. Mus. Biol. Prof. Mello-Leitão, Biol. 10.

20. Ruschi, A. (1982) Beija-flores do estado do EspíritoSanto. Santa Teresa: Ed. Rios Ltda.

21. Sick, H. (1985) Ornitologia brasileira: umaintrodução. Brasília: Ed. Universidade deBrasília.

22. Sick, H. (1993) Birds in Brazil: a natural history.Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

23. Stotz, D. F., Fitzpatrick, J. W., Parker, T. A. &Moskovits, D. K. (1996) Neotropical birds: ecologyand conservation. Chicago: University of ChicagoPress.

24. Souza, D. (1998) Todas as aves do Brasil: guia decampo para identificação. Feira de Santana: Ed.Dall.

25. Walther, B. A. & Martin, J.-L. (2001) Speciesrichness estimation in bird communities: how tocontrol for sampling effort? Ibis 143: 413–419.

26. Willis, E. O., Snow, D. W., Stotz, D. F. & Parker, T.A. (1993) Olive-sided Flycatchers in southeasternBrazil. Wilson Bull. 105: 193–194.

P. W. P. Browne115 Crichton Street, Ottawa, K1M 1V8, Canada.

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App.Abu.:apparentabundance inpreferredhabitat

Hab.: observed habitatswith preferred habitatfirst; parentheses indicatepresumed habitat.

Alt.: X indicates altituderange in which thespecies occurred

Status Sources: thesources responsiblefor inclusion of aspecies in theParati list. Numbersrelating to sourceare as follows (seeData sources):DCRB = 1,PWPB = 2,JM = 3,HR = 4,HFB = 5,DB = 6,JFP = 7,RDB = 8,HS = 9

Evi. Cat.: evidencecategories forinclusion when known

1 rare, scarceor local

f forest L below 500 m Thr. End. S sight record

2 fairlycommon

n non-forest: opencountry with scrub.scattered trees, fields

H above 500 m N Nearthreatened

E Endemic toAtlantic Forestregion

R vocalisationrecorded

3 common a aquatic: rocky coast,river, beaches,mudflats and sea

Blank inbothcolumns

altitude of thesingle recorduncertain

T Threatened H vocalisation heardbut not recorded

4 verycommon

b built up: buildings andgardens

P photographed

5 abundant andconspicuous

M specimen

Appendix 1. Consolidated observations.

Tinamus solitarius Solitary Tinamou Macuco 2 f X X N E 1,5 MCrypturellus obsoletus Brown Tinamou Inhambuguaçu 2 f X X 1,3,4,5 MCrypturellus tataupa Tataupa Tinamou Inhambu-xintã 1 f X 1,5 MSula leucogaster Brown Booby Atobá 2 a X 1,2 SPhalacrocorax brasilianus Neotropic Cormorant Biguá 3 a X 1,2,3,4 SFregata magnificens Magnificent Frigatebird Tesourão 4 abf X 1,2,3 SArdea cocoi Cocoi Heron Maguari 2 a X 1,2 SCasmerodius albus Great Egret Garça-branca-grande 4 a X 1,2,3,4 SEgretta thula Snowy Egret Garça-branca-pequena 3 a X 1,2,3,4 SEgretta caerulea Little Blue Heron Garça-azul 3 a X 1,2,3,7 SBubulcus ibis Cattle Egret Garça-vaqueira 1 (n) X 1Butorides striatus Striated Heron Socozinho 1 a X 1,2 SSyrigma sibilatrix Whistling Heron Maria-faceira 1 a X 7Nycticorax nycticorax Black-crowned Night-heron Savacu, Socó-dorminhoco 2 a X 1,2 SNyctanassa violacea Yellow-crowned Night-heron Savacu-de-coroa 1 a X 2 STigrisoma lineatum Rufescent Tiger-heron Socó-boi 1 (a) X 1Platalea ajaja Roseate Spoonbill Colhereiro 1 a X 2,6 SCoragyps atratus Black Vulture Urubu-comun 5 abfn X X 1,2,3,4 SCathartes aura Turkey Vulture Urubu-de-cabeça-vermelha 2 fbn X 1,2,3,4 SElanoides forficatus Swallow-tailed Kite Gavião-tesoura 1 f X 2,4 SHarpagus diodon Rufous-thighed Kite Gavião-bombachinha 1 f X 2,3,4 SAccipiter poliogaster Grey-bellied Goshawk Tauató-pintado 1 f X 4 SButeo brachyurus Short-tailed Hawk Gavião-de-cauda-curta 1 f X 3 SRupornis magnirostris Roadside Hawk Gavião-carijó 3 n X X 1,2,3,4,5 SRMLeucopternis lacernulata White-necked Hawk Gavião-pomba 1 f X T E 1,3,8 SButeogallus meridionalis Savanna Hawk Gavião-fumaça 1 n X 1,2,7 SSpizaetus tyrannus Black Hawk-eagle Gavião-pega-macaco 1 f X X 1 SGeranospiza caerulescens Crane Hawk Gavião-pernilongo 1 f X 2 SHerpetotheres cachinnans Laughing Falcon Acauã 1 f X 1Micrastur semitorquatus Collared Forest-falcon Gavião-relógio 1 f X X 1,2,7 SMicrastur ruficollis Barred Forest-falcon Gavião-caburé 2 f X X 1,3,5 SMMilvago chimachima Yellow-headed Caracara Carrapateiro, Gavião-pinhé 3 abfn X 1,2,4 SCaracara plancus Southern Caracara Carcará 3 an X 1,2,4 SFalco rufigularis Bat Falcon Cauré, Falcão-morcegueiro 1 ba X 2 SFalco femoralis Aplomado Falcon Falcão-de-coleira 1 (n) X 1Penelope superciliaris Rusty-margined Guan Jacupemba 1 (f) 7Penelope obscura Dusky-legged Guan Jacuguaçu, Jacuaçu 2 f X 1,5 MPipile jacutinga Black-fronted Piping-guan Jacutinga 1 (f) T E 7,8Odontophorus capueira Spot-winged Wood-quail Uru, capoeira 1 f X E 1,5 MAmaurolimnas concolor Uniform Crake Saracurinha-da-mata 1 (f) X 1Aramides mangle Little Wood-rail Saracura-da-praia 1 (f) X 1Aramides cajanea Grey-necked Wood-rail Saracura-três-potes 1 (f) X 1Aramides saracura Slaty-breasted Wood-rail Saracura-do-mato 2 f X E 1,2,3,5 SMPorzana albicollis Ash-throated Crake Sanã-carijó 1 (n) X 1Laterallus exilis Grey-breasted Crake Pinto-d’água 1 (a) X 7 S

Name App. Hab. Alt. Status Sources Evi.Scientific English Portuguese Abu. L H Thr. End. Cat.


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Laterallus melanophaius Rufous-sided Crake Pinto-d’água-comum 1 n X 1,2 SGallinula chloropus Common Moorhen Frango-d’água-comun 1 (a) X 7Jacana jacana Wattled Jacana Jaçanã, Cafezinho 1 (a) X 7 SHaematopus palliatus American Oystercatcher Pirupiru 1 a X 2,3 SVanellus chilensis Southern Lapwing Quero-quero 3 an X 1,2 SCharadrius semipalmatus Semipalmated Plover Batuíra-de-bando 1 a X 1,2 SArenaria interpres Ruddy Turnstone Agachadeira 1 a X 7Actitis macularia Spotted Sandpiper Maçarico-pintado 2 a X 1,2 SCalidris fuscicollis White-rumped Sandpiper Maçarico-de-sobre-branco 1 a X 3 SGallinago paraguaiae South American Snipe Narceja, Batuíra 1 (a) X 7Larus dominicanus Kelp Gull Gaivotão 4 a X 1,2,3,4 SSterna hirundinacea South American Tern Trinta-réis-de-bico-vermelho 1 a X 1Sterna hirundo Common Tern Trinta-réis-boreal 1 a X 2 SSterna superciliaris Yellow-billed Tern Trinta-réis-anão 1 a X 3 SSterna maxima Royal Tern Trinta-réis-real 3 a X 1,2,3,7 SSterna eurygnatha Cayenne Tern Trinta-réis-de-bico-amarelo 3 a X 1,2 SRynchops niger Black Skimmer Talha-mar 1 a X 3,7 SColumba livia Rock Pigeon 2 ba X 2,7 SColumba picazuro Picazuro Pigeon Asa-branca, Pomba-trocal 1 f X 2 SColumba cayennensis Pale-vented Pigeon Pomba-galega 2 nf X 1,2,4 SColumba plumbea Plumbeous Pigeon Pomba-amargosa 3 f X X 1,3,5 SRMZenaida auriculata Eared Dove Pomba-de-bando, Avoante 1 n X 2 SColumbina talpacoti Ruddy Ground-dove Rolinha-caldo-de-feijão 3 nf X 1,2,3,4 SLeptotila verreauxi White-tipped Dove Juriti-pupu 2 f X X 1,2,3 SRLeptotila rufaxilla Grey-fronted Dove Juriti-gemedeira 1 f X 2,3,5 SRMGeotrygon montana Ruddy Quail-dove Pariri 1 f X X 1,5 MPyrrhura frontalis Maroon-bellied Parakeet Tiriba-de-testa-vermelha 4 fn X X E 1,2,3,4,5,6 SMForpus xanthopterygius Blue-winged Parrotlet Tuim 3 fn X X 1,2,3 SBrotogeris tirica Plain Parakeet Periquito-rico 4 fn X X E 1,2,3,4,5,6, SRMTouit surda Golden-tailed Parrotlet Apuim-de-cauda-amarela 1 (f) T E 7Pionopsitta pileata Pileated Parakeet Cuiú-cuiú 2 f X X E 1,7Pionus maximiliani Scaly-headed Parrot Maitaca-bronzeada 3 f X X 1,3,4,6 SRTriclaria malachitacea Blue-bellied Parrot Sabiá-cica 2 f X X T E 1,3,8,9 SCoccyzus melacoryphus Dark-billed Cuckoo Papa-lagarta 1 f X 7Piaya cayana Squirrel Cuckoo Alma-de-gato 3 fn X X 1,2,3,5,6 SMCrotophaga ani Smooth-billed Ani Anu-preto 3 n X X 1,2,4 SGuira guira Guira Cuckoo Anu-branco 2 f X 1,2,4 STapera naevia Striped Cuckoo Saci, Sem-fim 1 f X 1,2,4 STyto alba Barn Owl Suindara 1 b X 1,2 SOtus choliba Tropical Screech-owl Corujinha-do-mato 1 f X 7 SPulsatrix koeniswaldiana Tawny-browed Owl Murucututu-de-barriga-amarela 1 f X E 1Glaucidium minutissimum Least Pygmy-owl Caburé-miudinho 1 (f) X 7Speotyto cunicularia Burrowing Owl Buraqueira 1 n X 1,2 SPRhinoptynx clamator Striped Owl Coruja-orelhuda 1 (n) X 1,7Nyctibius aethereus Long-tailed Potoo Mãe-da-lua-parda 1 (f) X 7Nyctibius griseus Common Potoo Urutau, Mãe-da-lua 1 f X X 1,4 HLurocalis semitorquatus Short-tailed Nighthawk Tuju 1 f X 1Chordeiles acutipennis Lesser Nighthawk Bacurau-de-asa-fina 1 (n) X 1,7Nyctidromus albicollis Pauraque Curiango 1 (f) X 1Caprimulgus longirostris Band-winged Nightjar Bacurau-da-telha 1 n X 2 RHydropsalis torquata Scissor-tailed Nightjar Bacurau-tesoura 1 f X 7 SMacropsalis creagra Long-trained Nightjar Bacurau-tesoura-gigante 1 f X E 1Streptoprocne zonaris White-collared Swift Andorinhão-de-coleira, Taperuçu 2 f X X 1,2,3,4 SCypseloides senex Great Dusky Swift Andorinhão-velho-da-cascata 1 (f) 7Cypseloides fumigatus Sooty Swift Andorinhão-preto-da-cascata 1 f X 1Chaetura cinereiventris Grey-rumped Swift Andorinhão-de-sobre-cinzento 3 f X X 1,2,3,4 SChaetura meridionalis Sick’s Swift Andorinhão-do-temporal 4 bnf X X 1,2,4,9 SPanyptila cayennensis Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift Andorinhão-estofador 1 f X 1,2,4 SRamphodon naevius Saw-billed Hermit Beija-flor-grande-do-mato 3 f X X N E 1,2,3,4,5,6 SMGlaucis hirsuta Rufous-breasted Hermit Balança-rabo-de-bico-torto 1 f X 1,2,5 SMPhaethornis eurynome Scale-throated Hermit Rabo-branco-de-garganta-rajada 2 f X X E 1,3 SRPhaethornis squalidus Dusky-throated Hermit Rabo-branco-míudo 1 f X E 3,6 SPhaethornis pretrei Planalto Hermit Rabo-branco-de-sobre-amarelo 1 b X X 2 SPhaethornis ruber Reddish Hermit Besourinho-da-mata 3 fn X 1,2,3,5,6 SMPhaethornis idaliae Minute Hermit Besourinho 1 f X E 2 SEupetomena macroura Swallow-tailed Hummingbird Tesourão 2 bfn X 2,4,7 SMelanotrochilus fuscus Black Jacobin Beija-flor-preto-e-branco 3 fn X X E 1,2,4,5 SM



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Colibri serrirostris White-vented Violetear Beija-flor-de-orelha-violeta 1 (f) 5,7 MAnthracothorax nigricollis Black-throated Mango Beija-flor-preto 1 bf X X 1,2,4 SStephanoxis lalandi Plovercrest Beija-flor-de-topete 1 f X E 1Chlorostilbon aureoventris Glittering-bellied Emerald Besourinho-de-bico-vermelho 1 f X 2 SThalurania glaucopis Violet-capped Woodnymph Tesoura-de-fronte-violeta 3 f X X E 1,2,3,4,5,6 SMHylocharis cyanus White-chinned Sapphire Beija-flor-roxo 1 f X 1Leucochloris albicollis White-throated Hummingbird Papo-branco 1 f X X E 1Amazilia versicolor Versicoloured Emerald Beija-flor-de-banda-branca 2 f X X 1,2 SAmazilia fimbriata Glittering-throated Emerald Beija-flor-de-garganta-verde 2 bn X 1,2 SAphantochroa cirrhochloris Sombre Hummingbird Beija-flor-cinza 1 b X E 2,6,7 SClytolaema rubricauda Brazilian Ruby Beija-flor-rubi, Papo-de-fogo 1 f X E 1Heliomaster squamosus Stripe-breasted Starthroat Bico-reto-verde 1 f X 1Trogon viridis White-tailed Trogon Surucuá-grande-de-barriga-amarela 3 f X X 1,3,4,5,6 SMTrogon rufus Black-throated Trogon Surucuá-de-barriga-amarela 2 f X X 1,3,5 RMTrogon surrucura Surucua Trogon Surucuá-de-peito-azul, João-tolo 2 f X X E 1,2,3,5 SMCeryle torquata Ringed Kingfisher Martim-pescador-matraca 2 ab X 1,2,4 SChloroceryle amazona Amazon Kingfisher Martim-pescador-verde 2 a X 2,3,4,6,7 SChloroceryle americana Green Kingfisher Martim-pescador-pequeno 2 af X 1,2 SChloroceryle inda Green-and-rufous Kingfisher Martim-pescador-da-mata 1 (a) X 7Baryphthengus ruficapillus Rufous-capped Motmot Juruva 2 f X X E 1,3,5 RMGalbula ruficauda Rufous-tailed Jacamar Bico-de-agulha-de-rabo-vermelho 2 nf X 1,2,3,5,6 SRMNotharchus macrorhynchus White-necked Puffbird Capitão-do-mato 1 f X 1,4,5 SMMalacoptila striata Crescent-chested Puffbird João-barbudo 1 f X E 1,5 MSelenidera maculirostris Spot-billed Toucanet Araçari-poca 2 f X X E 1,3,4,5 MBaillonius bailloni Saffron Toucanet Araçari-banana 1 (f) X N E 5,6,7 SMRamphastos vitellinus Channel-billed Toucan Tucano-de-bico-preto 2 f X 1,3,5,6 SMRamphastos dicolorus Red-breasted Toucan Tucano-de-bico-verde 1 f X E 1Picumnus cirratus White-barred Piculet Pica-pau-anão-barrado 4 fn X X 1,2,3,4,5,6 SMColaptes campestris Campo Flicker Pica-pau-do-campo 1 (n) X 1,4 SColaptes melanochloros Green-barred Woodpecker Pica-pau-verde-barrado 1 f X X 1,2,4 SPiculus flavigula Yellow-throated Woodpecker Pica-pau-bufador 1 f X 1,5 MPiculus aurulentus Yellow-browed Woodpecker Pica-pau-dourado 1 f X N E 1Celeus flavescens Blond-crested Woodpecker Pica-pau-de-cabeça-amarela 2 f X X 1,3,6 SDryocopus lineatus Lineated Woodpecker Pica-pau-de-banda-branca 1 f X 1,2 SMelanerpes flavifrons Yellow-fronted Woodpecker Benedito-de-testa-amarela 3 fn X X E 1,2,4,5,6 SMMelanerpes candidus White Woodpecker Birro 1 n X 1,2 SVeniliornis spilogaster White-spotted Woodpecker Pica-pauzinho-verde-carijó 2 f X X E 1,5 MCampephilus robustus Robust Woodpecker Pica-pau-rei 1 f X X E 1,5 MPsilorhamphus guttatus Spotted Bamboowren Tapaculo-pintado 1 f X N E 1,7Merulaxis ater Slaty Bristlefront Entufado 2 f X X N E 1,2,3,4,6 SRScytalopus speluncae Mouse-coloured Tapaculo Tapaculo-preto 2 f X X E 1,3,4 HHypoedaleus guttatus Spot-backed Antshrike Chocão-carijó 3 f X X E 1,2,3,4,5,6 SRMBatara cinerea Giant Antshrike Matracão 3 f X 1,2,3,5 SRMMackenziaena leachii Large-tailed Antshrike Borralhara-assobiadora 1 f X E 1,7Mackenziaena severa Tufted Antshrike Borralhara 2 f X X E 1,4 SThamnophilus palliatus Chestnut-backed Antshrike Choca-listrada 1 f X 1Thamnophilus caerulescens Variable Antshrike Choca-da-mata 1 f X 1,3 RThamnophilus ruficapillus Rufous-capped Antshrike Choca-de-chapéu-vermelho 1 n X 2,7 RDysithamnus stictothorax Spot-breasted Antvireo Choquinha-de-peito-pintado 4 fn X X N E 1,2,3,4,5,6 SRMDysithamnus mentalis Plain Antvireo Choquinha-lisa 2 f X X 1,2,3,4,6 SRDysithamnus xanthopterus Rufous-backed Antvireo Choquinha-de-asa-ferrugem 2 f X E 1,3 SRMyrmotherula gularis Star-throated Antwren Choquinha-da-garganta-pintada 3 f X X E 1,2,3,6 SRMyrmotherula minor Salvadori’s Antwren Choquinha 1 f X T E 1,3,4 SRMyrmotherula unicolor Unicoloured Antwren Choquinha-cinzenta 2 f X T E 1,2,3,4 SRHerpsilochmus rufimarginatus Rufous-winged Antwren Chororozinho-de-asa-vermelha 3 f X 1,2,3,4,6,7 SRFormicivora erythronotos Black-hooded Antwren 1 f X T E 1Drymophila ferruginea Ferruginous Antbird Trovoada 4 fn X X E 1,2,3,4,5,6 SRMDrymophila rubricollis Bertoni’s Antbird Choquinha-de-Bertoni 1 f X E 1,7Drymophila genei Rufous-tailed Antbird Choquinha-da-serra 1 f X X N E 1,3 SRDrymophila ochropyga Ochre-rumped Antbird Choquinha-de-dorso-vermelho 1 f X X N E 1Drymophila squamata Scaled Antbird Pintadinho 2 f X X E 1,2,3,4,6 SRTerenura maculata Streak-capped Antwren Zídede 2 f X X E 1,3,4,6 SRPyriglena leucoptera White-shouldered Fire-eye Borralhara 4 fn X X E 1,2,3,4,5,6 SRMMyrmeciza squamosa Squamate Antbird Papa-formigas-de-grota 3 f X X E 1,2,3,4,5 RMChamaeza campanisona Short-tailed Antthrush Tovaca-campainha 1 f X X 1,3,5 RMChamaeza meruloides Such’s Antthrush Tovaca-cantador 3 f X E 1,2,3 RChamaeza ruficauda Brazilian Antthrush Tovaca-de-rabo-vermelho 3 f X E 1,3,5,7 M



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Formicarius colma Rufous-capped Antthrush Galinha-do-mato 2 f X 1,2,3,5 RMGrallaria varia Variegated Antpitta Tovacuçu 2 f X X 1,2,3,5 RMHylopezus nattereri Speckle-breasted Antpitta Pinto-do-mato 2 f X E 1,2 HConopophaga melanops Black-cheeked Gnateater Cuspidor-de-máscara-preta 2 f X E 1,2,6 SRConopophaga lineata Rufous Gnateater Chupa-dente 1 f X X E 1,3,6 SRFurnarius rufus Rufous Hornero João-de-barro 1 n X 2,6,7 SFurnarius figulus Tail-banded Hornero Casaco-de-couro-da-lama 1 a X 2 SSynallaxis spixi Spix's Spinetail João-teneném 2 n X X 1,2 SRSynallaxis ruficapilla Rufous-capped Spinetail Pichororé 3 f X X E 1,2,3,4,5 SMSynallaxis albescens Pale-breasted Spinetail Uipi 1 (n) X 7Certhiaxis cinnamomea Yellow-chinned Spinetail Curutié 2 n X 1,2,6 SRCranioleuca pallida Pallid Spinetail Arredio-pálido 2 f X X E 1,3,4 HPhacellodomus erythrophthalmus Red-eyed Thornbird João-botina 2 fn X E 1,2,6 SRAnabazenops fuscus White-collared Foliage-gleaner Trepador-coleira 2 f X X E 1,4,5 MSyndactyla rufosuperciliata Buff-browed Foliage-gleaner Trepador-quiete 1 f X 1Anabacerthia amaurotis White-browed Foliage-gleaner Limpa-folha-míuda 1 f X N E 1Philydor atricapillus Black-capped Foliage-gleaner Limpa-folha-coroada 3 f X X E 1,2,3,4,5 SRMPhilydor lichtensteini Ochre-breasted Foliage-gleaner Limpa-folha-ochrácea 3 f X X E 1,2,3,4,5,6 SMPhilydor rufus Buff-fronted Foliage-gleaner Limpa-folha-testa-baia 2 f X X 1,2,3,4,5,6 SRMAutomolus leucophthalmus White-eyed Foliage-gleaner Barranqueiro-olho-branco 3 f X X E 1,2,3,4,5,6 SRMCichlocolaptes leucophrus Pale-browed Treehunter Trepador-sobrancelha 3 f X X E 1,3,5,6 SRMHeliobletus contaminatus Sharp-billed Treehunter Trepadorzinho 1 f X E 1Xenops minutus Plain Xenops Bico-virado-miudinho 2 f X 1,2,4 SXenops rutilans Streaked Xenops Bico-virado-carijó 1 f X X 1,2 SRSclerurus scansor Rufous-breasted Leaftosser Vira-folhas 2 f X X E 1,3,5,6 SMSclerurus mexicanus Tawny-throated Leaftosser Vira-folhas 1 f X 4,7 SLochmias nematura Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper João-porca 2 f X 1,5 MDendrocincla turdina Thrush-like Woodcreeper Arapaçu-liso 3 f X X E 1,3,4,5,6 SRMSittasomus griseicapillus Olivaceous Woodcreeper Arapaçu-verde 2 f X X 1,2,3,4,5 SRMXiphocolaptes albicollis White-throated Woodcreeper Arapaçu-de-garganta-branca 2 f X X 1,2,3,4,5,6 SRMDendrocolaptes platyrostris Planalto Woodcreeper Arapaçu-grande 2 f X X 1,4,5 SMLepidocolaptes angustirostris Narrow-billed Woodcreeper Arapaçu-do-cerrado 1 (f) X 4 SLepidocolaptes squamatus Scaled Woodcreeper Arapaçu-escamado 2 f X X E 1,4 SLepidocolaptes fuscus Lesser Woodcreeper Arapaçu-rajado 4 f X X E 1,2,3,4,5,6 SRMPhyllomyias fasciatus Planalto Tyrannulet Piolhinho 2 f X 1,3,5 MPhyllomyias burmeisteri Rough-legged Tyrannulet Poiaeiro-do-sul 1 f X X 1,2,6 SPhyllomyias virescens Greenish Tyrannulet Poiaeiro-verde 1 (f) E 7Phyllomyias griseocapilla Grey-capped Tyrannulet Poiaeiro-serrano 1 f E 1,5 MCamptostoma obsoletum Southern Beardless-tyrannulet Risadinha 1 fbn X X 1,2 SRMyiopagis caniceps Grey Elaenia Maria-de-copa 1 f X 1,2,7 SElaenia flavogaster Yellow-bellied Elaenia Guaracava-de-barriga-amarela 2 n X X 1,2 SElaenia mesoleuca Olivaceous Elaenia Tuque 1 f X 1,3,7 HElaenia obscura Highland Elaenia Guaracava-de-oculos 1 f X 1Serpophaga subcristata White-crested Tyrannulet Alegrinho 1 f X 1Mionectes rufiventris Grey-hooded Flycatcher Abre-asas 2 f X X E 1,2,3,4,5,6 SRMLeptopogon amaurocephalus Sepia-capped Flycatcher Cabeçudo 2 f X X 1,2,3,4,6 SPhylloscartes sylviolus Bay-ringed Tyrannulet Maria-pequena 1 (f) X N E 7Phylloscartes ventralis Mottle-cheeked Tyrannulet Borboletinha-do-mato 1 f X 1,3 SRPhylloscartes oustaleti Oustalet’s Tyrannulet Papa-moscas-de-olheiras 2 f X X N E 1,4,5 SMPhylloscartes difficilis Serra do Mar Tyrannulet Estalinho 1 f X N E 1Phylloscartes paulistus São Paulo Tyrannulet Não-pode-parar 1 f X T E 1,2,4 SRCapsiempis flaveola Yellow Tyrannulet Marianinha-amarela 1 fn X 1,2 SRMyiornis auricularis Eared Pygmy-tyrant Miudinho 1 f X X E 1,2,4,5 SMHemitriccus diops Drab-breasted Bamboo-tyrant Olho-falso 1 (f) E 7Hemitriccus obsoletus Brown-breasted Bamboo-tyrant Catraca 2 f X E 1,2 RHemitriccus furcatus Fork-tailed Tody-tyrant Papa-moscas-estrela 3 f X X T E 1,2,4,5,6,8,9 SRMHemitriccus nidipendulus Hangnest Tody-tyrant Tachuri-campainha 2 f X E 1,7Hemitriccus orbitatus Eye-ringed Tody-tyrant Tiririzinho-do-mato 1 f X N E 1,2,3,4 STodirostrum poliocephalum Yellow-lored Tody-flycatcher Teque-teque, Ferreirinho 2 f X X E 1,2,3 SRTodirostrum plumbeiceps Ochre-faced Tody-flycatcher Ferreirinho-de-cara-canela, Tororó 2 f X 1,3,6 SRamphotrigon megacephala Large-headed Flatbill Maria-cabeçuda 1 f X X 2 STolmomyias sulphurescens Yellow-olive Flycatcher Bico-chato-de-orelha-preta 3 f X X 1,2,3,4,5 RMPlatyrinchus mystaceus White-throated Spadebill Patinho 2 f X X 1,2,3,4,6 SRPlatyrinchus leucoryphus Russet-winged Spadebill Patinho-gigante 1 (f) N E 7,8Onychorhynchus coronatus Royal Flycatcher Maria-leque 1 f X 1Myiobius barbatus Whiskered Flycatcher Assanhadinho 2 f X 1,3,4,6 SMyiobius atricaudus Black-tailed Flycatcher Assanhadinho-de-cauda-preta 1 f X 1



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Myiophobus fasciatus Bran-coloured Flycatcher Filipe 2 f X X 1,4 SContopus cinereus Tropical Pewee Papa-moscas-cinzento 1 f X 1Contopus borealis Olive-sided Flycatcher Piuí-boreal 1 f X 2,4,7 SLathrotriccus euleri Euler’s Flycatcher Enferrujado 3 f X X 1,2,3,4 SRCnemotriccus fuscatus Fuscous Flycatcher Guaracavuçu 2 f X 1Pyrocephalus rubinus Vermilion Flycatcher Verão 1 (n) X 3 SXolmis velata White-rumped Monjita Noivinha-branca 1 f X 1,7Knipolegus nigerrimus Velvety Black-tyrant Maria-preta-de-garganta-vermelha 2 f X X E 1,3 SKnipolegus cyanirostris Blue-billed Black-tyrant Maria-preta-de-bico-azulado 2 f X X 1,2,3,5 SMFluvicola nengeta Masked Water-tyrant Lavadeira-mascarada 3 anf X 1,2,4 SColonia colonus Long-tailed Tyrant Viuvinha 3 fn X X 1,2,4,5,6 SMSatrapa icterophrys Yellow-browed Tyrant Suiriri-pequeno 1 n X 2,7 SHirundinea ferruginea Cliff Flycatcher Gibão-de-couro 2 n X X 1,2,4,6 SMachetornis rixosus Cattle Tyrant Bem-te-vi-do-gado 3 n X 1,2,3,4,6 SMuscipipra vetula Shear-tailed Grey-tyrant Tesoura-cinzenta 1 f X E 7 SAttila rufus Grey-hooded Attila Tinguaçu, Capitão-de-saíra 2 f X X E 1,3,4,5 SRMAttila phoenicurus Rufous-tailed Attila Capitão-castanho 3 f X X 1,2,3,7 SRRhytipterna simplex Greyish Mourner Wissiá 1 (f) X 3,7 HSirystes sibilator Sirystes Gritador 1 f X 2,7 RMyiarchus ferox Short-crested Flycatcher Maria-cavaleira 1 f X 1,4 HMyiarchus swainsoni Swainson’s Flycatcher Irrê 2 f X 1,7Philohydor lictor Lesser Kiskadee Bem-te-vizinho-do-brejo 1 (n) X 7Pitangus sulphuratus Great Kiskadee Bem-te-vi 4 nbf X X 1,2,3,4 SRMegarynchus pitangua Boat-billed Flycatcher Nei-nei 4 f X 1,2,3,4,5,6 SRMMyiozetetes similis Social Flycatcher Bem-te-vizinho-penacho-vermelho 5 fn X X 1,2,3,4,5,6 SRMMyiodynastes maculatus Streaked Flycatcher Bem-te-vi-rajado 3 f X X 1,2,3,4,5 SRMLegatus leucophaius Piratic Flycatcher Bem-te-vi-pirata 2 fn X 1,2,3,4 SREmpidonomus varius Variegated Flycatcher Peitica 2 f X 1,5 MTyrannus savana Fork-tailed Flycatcher Tesoura 1 bn X 1,2,7 STyrannus melancholicus Tropical Kingbird Suiriri 4 nfb X X 1,2,3,4 SRPachyramphus viridis Green-backed Becard Caneleirinho-verde 1 f X X 1,4 SPachyramphus castaneus Chestnut-crowned Becard Caneleirinho 2 f X X 1,2,3,4,5,6 SMPachyramphus polychopterus White-winged Becard Caleleirinho-preto 2 f X X 1,2,3,4 SRPachyramphus marginatus Black-capped Becard Caneleiro-bordado 2 f X 1,3,4,5,6 SRMPachyramphus validus Crested Becard Caneleiro-de-chapéu-negro 1 f X X 1,2,4 STityra cayana Black-tailed Tityra Anambé-branco-de-rabo-preto 1 f X X 1,2,4 STityra inquisitor Black-crowned Tityra Anambé-branco-de-bochecha-parda 1 f X 1,2 SChiroxiphia caudata Blue Manakin Tangará-dançador 4 fn X X E 1,2,3,4,5,6 SRMIlicura militaris Pin-tailed Manakin Tangarazinho 2 f X X E 1,3,6 SManacus manacus White-bearded Manakin Rendeira 3 f X 1,2,3 SRNeopelma aurifrons Wied’s Tyrant-manakin Fruxu-baiano 1 f X T E 1Schiffornis virescens Greenish Schiffornis Flautim 3 f X X E 1,3,4 RLaniisoma elegans Shrike-like Cotinga Chibante 1 f X X T 1Tijuca atra Black-and-gold Cotinga Saudade, Assobiador 1 f X N E 1,5,9Carpornis cucullatus Hooded Berryeater Corocochó 2 f X X N E 1,2,3 RIodopleura pipra Buff-throated Purpletuft Anambezinho 1 (f) X T E 4,5,7,8 SMLipaugus lanioides Cinnamon-vented Piha Tropeiro-da-serra 1 (f) X T E 3,7 SRPyroderus scutatus Red-ruffed Fruitcrow Pavão-do-mato 1 f X 1,3 SProcnias nudicollis Bare-throated Bellbird Araponga 2 f X X N E 1,2,3 SROxyruncus cristatus Sharpbill Araponga-do-horto 2 f X X 1,2,5 MProgne chalybea Grey-breasted Martin Andorinha-doméstica-grande 4 bnaf X 1,2 SProgne subis Purple Martin Andorinha-azul 1 b X 2 SNotiochelidon cyanoleuca Blue-and-white Swallow Andorinha-azul-e-branca 4 bnf X X 1,2,4,5 SMNeochelidon tibialis White-thighed Swallow Calcinha-branca 1 f X X 1,2,9 SStelgidopteryx ruficollis Southern Rough-winged Swallow Andorinha-serrador 3 nf X X 1,2,3,4 SHirundo rustica Barn Swallow Andorinha-de-chaminé 1 n X 2 SHirundo pyrrhonota Cliff Swallow Andorinha-de-dorso-acanelado 1 (n) X 1,7Thryothorus longirostris Long-billed Wren Garrinchão-de-bico-grande 2 f X 1,2 SRTroglodytes musculus Southern House-wren Corruira, Cambaxirra 3 fnb X X 1,2,4 SRRamphocaenus melanurus Long-billed Gnatwren Bico-assovelado 2 f X X 1,3,4,7 SPlatycichla flavipes Yellow-legged Thrush Sabiaúna 3 f X X 1,2,3,4,5,6 SRMTurdus rufiventris Rufous-bellied Thrush Sabiá-laranjeira 4 fnb X X 1,2,3,4,5 SRMTurdus leucomelas Pale-breasted Thrush Capoeirão, Sabiá-barranco 1 f X 1,2,6 STurdus amaurochalinus Creamy-bellied Thrush Sabiapoca 2 fn X X 1,2,4,5 SMTurdus albicollis White-necked Thrush Sabiá-coleira 3 f X X 1,2,3,5,6 SRMMimus saturninus Chalk-browed Mockingbird Sabiá-do-campo 1 n X 1,2,4 SAnthus lutescens Yellowish Pipit Caminheiro-zumbidor 2 n X X 1,2,7 S



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Cyclarhis gujanensis Rufous-browed Peppershrike Pitiguari, Apara-bala 4 f X X 1,2,3,4,5,6 SRMVireo chivi Red-eyed Vireo Juruviara 4 fn X X 1,2,3,4,5 SRMHylophilus poicilotis Rufous-crowned Greenlet Verdinho-coroado 2 f X E 1,3 SRHylophilus thoracicus Lemon-chested Greenlet Vite-vite 1 fn X 1,2 SRParula pitiayumi Tropical Parula Mariquita 3 nf X X 1,2,3,4,6 SRGeothlypis aequinoctialis Masked Yellowthroat Pia-cobra 3 nf X X 1,2,3,4,5 SRMBasileuterus culicivorus Golden-crowned Warbler Pula-pula 3 f X X 1,2,3,4 SRBasileuterus leucoblepharus White-rimmed Warbler Pula-pula-assobiador 2 f X E 1,3 HPhaeothlypis rivularis Neotropical River Warbler Pula-pula-ribeirinho 3 f X X 1,2,3,4,5,6 SRMCoereba flaveola Bananaquit Cambacica, Caga-sebo, Sebinho 3 bfn X X 1,2,3,4 SROrchesticus abeillei Brown Tanager Sanhaço-pardo 1 f E 5 MCissopis leveriana Magpie Tanager Tié-tinga 2 f X X 1,2,5 SMHemithraupis ruficapilla Rufous-headed Tanager Saíra-da-mata 2 f X X E 1,2,3,5,6 SRMOrthogonys chloricterus Olive-green Tanager Catirumbava 2 f X X E 1,2,5,6 SMTachyphonus cristatus Flame-crested Tanager Tié-galo 3 f X X 1,2,3,4,6 SRTachyphonus coronatus Ruby-crowned Tanager Tié-preto 3 f X X E 1,2,3,4,5,6 SMTrichothraupis melanops Black-goggled Tanager Tié-de-topete 2 f X X 1,3,4,5 SMHabia rubica Red-crowned Ant-tanager Tié-do-mato-grosso 3 f X X 1,3,5,6 SRMPiranga flava Hepatic Tanager Sanhaço-de-fogo 1 f X X 2,4 SRamphocelus bresilius Brazilian Tanager Tié-sangue, Sangue-de-boi 5 fn X E 1,2,4,5,6 SMThraupis sayaca Sayaca Tanager Sanhaço-cinzento 3 fnb X X 1,2,4,5 SMThraupis cyanoptera Azure-shouldered Tanager Sanhaço-de-encontro-azul 3 f X X N E 1,2,4 SThraupis ornate Golden-chevroned Tanager Sanhaço-de-encontros 3 f X X E 1,2,3,4,5,6 SMThraupis palmarum Palm Tanager Sanhaço-do-coqueiro 3 bnf X X 1,2,3 SStephanophorus diadematus Diademed Tanager Sanhaço-frade 2 f X 1,3 SPipraeidea melanonota Fawn-breasted Tanager Viúva 1 fn X X 1,2 SEuphonia chlorotica Purple-throated Euphonia Fi-fi-verdadeiro 2 f X 1,2 SEuphonia violacea Violaceous Euphonia Gaturamo-verdadeiro 2 f X X 1,2,3,6 SEuphonia cyanocephala Golden-rumped Euphonia Gaturamo-rei 1 f X 1,7Euphonia pectoralis Chestnut-bellied Euphonia Ferro-velho 3 f X X E 1,2,3,4,5 SMTangara seledon Green-headed Tanager Saíra-sete-cores 3 f X X E 1,2,3,4,5,6 SRMTangara cyanocephala Red-necked Tanager Saíra-militar, Saíra-lenço 3 f X X E 1,2,3,4,5,6 SRMTangara desmaresti Brassy-breasted Tanager Saíra-lagarta 2 f X X E 1,3,4 SRDacnis cayana Blue Dacnis Saí-azul 3 fn X X 1,2,3,4,5,6 SMChlorophanes spiza Green Honeycreeper Saí-verde, Tem-tem 1 f X 7 SConirostrum bicolor Bicoloured Conebill Figuinha-do-mangue 1 f X 1Tersina viridis Swallow Tanager Saí-andorinha 2 f X X 1,2,5 SMZonotrichia capensis Rufous-collared Sparrow Tico-tico 3 nf X X 1,2,3,4 SHaplospiza unicolor Uniform Finch Cigarra-bambu 1 (f) E 1,7Poospiza thoracica Bay-chested Warbling-finch Peito-pinhão 1 f X E 1Poospiza lateralis Red-rumped Warbling-finch Quete 1 f X 1,3 SSicalis flaveola Saffron Finch Canário-da-terra-verdadeiro 1 n X 2 SEmberizoides herbicola Wedge-tailed Grass-finch Canário-do-campo 1 f X 7Volatinia jacarina Blue-black Grassquit Tiziu 3 n X X 1,2,4 SSporophila falcirostris Temminck’s Seedeater Cigarra-verdadeira 1 (f) X T E 3,6,7,8 SRSporophila lineola Lined Seedeater Bigodinho, Boiadeiro 1 f X 1Sporophila caerulescens Double-collared Seedeater Coleirinho 3 n X X 1,2,4,5 SMSporophila leucoptera White-bellied Seedeater Chorão 1 f X 1Oryzoborus angolensis Chestnut-bellied Seed-finch Curió 1 n X 2,4,6 STiaris fuliginosa Sooty Grassquit Cigarra-do-coqueiro 1 fn X X 1,3,7 SRCoryphospingus pileatus Pileated Finch Galinho-da-serra 1 (n) X 7Pitylus fuliginosus Black-throated Grosbeak Pimentão 3 f X X E 1,3,4,5,6 SRMSaltator maximus Buff-throated Saltator Tempera-viola 1 f X 1Saltator similis Green-winged Saltator Trinca-ferro-verdadeiro 2 f X X 1,4 SSaltator maxillosus Thick-billed Saltator Bico-grosso 1 f X E 1Passerina brissonii Ultramarine Grosbeak Azulão, Azulão-verdadeiro 1 (f) 5 MPsarocolius decumanus Crested Oropendola Japuguaçu 2 f X X 1,2,3 SCacicus haemorrhous Red-rumped Cacique Guaxe, Japira 3 f X X 1,2,3,4,5,6 SMCacicus chrysopterus Golden-winged Cacique Japuira, Soldado, Tecelão 2 f X 1,3 HAgelaius cyanopus Unicoloured Blackbird Carretão 1 (a) X 6,7Leistes superciliaris White-browed Blackbird Polícia-inglesa 2 n X 1,2,4,7 SGnorimopsar chopi Chopi Blackbird Pássaro-preto 1 n X 2 SMolothrus bonariensis Shiny Cowbird Chopim 1 n X 1,2 SScaphidura oryzivora Giant Cowbird Iraúna-grande 1 n X 1Passer domesticus House Sparrow Pardal 3 bn X 2,3,7 SEstrilda astrild Common Waxbill Bico-de-lacre 1 nb X 1,2 S



La información sobre la historia natural de lasespecies de golondrinas del género Prognepresentes en la costa peruana es escasa, contándoseen la actualidad con sólo reportes de presencia paraalgunas especies. Este es el caso de Prognemurphyi5, ave poco común, con una distribucióncasi totalmente restringida a la costa peruana4,10,con algunos registros en la costa norte de Chile1. Nose conocen datos básicos de la historia natural de P.murphyi, ni se ha registrado la ubicación decolonias a lo largo de su distribución.

Los machos adultos de P. murphyi son de colorazul oscuro uniforme con tonalidades metálicas deapariencia tornasolada, la hembra de P. murphyi esgris parda, de alas y cola oscura y con marcasnegruscas en dorso, espalda y lados de lacabeza4,5,10. Como en muchas especies de aves, lashembras de P. murphyi presentan un plumajesemejante a los juveniles. La coloración azulmetálica del macho del martín peruano essemejante al macho de P. subis ‘martín purpúreo’, yambas especies cuentan con registros en la costaperuana4,8–10. Esto puede haber ocasionado algunosregistros errados de P. murphyi, al ser confundidocon P. subis.

El escaso número de registros, la semejanza enplumaje con una especie congenérica, y el vacío deinformación de su historia natural hace que lasituación del conocimiento actual sobre P. murphyisea muy precario. Esta evaluación es el primerreporte de colonias del P. murphyi, proporcionandola descripción de estas colonias y además datosmorfométricos de los individuos capturados.

Área de estudioEvaluamos las islas Chao (08o46’S 78o47’O) yCorcovado (08o56’S 78o42’O), ubicadas en el dpto.La Libertad, en la costa central peruana. Estasislas presentan una escasa vegetación, un sustratode arena, salitre y rocas, y un relieve agreste conacantilados. Estas dos islas son parte del sistema

de islas y puntas guaneras del litoral peruano,actualmente bajo la administración PROABONOS(Proyecto Especial de Promoción delAprovechamiento de Abonos Proveniente de AvesMarinas). Las islas y puntas guaneras se caracteri-zan por la presencia de las aves guaneras, cuyoexcremento llamado ‘guano’ es utilizado como fertil-izante natural. El guano se acumula en grandescantidades en estas áreas, y es extraído y comercial-izado por PROABONOS. Por tanto, las avesguaneras tienen un interés comercial, que propiciasu protección, especialmente en lugares dondeexisten grandes colonias de estas aves. Son consid-eradas aves guaneras Phalacrocorax bougainvillii,Sula variegata y Pelecanus thagus7.

En las islas Chao y Corcovado, estas tresespecies de aves guaneras están presentes, pero sunúmero es relativamente pequeño, y sufre unavariación importante durante el año

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Primer reporte de colonias del Martín Peruano Progne murphyien PerúKatya Balta Abadie, José Pérez Z. y Mariano Valverde

Cotinga 24 (2005): 99–101

Peruvian Martin Progne murphyi is a little-known hirundine endemic to the Peruvian coast, withfew sight records. We report the first colonies of P. murphyi, on the islands of Chao and Corcovadoon the central Peruvian coast. On these islands, P. murphyi utilises stonewalls for nesting. Thenumber of individuals during censuses varied from 14 to 48. The proximity of these islands to themainland and preliminary data concerning the species’ diet suggest that P. murphyi feeds on thecontinental coast. Chao and Corcovado are protected by PROABONOS, thus reducing humandisturbance. Additionally, the islands lack predators such as foxes or raptors, making thempotentially suitable breeding areas for the species. We consider it important to continue suchstudies, and to determine the whereabouts of other colonies, in order to assess the state of thespecies’ population.

Figura 1. Ubicación del área de evaluación, islas Chao yCorcovado, dpto. La Libertad, Perú.


(PROABONOS, datos no publicados). Otras avespresentes en estas islas son Phalacrocoraxgaimardi, P. brasilianus, Larosterna inca y Larusdominicanus12. Además existe un reporte recientede colonias reproductivas de Oceanodroma tethyskelsalli en estas islas2.

MetodologíaRealizamos dos evaluaciones a las islas Chao yCorcovado, la primera evaluación entre el 12–15 demarzo del 2003, y la segunda entre el 9–12 de abrildel 2003. En la primera evaluación, recorrimos lasislas en búsqueda de probables áreas refugios de P.murphyi, como cercos de piedra, acantilados rocososy sustratos de salitre con cavidades, hábitats carac-terísticos para refugios de las especies degolondrinas de mar8,10. En la segunda evaluación,realizamos censos visuales mediante conteo depuntos3 en las áreas identificadas en la primeraevaluación. Realizamos los censos entre las16h00–18h00, horas en las cuales llegaban lasgolondrinas a las islas. Adicionalmente, revisamoslos refugios, determinando si estos eran utilizados(activos) en la época de la evaluación, y registramosmedidas del ancho de la entrada y profundidad (enlos casos que fue posible) de los dormideros orefugios.

Para cada individuo capturado registramosdatos de peso (balanza de campo Pesola® conprecisión de 1 g), longitud de tarso y medida deculmen (calibrador vernier con precisión de 0,1mm), ala y cola (regla con precisión de 1 mm).Taxidermizamos a cada individuo colectado,analizando por separado contenido estomacal ygónadas (lo que permitió determinar el sexo de losejemplares juveniles).

Los especimenes fueron depositados en lacolección del Departamento de Ornitología delMuseo de Historia Natural de la UniversidadNacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Perú (MUSM26272, 26273, 26274 y 26275).

ResultadosObtuvimos pesos y medidas morfométricas de todoslos individuos capturados en ambas islas (N=6)(Tabla 1). Colectamos cuatro individuos, paraobtener vouchers de P. murphyi.

Isla ChaoEl tiempo de permanencia en esta isla fue de sólodos días, debido a las malas condiciones climáticasy a la difícil accesibilidad al lugar. Realizamos uncenso el día 9 de abril del 2003 entre las 16h30 y las17h30, en donde registramos 14 individuos de P.murphyi. En este censo no pudimos diferenciarmachos de hembras y/o juveniles, debido a lasmalas condiciones climáticas, que imposibilitarontener una buena visibilidad.

La mayoría de refugios identificados se ubicanen los muros de piedras, también llamados ‘pircas’,que son construidos para evitar la caída del guanoal mar. También registramos algunos nidos ensustrato de salitre. En el interior de algunos deestos refugios observamos a individuos adultossolos o en parejas. No pudimos realizar un conteo delos mismos, ni mediciones debido a las malascondiciones climáticas y al poco tiempo depermanencia en el lugar. En el área ocupada por losrefugios de P. murphyi también se observaron nidosactivos de Oceanodroma tethys kelsalli. Colectamosdos machos juveniles y una hembra adulta de P.murphyi en esta isla.

Isla Corcovado Visitamos esta isla entre los 10 al 12 de abril del2003. Realizamos dos censos, uno por día, el 11 y 12de abril, registrando 14 y 48 individuos de P.murphyi respectivamente. Sólo el 12 de abril lascondiciones climáticas fueron buenas (despejado ysin lluvia), permitiendo diferenciar 11 machosadultos durante el censo. Al igual que en la IslaChao, los refugios de P. murphyi estaban ubicadosprincipalmente en pircas, y también en sustratosalitroso. Mediante la revisión de los refugios,determinamos que algunos estaban ocupados porparejas de P. murphyi, y en algunos casos porhembras solas o probablemente individuosjuveniles. No realizamos un censo de los refugiosocupados debido a lo extenso de la isla y al pocotiempo de permanencia en el lugar. Estos refugiosse caracterizan por presentar una alta variabilidaden la profundidad (34,8 ± 8,6; N=4; ancho: 7,4 ± 2,4;N=6). Al igual que en la isla Chao, observamosnidos activos de Oceanodroma tethys kelsalli en lascercanías de los refugios de P. murphyi. Colectamosun macho adulto de P. murphyi en esta isla.

DiscusiónLa variación en el número de individuos en loscensos estuvo aparentemente relacionada con elclima. Las malas condiciones climáticas durante lamayor parte de los días de evaluación disminuyó lavisibilidad. El censo donde se obtuvieron el mayornúmero de registros, fue realizado el día con buenascondiciones climáticas.

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Tabla 1. Datos morfométricos de machos y hembras deProgne murphyi en las islas Chao y Corcovado, dpto. LaLibertad, Perú.

Sexo Peso (g) Pico (mm) Ala (mm) Tarso (mm) Cola (mm)Hembras 36 8,5 125 12,7 56

37 10,6 135 12,9 64Machos 34 9,5 126 12,5 55

35 9,4 131 12,5 6530 11,0 157 13,0 6836 10,7 133 13,0 62


Las islas Chao y Corcovado están cerca alcontinente, a una distancia de 2,5 y 5 km respecti-vamente. P. murphyi podría estar usando estasislas como área de descanso, que visitaría despuésde alimentarse y realizar otras actividades en elcontinente. Esta afirmación es respaldada por losdatos obtenidos de la dieta de los individuoscolectados, donde se registraron presas terrestres yno marinas (C. Mendoza et al. datos no publicados).Cabe mencionar, que P. murphyi también ha sidoregistrado en islas más alejadas del continentecomo Mazorca6, ubicada a 15 km de la costa. Portanto, pensamos que es posible obtener registrosadicionales de esta especie en otras islas de la costaperuana.

Por otro lado, a juzgar por la presencia dejuveniles o parejas de adultos dentro de los refugiosrevisados, pensamos que las islas Chao y Corcovadopodrían también ser usadas como zonas de repro-ducción de P. murphyi. Esta presunción tambiénesta basada en informaciones proporcionadas porlos guardianes, que viven en estas islas durantetodo el año, y afirman que esta ave se reproduceuna o dos veces por año. Cabe mencionar, que laelección de las islas evaluadas estuvo basada eninformación de estos mismos guardianes, quienesreportaban la presencia de ‘pájaros negros’ en lasislas Chao y Corcovado.

La elección de las islas como áreas de construc-ción de refugios y/o lugares de reproducción por P.murphyi, puede explicarse por la menor presión dedepredación en estas islas, ya que en ellas nohabitan mamíferos silvestres (por ejemplo zorros), ysólo eventualmente se observan rapaces. Sumado aesto, las islas se encontrarían alejadas de disturbiosproducto de las actividades humanas, que soncomunes en el litoral cercano.

Estas mismas ventajas que ofrecen las islas opuntas protegidas, condicionan que las avesguaneras se reproduzcan solamente en este tipo deáreas12. Los resultados obtenidos nos permitenafirmar que existen colonias de P. murphyi en lasislas Chao y Corcovado, que utilizan estas áreascomo zonas de descanso, y posiblemente tambiéncomo zonas de reproducción. Esta últimaafirmación sólo puede ser corroborada conposteriores evaluaciones, que permitan ademásestablecer si existe una fluctuación de la poblacióndurante el año, y determinar el estado de conser-vación de las poblaciones de esta especie, que por sudistribución restringida es más vulnerable aperturbaciones en el medio ambiente.

AgradecimientosA Tom Schulenberg, Thomas Valqui, John O’Neill yDan Lane por su ayuda en la elaboración de estereporte y el acceso a la bibliografía pertinente. A losbiólogos Liliana Ayala, Carlos Mendoza y Mari Garcíapor la ayuda en el trabajo de campo. A PROABONOS

por el permiso de entrada, y las facilidades brindadasdurante nuestra estadía en las islas. A la Dra IrmaFranke, Curadora de la Colección de Ornitología delMuseo de Historia Natural de la Universidad NacionalMayor de San Marcos.

Referencias1. Araya, B. & Millie, G. (1992) Guía de campo de las

aves de Chile. Santiago: Ed. Universitaria.2. Ayala, L., Mendoza, C. & Pérez, J. (2003) Registro

de colonias reproductivas de la “golondrina demar peruana” Oceanodroma tethys kelsalli en lasislas Chao y Corcovado (La Libertad, Perú). Librode Resúmenes del VII Congr. Orn. Neotrop.Puyehue.

3. Bibby, C. J., Burgess, N. D. & Hill, D. A. (1993) Birdcensus techniques. London, UK: Academic Press.

4. Clements, J. & Shany, N. (2001) A field guide to thebirds of Peru. Vista, CA: Ibis Publishing.

5. Chapman, F. M. (1925) Descriptions of new birdsfrom Ecuador and Peru. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.Novit. 187.

6. Duffy, D. (1982) Land-birds of a guano island offthe coast of Peru. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 102:87–88.

7. Duffy, D., Hays, C. & Plenge, M. (1984) The conser-vation status of Peruvian seabirds. In: Croxall, J.P., Evans, P. G. H. & Schreiber, R. W. (eds.) Statusand conservation of the world’s seabirds.Cambridge, UK: International Council for BirdPreservation (Tech. Publ. 2).

8. Fjeldså, J. & Krabbe, N. (1990) Birds of the highAndes. Copenhagen: Zool. Mus., Univ. ofCopenhagen & Svendborg: Apollo Books.

9. González, O., Torres, L., Tello, A. & Schulenberg, T.S. (2001) First records of Purple Martin Prognesubis in coastal Peru. Cotinga 15: 65–66.

10. Koepcke, M. (1964) Las aves del departamento deLima. Lima: Gráfica Morson.

11. Pulido, V. (1998) Vocabulario de los nombrescomunes de la fauna silvestre del Perú. Lima:Imp. Perú.

12. Tovar, H. (1968) Áreas de reproducción y distribu-ción de las aves marinas en el litoral peruano.Bol. Instituto Mar del Perú (IMARPE) 1:525–547.

Katya Balta AbadieDepartamento de Ornitología, Museo de HistoriaNatural de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de SanMarcos. Lima, Perú. E-mail: [email protected].

José Pérez Z.Museo de Historia Natural de la Universidad NacionalMayor de San Marcos. Lima, Perú. E-mail:[email protected].

Mariano ValverdeProyecto Especial de Promoción del Aprovechamientode Abonos Proveniente de Aves Marinas(PROABONOS), Lima, Perú.

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Records of the Scimitar-winged Piha Lipaugusuropygialis, a globally threatened and restricted-range species, exist for only a very limited numberof localities in the Bolivian and Peruvian UpperYungas Endemic Bird Area EBA 0551,8,10. Thispaucity of knowledge regarding the distributionand habits of L. uropygialis raises concerns for theconservation of the species, as habitat has beendegraded in areas for which past records exist. Thevocalisations of L. uropygialis were unknown andbehavioural information was also sparse7,9. Fromrecordings and observations made in Bolivia in2001 we describe the species’ voice and behaviour,and combine this with a review of existingunpublished and published data to assess itsconservation status.

MethodsField observations and sound recordings were madein 2001 during two biological inventory expeditionsto previously unsurveyed areas of Bolivia: the firstto the río Pampa Grande (16o39’S 66o29’W),Cordillera Cocapata, dpto. Cochabamba, between2 August and 19 September5, and the other toTokoaque (14o37’S 68o57’W), Madidi National Park,dpto. La Paz, on 31 October–14 November3.Observations were made at distances of 2–20 m, bysix different observers, and sound recordings weremade, using a Sony TCM-5000 tape-recorder andSennheiser ME66 directional microphone, at ríoPampa Grande. The behaviour of L. uropygialis isdescribed based on the authors’ observations andearlier, mainly unpublished, observations suppliedby the observers listed in Table 1.

Voice The only known vocal description8 is based on arecording made during an observation ofL. uropygialis, on 27 October 1979. However, the

bird was not seen to vocalise and the recording wassubsequently identified by the recordist as a Blue-winged Mountain-tanager Anisognathusflavinucha (R. A. Rowlett pers. comm.). No otherrecordings have been made and the vocalisations ofL. uropygialis were unknown.

The voice of L. uropygialis is a noisy, variableshriek, like that of an Aratinga parakeet. Eachburst of vocalisation consists of individual notesthat rise and fall sharply with 3–4 harmonics atfrequencies of 1.5–10.5 kHz (Fig. 2a). Single callsare given but usually there is a more complexcombination of shrieks from a group of individuals.The sonogram represents, first, a single bird (Fig.2a), followed by a typical burst of calling by a group(Fig. 2b). Four individuals were present during the

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First sound recordings, new behavioural and distributionalrecords, and a review of the status of Scimitar-winged PihaLipaugus uropygialisRosalind Bryce,A. Bennett Hennessey, Ross MacLeod, Karl Evans, Steven R. Ewing, Sebastian K. Herzog,Aidan Maccormick and M. Isabel Gomez

Cotinga 24 (2005): 102–106

La cotinga Lipaugus uropigialis es una especie muy poco conocida, mundialmente amenazada y derango de distribución restringido al área endémica de aves EBA 055, Yungas superiores de Boliviay Perú. Sus vocalizaciones son desconocidas y existe poca información sobre su comportamiento ydistribución. A partir de las observaciones realizadas en 2001, publicamos la primera descripciónde la vocalización, comportamiento y nuevos datos acerca de su distribución. También mostramosobservaciones y especimenes no publicados que utilizamos en la revisión del estatus de conser-vación de esta especie. Concluyentemente, consideramos que L. uropigialis sigue siendo unaprioridad de conservación. La razón para su distribución muy localizada sigue desconocida y sonnecesarias más investigaciones al respecto.

Figure 1. Distribution of all known specimens andobservations of Scimitar-winged Piha Lipaugus uropygialis. 1 =Madidi National Park, 2 = Pilon-Lajas Reserve, 3 = CarrascoNational Park, 4 = Amboró National Park.A = Abra deMaruncunca, Peru. B = Apa Apa, La Paz. C = Chapare,Cochabamba. D = Coroico & Cotapata, La Paz, E = Irupana,La Paz. F = río Pampa Grande, Cordillera Cocapata. G =Tokoaque, Madidi National Park.


recording of Fig. 2b. The sonogram shows threedistinct sound patterns (with harmonics) over aperiod of one second, each pattern lasting c.0.2seconds. This might represent three vocalisingindividuals but observations at the time suggestedthat only two birds vocalised and it is possible asingle individual was producing two of the sounds.The pattern of silence interrupted by a burst ofcalls from different individuals is common inlekking species of the genus Pipra and, amongstthe Cotingidae, in Andean Cock-of-the-rockRupicola peruviana and Screaming Piha Lipaugusvociferans. We cannot eliminate the possibilitythat some sounds might be made by the males’

wings, as described for Dusky Piha Lipaugusfuscocinereus4, but this seems unlikely as we didnot observe any wing movements associated withthe sounds.

We heard vocalisations during four of our fiveobservations at Pampa Grande in August–September, but none was heard during the Madidiobservation, in November. Individuals wereobserved vocalising at distances down to 5 m onfour occasions and recordings made twice. Birdsresponded strongly to playback. Such stimulation,both immediately following recording and one weeksubsequently, resulted in birds increasing thevolume and tempo of their calls and approaching

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First sound recordings and a review of the status of Scimitar-winged Piha

Table 1. All known specimens and previous observations of Scimitar-winged Piha Lipaugus uropygialis.ANSP = Academy of NaturalSciences of Philadelphia, AMNH = American Museum of Natural History, BMNH = Natural History Museum (Tring), LSUMZ =Louisiana State University Museum of Zoology, MCZ = Museum of Comparative Zoology and SMF = ForschungsinstitutSenckenberg. Latitude and longitude are given at the first mention of each collection/observation site, where these are certain.

Locality Month Year Altitude No. of observations Observer/ Collectoror specimens

Abra de Maruncunca, Peru (14o14’S 69o17’W) Nov–Dec 1980 2,000 m 3–4 observed, two specimens L. Binford, L. Campos & (&) LSUMZ T. S. Schulenberg

Abra de Maruncunca, Peru Aug 1986 2,200 m one observed M. Kessler & B.WalkerApa Apa, La Paz, Bolivia (16o21’S 67o30’W) Mar 1996 2,300 m one observed B.WoodsApa Apa, La Paz, Bolivia Dec 1996 2,300 m one observed B.WoodsApa Apa, La Paz, Bolivia Dec 1996 2,200 m one observed T. GullickApa Apa, La Paz, Bolivia Aug 1999 2,400 m one observed A. B. Hennessey & A. JaramilloApa Apa, La Paz, Bolivia Oct 1999 ? one observed D. MasonApa Apa, La Paz, Bolivia Jul 2001 ? one observed L. Rubey & B.WoodsCoroico (Tilotilo), La Paz, Bolivia ? 1876 2,400 m four specimens C. Buckley(coordinates unknown) (2% and 2&) BMNHCoroico (Chaco), La Paz, Bolivia Jun and Jul 1894 ? three specimens (2% and 1&) G. Garlepp(16o20’S 67o48’W) AMNH and MCZCoroico (San Antonio), La Paz, Bolivia May 1895 ? one specimen (&) SMF G. Garlepp(coordinates unknown)Coroico (San Antonio), La Paz, Bolivia ? pre-1900 ? one specimen Reported in Hellmayr2

Coroico (Sandillani), La Paz, Bolivia Jul 1896 2,500 m three specimens (2% and 1&) G. Garlepp(16o12’S 67o54’W) SMF and AMNHCoroico (Sandillani), La Paz, Bolivia Nov 1934 2,010 m one specimen (%) ANSP M.A. CarrikerCoroico (Sacramento Alto), La Paz, Bolivia Aug 1979 2,575 m one specimen LSUMZ J.V. Remsen & L. Hale(16o16’S 67o47’W)Coroico (Sacramento Alto), La Paz, Bolivia Oct 1979 ? one observed R.A. Rowlett & R. S. RidgleyCoroico (Corani), La Paz, Bolivia Jul 1989 2,750 m one observed M. KesslerCorioco, La Paz, Bolivia Mar 1994 2,090 m one observed A. MoonCoroico, La Paz, Bolivia Mar 1996 ? one observed J. RossouwCotapata, La Paz, Bolivia Sep 1999 2,400 m one observed J. BalderramaIrupana, La Paz, Bolivia (coordinates unknown) ? pre-1900 ? one specimen Reported in Niethammer5

Locatal (location unknown), Bolivia ? Mar 1891 ? one specimen (%) SMF G. GarleppOld Chapare Road, Cochabamba, Bolivia ? 1970s ? up to ten observed R. S. Ridgely(17o08’S 65o36’W)Old Chapare Road, Cochabamba, Bolivia Apr 1977 1,800 m one observed R. S. RidgleyOld Chapare Road, Cochabamba, Bolivia ? 1980s ? small numbers noted Reported in Ridgely & Tudor8

Old Chapare Road, Cochabamba, Bolivia Jul 1996 2,050 m one observed S. K. HerzogOld Chapare Road, Cochabamba, Bolivia Oct 1997 2,050 m one observed M. Kessler


closer. One observation was made after undetectedbirds responded to playback made the previousweek at the same location. The birds first startedcalling and then moved into sight, before landingimmediately overhead.

Behavioural observationsBased on the reports included in Table 1, birds aremost frequently observed quietly perching in thesubcanopy within forest or, less often, at the forestedge. They tend to perch c.10–15 m above groundand have been observed to remain motionless forseveral minutes (L. Rubey pers. comm.). During the1970s, R. S. Ridgely (pers. comm.) regularlyobserved L. uropygialis as singles accompanyingmixed flocks and less often in pairs. Once, M.Kessler (pers. comm.) observed 4–5 birds chasingeach other through the canopy.

Our six observations ranged from a single togroups of four. Groups were active and noisy, withbirds often chasing each other through theunderstorey and subcanopy, 5–15 m above ground.Usually one bird would fly into view and land on atree close to the trunk, where it would pause andactively survey its surroundings. A secondindividual would then land nearby. The firstindividual would then take flight, accompanied byshrieking calls (described above) by both birds. Theprocess would be repeated, with the birds chasingeach other 5–10 m from perch to perch. On threeoccasions two more birds, chasing either each otheror the first two, followed. Occasionally they wouldperch motionless, as recorded by other observersand described above. No wing noise was heardwhilst the birds were in flight.

Records of stomach contents7 and observationsof birds feeding (ABH pers. obs.) indicate that L.

uropygialis feeds on berries and tree fruits to someextent. During one observation a single individualperformed a series of what appeared to beflycatching sallies (A. Moon & L. Rubey pers.comm.). The bird flew 2–3 m up before returning tothe same or a nearby perch. During one of ourobservations birds were observed in the uppersubcanopy/lower canopy, perching mainly on majorbranches, making short sallies to moss-coveredbranches and flying to a new perch afterwards;foraging behaviour quite similar to that of GreyishMourner Rhytipterna simplex. Once we observed abird consume a caterpillar, after first wiping itvigorously against a tree branch.

Specimens and observationsRecords of L. uropygialis are confined to the upperYungas forests of central and west Bolivia (on theeast Andean slope) and south-east Peru. Thespecies is known from six Bolivian localities(Coroico, Cotapata, Irupana, Apa Apa, Locotal,Chapare) and one in Peru (Abra de Maruncunca),all at 1,800–2,750 m (Table 1; Fig. 1).

Eighteen specimens of L. uropygialis werecollected between 1876 and 1979 (Table 1); thistotal includes six specimens not mentioned byRemsen et al.7. The majority of specimens are fromCoroico, La Paz. Fourteen were collected before theclose of the 19th century, in groups of up to four,followed by the collection of two singles and a pairin the 20th century. The decline in the frequencyand number of individuals collected could be theresults of a new approach by collectors, but webelieve that the lack of 20th-century specimensmay represent evidence for a population decline, aconclusion supported by the fewer field observa-tions in recent years.

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Figure 2. Sonogram of Scimitar-winged Piha Lipaugus uropygialis: a) single call from one bird, 23 August 2001, at 2,450 m;b) vocalisations from a group of up to four, 22 August 2001, at 2,550 m, Pampa Grande Valley, dpto. Cochabamba, Bolivia.Recordings by Steve Ewing & Ross MacLeod, sonogram prepared using Cool Edit 2000 version 1.1.


Prior to our observations, L. uropygialis hadbeen observed on 17 occasions in 1970–2001. In the1970s a maximum of ten individuals, in singles andpairs, was recorded at Coroico and along the OldChapare road. In 1986 and 1989 groups of 3–5 wereseen at Abra de Maruncunca. Since then, there are12 known sightings of singles at a tiny number oflocalities. The sites around Coroico now appeardegraded, with less than pristine habitat, andalthough frequently visited by ornithologists thereare extremely few records of L. uropygialis. At sitesthat have been frequently visited (Apa Apa,Coroico, Old Chapare road), both the number ofobservations and group size have declined in recentdecades, correlating with a reported deteriorationin habitat quality.

Our observations were made first at the ríoPampa Grande on 18 August–8 September 2001.Five observations, believed to involve at least eightindividuals, were made in two locations, during 50days field work in montane evergreen forest by sixexperienced ornithologists. The two locations are at2,450 m and 2,550 m, on opposite sides of the valley,c.2 km apart. The habitat at each was primarymontane forest on a steep ridge. One site was alonga permanent trail within a small (c.10 m-wide)clearing, with some human disturbance. A furtherobservation was made by MIG, on 8 November2001, at 2,500 m in primary montane evergreenforest at Tokoaque, during the first ornithologicalsurvey of the upper Yungas section of MadidiNational Park3.

Discussion and conservation assessmentL. uropygialis was designated as globallythreatened in 2000, when classified as Vulnerable1.This classification was based on the unpublishedinformation presented in Table 1. The new datacollected by 2001, combined with previouslyunpublished records, reveal that L. uropygialis is agenuinely rare species, even in pristine forest.

As mentioned above, in the Pampa GrandeValley, at Cocapata, observations were made on justfive occasions at only two locations, both on ridges.Previous observations and specimens furthersuggest that the species is extremely local as suchrecords are from just seven localities. Four of thefive observations at Pampa Grande were made at alocation visited near daily, suggesting that the birdsmight be utilising large tracts of forest in the area.Interestingly, the observation by M. Kessler in 1997was made at exactly the same place on the OldChapare road as the individual recorded by SKH in1996. The pattern of the species only appearing atone place within a locality is repeated elsewhere,e.g. Apa Apa, where four observations have beenmade near the same ridgetop. All recent observa-tions, with the exception of that Cocapata, havecome from primary forest. The apparent restriction

to specific spots within such forest, often associatedwith ridges, suggests that the species may haveunknown microhabitat requirements. It cannot beassumed that the species will occur in allapparently suitable primary forests within itsrange.

Much of the forest habitat where L. uropygialishas been recorded has been degraded as a result ofselective logging, road construction, agriculture,clearance for plantations, grazing and hunting. Webelieve this probably explains the recent paucity ofrecords from areas of former occurrence.

Within Bolivia and south-east Peru there arestill extensive areas of undisturbed forest, wherelittle or no survey work has been undertaken, andthe true status of L. uropygialis will remainunknown until these have been searched. However,the limited range and localised distribution of thespecies, even in primary forest, combined withcontinued habitat degradation in the upper Yungas(EBA 55)10 suggest the species is indeed globallythreatened and should continue to be treated asVulnerable. Its highly localised distribution andapparent dependence on pristine forest means thatthe species may be subject to even greater threatsthan other birds endemic to the upper Yungas.Future surveys for L. uropygialis shouldconcentrate on the Yungas forests of south-eastPeru and Bolivia, at 1,500–3,000 m, and should aimto pinpoint new localities and monitor existingones. Knowledge of population densities andhabitat preferences are essential before an accurateestimate of the global population can be made andthe level of threat properly assessed. Such actionsshould be supported by protection of pristinehabitat in the species’ known range.

AcknowledgementsMany thanks to J. Balderrama, L. Binford, L. Campos,T. Gullick, A. Jaramillo, M. Kessler, D. Mason, A. Moon,R. S. Ridgely, J. Rossouw, R. A. Rowlett, L. Rubey, T. S.Schulenberg, B. Walker and B. Woods, who generouslycontributed their unpublished data. J. V. Remsen, R. S.Ridgely, R. A. Rowlett, T. Stuart, T. S. Schulenberg, D.Lane, K. Kunz and Eagle-Eye Tours assisted oursearch for such unpublished data. For assistance withspecimen data we thank Chris Vogel (AmericanMuseum of Natural History, New York), Leo Joseph(Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia), AlisonPirie (Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge,MA), Robert Prys-Jones and Mark Adams (NaturalHistory Museum, Tring), Gerald Mayr(Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, Frankfurt), KarlSchuchmann (Alexander Koenig Zoological ResearchInstitute and Museum of Zoology, Bonn) and F.Cordula Bracker (Hamburg Museum). Our field workwas primarily funded by Thriplow Charitable Trust,the BP Conservation Programme, Royal GeographicSociety, Oxford University, British Ecological Society,Gilchrist Educational Trust and Glasgow University

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Council. In addition, RCM and AM are funded by theDarwin Initiative Bolivian Key Biodiversity AreasProject: we gratefully acknowledge the support of allthese organisations.

References1. BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of

the world. Cambridge, UK: BirdLifeInternational & Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.

2. Hellmayr, C. E. (1929) Catalogue of birds of theAmericas. Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ., Zool. Ser.,13 (6).

3. Hennessey, A. B. & Gomez, M. I. (2003) Four birdspecies new to Bolivia: an ornithological surveyof the Yungas site Tokoaque, Madidi NationalPark. Cotinga 19: 25–33.

4. López-Lanús, B. (2000) Display and mechanicalsound in Dusky Piha Lipaugus fuscocinereus.Cotinga 13: 44–45.

5. MacLeod, R., Ewing, S., Herzog, S. K., Bryce, R.,Evans, K. & Maccormick, A. (submitted) Firstornithological inventory and conservationassessment for the Yungas forests of theCordilleras Cocapata and Mosetenes,Cochabamba, Bolivia. Bird Conserv. Intern.

6. Niethammer, G. (1956) Zur Vogelwelt Boliviens(Teil II: Passeres). Bonn. Zool. Beitr. 7: 84–150

7. Remsen, J. V., Parker, T. A. & Ridgely R. S. (1982)Natural history notes on some poorly knownBolivian birds. Le Gerfaut 72: 77–87.

8. Ridgley, R. S. & Tudor, G. (1994) The birds of SouthAmerica, 2. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

9. Snow, D. W. (1982) The cotingas: bellbirds,umbrellabirds and their allies. London, UK: Brit.

Mus. (Nat. Hist.) & Ithaca, NY: CornellUniversity Press.


Rosalind Bryce, Ross MacLeod, Steven R. Ewingand Aidan MaccormickDarwin Initiative Bolivian KBA Project, Division ofEnvironmental and Evolutionary Biology, Institute ofBiomedical & Life Sciences, Graham Kerr Building,Glasgow University, G12 8QQ, UK. RB (correspondingauthor) currently at: CEH Banchory, Hill of Brathens,Banchory, Aberdeenshire AB31 4BW, UK. E-mail:[email protected].

A. Bennett Hennessey and Sebastian K. HerzogAsociación Armonía/BirdLife International, AvenidaLomas de Arena 400, Casilla 3566, Santa Cruz,Bolivia. E-mail: [email protected].

Karl EvansDepartment of Zoology, Oxford University, South ParksRoad, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK.

M. Isabel GomezColección Boliviana de Fauna, Museo Nacional deHistoria Natural, Casilla 6394, La Paz, Bolivia.



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Neotropical Notebook containsthree sections. The first consists ofshort papers documenting records.Photos and descriptions arepublished where appropriate. Thesecond section summarises recordspublished elsewhere, following theformat established in previousissues of Cotinga. The third listsunpublished and undocumentedrecords. Please indicate, withsubmissions, in which section youwish your records to appear.

First record of Spotted RailPardirallus maculatus inGuatemalaSpotted Rail Pardirallusmaculatus is a shy resident ofwetlands in Cuba, Hispaniola,Trinidad & Tobago, and locallyfrom southern Mexico throughCentral America to Argentina andwest Peru2,4. It is known from allCentral American countries exceptGuatemala3, having been onlyrecently reported in Honduras, atLake Yojoa1.

On 26 April 2004, whilstundertaking a waterbird count atLake Güija, I photographed anadult Spotted Rail beside the ríoOstúa, dpto. Jalapa, Guatemala(14o17’N 89o32’W). The photographis archived at VIREO(V06/56/001). No vocalisationswere heard. The Ostúa forms theborder between Guatemala and ElSalvador, at the point where itflows into Lake Güija. Vegetationin the area included Salixhumboldtiana, grasses(Gramineae), and Eichhorniacrassipes.

Spotted Rail was previouslyknown in El Salvador from singlerecords at Laguna El Jocotal, dpto.San Miguel, and Tasajera Island,dpto. La Paz5, 179 km and 136 km,respectively, from Lake Güija.

Neither the El Salvador recordsnor the new Guatemala recordimplies local breeding. Recordsthroughout Central America arewidespread but few and thepossibility that some or all recordsfrom northern Central Americaare vagrants cannot be eliminated.

AcknowledgementsI am grateful to Knut Eisermann,Oliver Komar, Alejandro SagoneCáceres and Daniel Tenes for theircontributions to this note. Fundingfor the bird counts was providedby Ducks Unlimited and the USFish & Wildlife Service.

References1. Bonta, M. & Anderson, D. L.

(2002) Birding Honduras: achecklist and guide.Tegucigalpa: Ecoartes de R. L.

2. Howell, S. N. G. & Webb, S.(1995) A guide to the birds ofMexico and northern CentralAmerica. Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press.

3. Land, H. C. (1970) Birds ofGuatemala. Wynnewood, PA:Livingston Publishing Co.

4. Taylor, P. B. (1996) FamilyRallidae (rails, gallinules andcoots). In: del Hoyo, J.,Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J.(eds.) Handbook of the birdsof the world, 3. Barcelona:Lynx Edicions.

5. Thurber, W. A., Serrano, J. F.,Sermeño, A. & Benítez, M.(1987) Status of uncommonand previously unreportedbirds of El Salvador. Proc.West. Found. Vert. Zool. 3:109–293.

Néstor HerreraPrograma de Ciencias para laConservación, SalvaNATURA,33 Ave. Sur #640, Colonia FlorBlanca, San Salvador, El Salvador.E-mail [email protected].

New records of Wedge-tailedSabrewing Campylopteruscurvipennis and Blue-blackGrosbeak Cyanocompsacyanoides in Cusuco NationalPark, HondurasCusuco National Park in north-west Honduras is a little-studiedprotected area in the MerendonMountains. Here we outline twonew observations for the parkmade during a study of aviandiversity and abundance there, inJuly–August 2004. The nationalpark has a total area of 23,000 ha,although the core zone is only7,690 ha. The latter includes bothpine-dominated and broadleaf-dominated forest, and covers analtitudinal range of 1,200 m to thehighest point at 2,242 m(15o29’–15o32’N 88o12–88o16’W).There is a mosaic of three mainhabitat types: cloud forest at1,500–2,242 m, drier pine forest,mainly on south-facing slopes, at800–1,500 m, and wet deciduousforest mainly on north-facingslopes at 500–1,500 m.

Wedge-tailed SabrewingCampylopterus curvipennisThis sabrewing is a frequent tocommon resident through easternMexico, Belize and northernGuatemala, with two localitiesknown in eastern Honduras1–3.There are no records for westernHonduras. During a ten-day period(27 June–5 July 2004) mist-nettingaround the visitor centre at thenational park (15o29’N 88o12’W;1,630 m), we trapped a singleindividual in pine-dominatedforest edge. The bird had arelatively straight bill and a long,wedge-shaped tail. The face andthroat were grey and there was asmall, distinct white post-ocularspot. The crown was iridescentviolet, tinged with blue, and theneck and upperparts weregreenish blue. The tail wassimilarly coloured, but was

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noticeably bluer with the outerrectrices showing black, revealingit to be a male, as females havebroad white tips to the outerrectrices. This capture is the firstrecord in western Honduras and anew altitudinal record for C.curvipennis, which was previouslyknown only to 1,400 m2. Giventhat the species occurs c.100 km tothe north-west and c.400 km to thesouth-east of the study area, it isunsurprising that the sabrewinghas now also been found in thenational park.

Blue-black GrosbeakCyanocompsa cyanoidesThis grosbeak occurs in humidevergreen forest and secondgrowth from Mexico south toEcuador and Brazil, being commonto frequent below 900 m1,2 innorthern Central America, andcommon up to 1,200 m in CostaRica4. Our first sighting was inbroadleaf forest at 1,710 m on 28June 2004, when we found a pairsinging in dense undergrowtharound 2–3 m above ground levelin 30–35 m-high canopy forest.Both male and female songs werea slow, descending slurred warbleof six notes. The male was verydark with an overall blue-blackappearance, and the bill wasmassive compared to the head. Theoverall impression was of a stocky,thickset bird. The female was deepbrown with a similarly thicksetappearance and massive bill. On 2July 2004, at the same location, wetrapped a male (wing length 82mm, weight 29 g) using a tapelure, confirming the originalidentification, and revealing theforehead to be a noticeablybrighter blue and the black bill tohave a pale base to the lowermandible. The bird wasphotographed, but unfortunatelythe quality of the photographs wasinsufficient for publicationpurposes. Several further observa-tions were made in the samelocation during subsequent days.Additional sightings were made ofa male and a female c.1 km away,in pine-dominated forest and forestedge, at the visitor centre,indicating that the species is fairlywidespread at this altitude, and is

not confined to lowland forests.Our observations represent aconsiderable extension of thespecies’ altitudinal range.

AcknowledgementsWe thank the staff and volunteersof Operation Wallacea and RobinBrace for being instrumental inpermitting this study to takeplace.

References1. Anderson, D. L., Weidenfeld, D.

A., Bechard, M. J. & Novak,S. J. (2004) Avian diversity inthe Moskitia region ofHonduras. Orn. Neotrop. 15:447–482.

2. Howell, S. N. G. & Webb, S.(1995) A guide to the birds ofMexico and northern CentralAmerica. Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press.

3. Jones, H. L. & Gardner, D.(2004) Birds of Belize.London, UK: ChristopherHelm.

4. Stiles, F. G. & Skutch, A. F.(1989) A guide to the birds ofCosta Rica. Ithaca, NY:Cornell University Press.

M. Dallimer, P. Cosgrove, R.Cosgrove and V. Frenchc/o Operation Wallacea, HopeHouse, Old Bolingbroke, Spilsby,Lincolnshire PE23 4EX, UK. E-mail: [email protected].

First description of the nest ofa Ruddy TreerunnerMargarornis rubiginosusWe discovered a nest of a RuddyTreerunner Margarornisrubiginosus at Monteverde CloudForest Preserve, Puntarenasprovince, Costa Rica (1,530 m) on25 April 2004. The nest of thisspecies has not been describedpreviously1–3. It was sited at c.25m in the crown of a tree adjacentto a suspension bridge along aregularly used trail within maturecloud forest. The nest was on theunderside of a thick branch(diameter: 45 cm), which projectedfrom the main trunk at an angle of20o from vertical. The nest was anoval mass of moss, well

camouflaged on an epiphyte-covered branch (Fig. 1), and wasc.30 cm tall and 20 cm wide. Thenest entrance, which orienteddownwards from the bottom of thenest, had a diameter of c.10 cm,and the entrance tunnel appearedto narrow considerably within. Thelip of the nest entrance appearedto be woven of brown and greenplant fibres, whereas theremainder of the exterior was ofshaggy moss. Moss hung downaround the entrance, making itdifficult to view into the nest fromany angle except directly below.The branch to which the nest wasattached, and the nest’s structure,protected the interior of the nestfrom rain. The nest was sitedunderneath a large, leafybromeliad and may have beenattached to the root structure ofthe epiphyte.

Nests of Neotropical ovenbirds(Furnariidae) are variable andoften highly cryptic3. The nest ofonly one other species ofMargarornis has been described;that of Pearled Treerunner M.squamiger, which is a ball of mosswith a side entrance, placed belowa limb or rock1. Hanging nests ofmoss may prove to be a commonfeature amongst the four species inthis genus.

We observed one or two adultsfeeding nestlings. During twohours of observation, we witnessed20 feeding visits, but only oneadult was seen per visit, making itimpossible to determine whetherone or more individuals attendedthe nest. During each visit, theadult approached the nest in along flight from below, perchedbriefly on the lip and then movedup into the nest, where only thetail and rump were visible. Weinferred that the interiorcomprised a passage leading fromthe entrance to a shelf where thenestlings perched. On exiting, theadult dropped down in a longflight away from the nest. Thenestlings begged loudly duringeach visit, a series of rapidlyrepeated, high, thin notes (seet).From the degree of overlap inbegging vocalisations, we believethere were at least two nestlings.The adult occasionally uttered a



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quiet, thin seet at or near the nest.Each visit lasted no more than2 seconds. On two occasions, weobserved the adult carrying prey,presumably an arthropod, thewings of which extended at least1 cm either side of the bill. Theadult visited in bouts, returningevery 2–3 minutes during afeeding bout. The longest between-bout interval was 18 minutes.

Directly below the nest, theleaves in the understorey werecovered with nestling faecalmaterial. During the two hours ofobservation, we observed faecalmaterial falling from the nest fourtimes.

AcknowledgementsWe thank J. V. Remsen for hiscomments, and the NaturalSciences and EngineeringResearch Council of Canada(NSERC) for supporting ongoingresearch in Costa Rica.

References1. Remsen, J. V. (2003) Family

Furnariidae (ovenbirds). In:del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. &Christie, D. A. (eds.)Handbook of the birds of theworld, 8. Barcelona: LynxEdicions.

2. Stiles, F. G. & Skutch, A. F.(1989) A guide to the birds ofCosta Rica. Ithaca, NY:Cornell University Press.

3. Zyskowski, K. & Prum, R. O.(1999) Phylogenetic analysisof the nest architecture ofNeotropical ovenbirds(Furnariidae). Auk 116:891–911.

Daniel J. Mennill Department of Biological Sciences,University of Windsor, Ontario,Canada. E-mail:[email protected].

Stéphanie M. DoucetDepartment of Biological Sciences,Auburn University, Alabama, USA.E-mail: [email protected].

A nest of Rufous AntpittaGrallaria rufula depredated by aTurquoise Jay CyanolycaturcosaOn 26 November 2003 we found anest of Rufous Antpitta Grallariarufula at Tapichalaca BiologicalReserve (04o30’S 79o10’W), north ofValladolid in south-east Zamora-Chinchipe province, Ecuador, at anelevation of c.2,500 m. The nest,which held two entirely turquoiseeggs (25.3 x 22.6, 25.4 x 22.5 mm),

was a large mossy cup lined withpale fibres and dark fungalrhizomorphs. It was located 2 mabove ground on the side of amossy tree trunk (12 cm diameterat breast height), supported by ashelf created by an abnormalgrowth of the tree and epiphyticbromeliads. Its measurementswere: inside cup diameter 10 cm,cup depth 6.5 cm, outside diameter20 cm, and outside height 12 cm. Alarge quantity of moss was stuffedonto the front of the ledge belowthe nest, apparently to increase itssupport. This extended 9 cm belowthe bottom of the nest. The nestand eggs closely matched the onlyother nest description forG. rufula2.

Both adults incubated the clutchand frequently arrived at the nestwith fungal rhizomorphs to add tothe lining. While incubating, adultssat deep in the nest cup and werenot visible above the rim of thenest. Both were observed to standand rapidly probe into the lining ofthe nest, frequently consumingsmall objects, as described forScaled Antpitta Grallariaguatemalensis1.

On 28 November, during remotefilming of the nest, a TurquoiseJay Cyanolyca turcosa arrivedwhile no adults were present. Wevideotaped the jay eating botheggs, spending c.5 minutes at thenest. It consumed both eggsentirely, breaking them open in thenest and eating small pieces of theshell and yolk with its head belowthe rim of the nest. No vocalisa-tions were heard from the adultantpittas during this period.

AcknowledgementsHFG thanks the Hertzberg FamilyFoundation for their generosity andthe Whitely-Lang Foundation fortheir support of his natural historyresearch through the Rufford SmallGrants program. We thank John V.& the late Ruth Ann Moore fortheir continued support, and RobDobbs and Paul Martin forcomments on earlier drafts. This ispublication no. 37 of the YanayacuNatural History Research Groupand was further supported by thePBNHS.

Figure 1. Photograph and line tracing of the nest of a Ruddy Treerunner Margarornisrubiginosus at Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, Costa Rica.The globular nest wasconstructed of moss and plant fibres, and positioned on the underside of a thickbranch high in the canopy.The adult delivered food to the nest from the entrance,which is oriented downwards from the bottom of the nest (Daniel J. Mennill)



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References1. Dobbs, R. C., Martin, P. R.,

Batista, C., Montag, H. &Greeney, H. F. (2003) Notes on egg-laying, incubation,and nestling care in ScaledAntpitta Grallaria guati-malensis. Cotinga 19: 65–70.

2. Whitney, B. M. (1992) A nestand egg of the RufousAntpitta in Ecuador. WilsonBull. 104: 759–760.

Harold F. Greeney andRudolphe A. GelisYanayacu Biological Station &Center for Creative Studies,Cosanga, Napo, Ecuador; c/o 721Foch y Amazonas, Quito, Ecuador.E-mail: [email protected].

Third record of Rufous-chestedPlover Charadrius modestus inPeruRufous-chested Plover Charadriusmodestus breeds in southern SouthAmerica, in Chile and Argentina2,3.Part of the population is migratoryand reaches northern Chile andsouthern and, exceptionally, south-east Brazil2,6 during the australautumn/winter. Post-breedingmigration mainly occurs inMarch–April and return to thebreeding areas is in lateAugust–September3.

On 25 August 1995, C.Chevalier, F. Fontaine, PP andFS observed a Rufous-chestedPlover on the beach immediatelywest of Pisco (dpto. Ica), just 200m from the sea. It was largerthan the nearby SanderlingCalidris alba and KentishPlovers Charadriusalexandrinus, but clearly smallerthan American Golden PloverPluvialis squatarola and KilldeerCharadrius vociferous present onthe same beach. It had thecharacteristic plover combinationof rounded head and relativelyshort bill. The bird was inbreeding plumage, with a rufouschest separated from the whitebelly by a black bar, and greycheeks separated from the browncap by a white supercilium.

Previous records in Peru involvea breeding-plumage female atPlaya Ventanilla, north of Lima, on

10–17 June 1972, which wascollected on the final date4, and anadult male collected on the south-west shore of Paracas Bay, on 22June 19755. As the species is easilyidentified and may occur in areasfrequently visited by birdwatchers(e.g. Lagunas de Mejia, the Pisco,Paracas and Lima areas), thepaucity of records suggests thespecies is genuinely a vagrant toPeru, rather than being merelyoverlooking (contra Clements &Shany1).

AcknowledgementThomas S. Schulenberg assistedwith reference material.

References1. Clements, J. F. & Shany, N.

(2001) A field guide to thebirds of Peru. Barcelona:Lynx Edicions.

2. Fjeldså, J. & Krabbe, N. (1990)Birds of the high Andes.Copenhagen: Zool. Mus.,Univ. of Copenhagen &Svendborg: Apollo Books.

3. Hayman, P., Marchant, J. &Prater, T. (1986) Shorebirds:an identification guide to thewaders of the world.Beckenham: Croom Helm.

4. Plenge, M. A. (1974) Notes onsome birds in west-centralPeru. Condor 76: 326–330.

5. Plenge, M. A., Parker, T. A.,Hughes, T. A. & O’Neill, J. P.(1989) Additional notes onthe distribution of birds inwest-central Peru. Gerfaut79: 55–68.

6. Sick, H. (1997) Ornitologiabrasileira. Rio de Janeiro:Ed. Nova Fronteira.

Fabrice Schmitt14 Av. de la République, 70200Lure, France. E-mail:[email protected].

Pierre ParisetLa Salvetat, 12230 LaCouvertoirade, France.

An incomplete nest ofPoecilurus kollari in Roraima,BrazilThe trio of species in the genusPoecilurus are often placed in the

genus Synallaxis1, or considered asubgenus2. Hoary-throatedSpinetail Poecilurus kollari isendemic to riverine forests alongthe upper rio Branco and itstributaries, in extreme northernBrazil and adjacent Guyana1. Itstiny range and ongoing forest losshave meant that P. kollari isconsidered globally threatened3.Nonetheless, the species is poorlyknown, and none of its knownrange is formally protected(although a large portion lieswithin indigenous reserves).

On 4 August 2004, we found anest of P. kollari at Alagadiço,Fazenda Truarú, on the westbank of the rio Uraricoera,Roraima, Brazil (03o24’N60o37’W). The nest wassupported from a branch 3 mabove ground, in a dense bushc.10 m from the riverbank(Fig. 1A). Two individuals,presumably a male and female,were nest building using twigsfrom a common vine, locallyknown as erva de passarinho(Loranthaceae). We revisited thenest 12 days later, on threesubsequent days. At that timethe nest was not yet lined, andwe observed no change in itsstructure. It was a round cup, 35cm in external diameter, 11 cm

Figure 1. Nest of Poecilurus kollari atAlagadiço, Roraima, Brazil.A) generalview of nest placement; B) close-upshowing that it was apparentlyincomplete and abandoned (note leavesinside).



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in internal diameter, and 10 cmdeep (Fig. 1B). The inner cavitywas a simple tube at a 45o angle.The nest was probablyabandoned because it had notbeen cleaned of leaves and wedid not observe the presumedpair. SPN revisited the nest on27 September 2004 andconfirmed it to be abandoned.The nest was collected, and willbe deposited in the ornithologicalcollection of the NationalInstitute for AmazonianResearch (INPA), Manaus.

Based on the nest architectureof Poecilurus candei and P.scutatus, Zyskowski & Prum4

defined the nest of the genus as adomed vegetative nest composed ofsticks with a thatch, a tubularentrance, and restricted lining.Assuming that P. kollari hassimilar nest architecture, the nestfound at Alagadiço was probablyincomplete, as it was not domedbut a cup with no cover. In July2001, Grosset & Minns5 also foundan incomplete nest of P. kollari onthe east bank of the Uraricoera, ina similar environment but lower(1.5 m). To our knowledge, this isthe second record of P. kollari’snest, the first time it has beencollected, and the first observationof the probable involvement ofmale and female in nest building.

AcknowledgementsWe thank the Instituto Nacionalde Pesquisas Amazônicas inRoraima for logistical support. Wealso thank Claudiomiro Parentefor invaluable field assistance,Mario Cohn-Haft for encouragingus to publish this note, and GuyKirwan and Van Remsen forreviewing the manuscript. Thenest was found during anornithological expedition sponsoredby grants to MMV provided byDavid Blinken from the William &Jane Overman Foundation and theTinker & Mellon Graduate Grant.MASA received a research grantfrom the Conselho Nacional deDesenvolvimento Científico eTecnológico (CNPq) whilst writingthis note (process no. 302718/2003-6).

References1. Remsen, J. V. (2003) Family

Furnariidae (ovenbirds). In:del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. &Christie, D. A. (eds.)Handbook of the birds of theworld, 8. Barcelona: LynxEdicions.

2. Vaurie, C. (1980) Taxonomyand geographical distributionof the Furnariidae (Aves,Passeriformes). Bull. Amer.Mus. Nat. Hist. 166.

3. Stattersfield, A. J. & Capper,D. R. (eds.) (2000) Threatenedbirds of the world.Cambridge, UK: BirdLifeInternational & Barcelona:Lynx Edicions.

4. Zyskowski, K. & Prum, R. O.(1999) Phylogenetic analysisof the nest architecture ofNeotropical ovenbirds(Furnariidae). Auk 116:891–911.

5. Grosset, A. & Minns, J. (2002)Photospot: Hoary-throatedSpinetail Poecilurus kollari.Cotinga 18: 114.

Mariana M. ValeNicholas School of theEnvironment and Earth Sciences,Duke University, Box 90328,Durham, NC 27708-0328, USA. E-mail: [email protected].

Maria Alice S. AlvesDepartamento de Ecologia,Universidade do Estado do Rio deJaneiro, Rua São FranciscoXavier 524, Rio de Janeiro, RJ20550-011, Brazil. E-mail:[email protected].

Sebastião P. NascimentoInstituto Nacional de PesquisasAmazônicas, Núcleo Roraima,Caixa Postal 96, Boa Vista, RR69301-970, Brazil. E-mail:[email protected].

Seabird records from Alagoasand Sergipe states, north-eastBrazilThe states of Alagoas (AL) andSergipe (SE), in north-east Brazil,possess c.390 km of coastline,between c.9–11o S. Althoughlandbirds are relatively wellknown (at least in AL), little has

been published concerningseabirds in these states. Here wereview existing, and present new,data on seabird distributions in ALand SE. Specimens are depositedin the Universidade Federal dePernambuco (UFPE), EmpresaAmbiental do Pólo Petroquímico deCamaçari (CETREL),Universidade Federal de Alagoas(MHNUFAL), and UniversidadeFederal de Sergipe (UFSE). We listgeographical coordinates for eachlocality only at its first mention.English names and taxonomyfollow del Hoyo et al.5,6, except foralbatrosses, where we followRobertson & Nunn10. Species’global status follows BirdLifeInternational2: EN (Endangered),VU (Vulnerable), NT (NearThreatened) and LC (LeastConcern).

Black-browed AlbatrossThalassarche melanophrys (EN) Olmos9 reported a specimenbanded in the Falklands (SouthAtlantic) recovered in Maceió(c.09o40’S 35o44’W; AL), but did notmention a precise date (probablyin May–September). On 16 March1993 one was found dead at Praiade Aruana (11o01’S 37o04’W) andon 22 June 2003 another at Praiada Caueira (11o12’S 37o11’W), bothin SE.

Atlantic Yellow-nosedAlbatross Thalassarchechlororhynchos (EN) Previously known from a juveniletaken off Pontal do Peba (c.10o21’S36o18’W; AL) on 21 May 198814. Ajuvenile (MHNUFAL 46) wascaught by fishermen a few milesoff Maceió (09o40’S 35o44’W; AL) on3 June 1990, and on 7 June 2001another (CETREL) was found deadat Praia de Pirambu (10o39’S36o35’W; SE). Additionally, MCSand RTF received the skull of onefound near the Vaza Barris estuary(11o07’S 37o08’W; SE) on 30 June2003.

Southern Fulmar Fulmarusglacialoides (LC) Azevedo-Júnior1 reported severaldead at Praia de Pirambu (SE) inMay 1990, one of which (3403) isretained in UFPE. F. glacialoideshas been recorded further north



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(c.5oS), off Rio Grande do Norte3,11.

Soft-plumaged PetrelPterodroma mollis (LC)Occurs off southern Brazil duringthe austral winter, and occasion-ally reaches north to Rio deJaneiro11, with one record fromBahia7. A single (CETREL) wasfound at Praia de Pirambu (SE) on4 May 1999, which appears to bethe northernmost record in Brazil.

White-chinned PetrelProcellaria aequinoctialis (Vu) During the Dutch occupation ofnorth-east Brazil (in the 17thcentury), a naturalist from CountMaurice of Nassau-Siegen’s courtnoted this species’ presence in theregion12. Two were found dead atPraia da Caueira (SE) on 3 May2001. P. aequinoctialis shouldoccur, at least in small numbers,off AL and SE, as well aselsewhere in north-east, as birdshave been recorded in southernBahia7, and even further north, onthe Amazon River8.

Cory’s Shearwater Calonectris(diomedea) borealis (LC)Azevedo-Júnior1 reported severalat Praia de Pirambu (SE) in May1990. At the same locality, severalwere found dead on 10 April 1998,20–24 May 1998, 3 June 1999,12 May 2000, 23–24 May 2001,22 April and 13–15 May 2003, and2–9 and 15 June 2003. Severalspecimens are retained inMHNUFAL, UFSE, and thezoological laboratory of TiradentesUniversity (SE). Moreover, Olmos9

mentioned two specimens bandedin the Azores recovered in AL andSE.

Great Shearwater Puffinusgravis (LC)Azevedo-Júnior1 reported manydead along Praia de Pirambu (SE)in May 1990, two of which (3399,3401) are in UFPE. Several wereseen following fishing boats offMaceió harbour (09o40’S 35o44’W)on 24 May 1990. At the samelocality, one (MHNUFAL 68) wasfound dead on 26 May 1998, andanother (UFSE) was found atAracaju (10o58’S 37o02’W; SE) on12 June 1994. RTF found one dead

at Praia de Pirambu (SE) on23 May 2001, one was found deadat Praia da Capueira (11o12’S37o11’W; SE) on 22 June 2003, andone at Praia de Aruana on29 September 2004.

Manx Shearwater Puffinuspuffinus (LC)One (MHNUFAL 99) found dead atPraia do Francês (09o58’S 35o45’W;AL) on 27 May 1990. Several werefound dead at Santa IsabelBiological Reserve (10o39’S 36o35’W;SE) on 27 May 1990, 6 August 1999and 23 August 2001. In addition,three were found at Praia dePirambu on 6 August 1999, 15 July2001 and 23 August 2001.

Sooty Shearwater Puffinusgriseus (NT)On 25 May 1990 one (MHNUFAL103) was found on the beach atMaceió (AL). In addition, on 30October 1999 one (CETREL) wasfound dead at Santa IsabelBiological Reserve (SE).

Wilson’s Storm-petrel Oceanitesoceanicus (LC)First noted in the region duringthe Dutch occupation of north-eastBrazil12. On 3–4 November 1999,six were found dead at SantaIsabel Biological Reserve (SE).Additionally, seven were observedat sea (10o39’S 36o35’W) a fewnautical miles off SE on 16 May2002.

Red-billed Tropicbird Phaethonaethereus (LC)In July 1993 one (UFSE) wasfound by personnel of the ProjetoTartarugas Marinhas (TAMAR) atPraia de Pirambu (SE).

Brown Booby Sula leucogaster(LC)Apparently not previouslyrecorded in AL or SE. InSeptember 1991 one was seen offPraia de Pirambu, and on 4 July1998 a juvenile (CETREL) wasfound dead at Santa IsabelBiological Reserve (both SE).

South Polar Skua Catharactamaccormicki (LC)Olmos9 reported that one bandedin the Antarctic Peninsula, on 23

February 1984, was recovered alivein AL on 14 September 1984. One(MHNUFAL 109) was found byIBAMA (Instituto Brasileiro doMeio Ambiente e dos RecursosNaturais Renováveis) personnel atan unknown locality in coastal AL,on 15 May 1991. One was found atPraia de Pirambu (SE) on 16 April2002 and another there on 15 April2003. Furthermore, MCS and RTFobserved several skuas off SE, butwere unable to make a certainidentification.

Parasitic Skua Stercorariusparasiticus (LC)One bird banded in mainlandShetland, UK (59o30’N 01o18’W) on9 July 1963 was found dead northof Maceió (AL) on 17 May 19679.On 6 June 1990 three were seenoff Maceió harbour, of which onewas pursuing Common TernsSterna hirundo. On 14 December1998 one was pursuing CommonTerns off Pontal do Peba (AL).

Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus(LC)Apparently not previouslyrecorded in the region. One wasobserved near the rio Real estuary(11o25’S 37o20’W) on 10 May 1995.

Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii(LC)Apparently not previouslyrecorded in AL and SE, but on30 October 1999 one (CETREL)was found at Santa IsabelBiological Reserve (SE).

Sooty Tern Sterna fuscata (LC)On 1 March 1998 one was founddead at Santa Isabel BiologicalReserve, and on 1 July 2003another at Praia da Caueira(11o12’S 37o11’W; both SE).

Common Noddy Anous stolidus(LC)One was found on 12 January1992 at Pontal do Peba (AL), andanother on 14 May 2001 at Praiade Pirambu (SE).

Black Skimmer Rynchops niger(LC)First mentioned for the regionduring the Dutch occupation ofnorth-east Brazil12. On 8 March



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1994 one was seen roosting on asandbank near mangroves in therio Sergipe river (10o58’S 37o03’W),Aracajú (SE).

Additional recordsThe following species arecommonly recorded in north-eastBrazil. Magnificent FrigatebirdFregata magnificens (LC): nine atPraia da Pajuçara (09o40’S35o44’W; AL) on 24 May 1990, andone male at sea (10o52’S 36o56’W),off SE (8 December 2002).Common Tern Sterna hirundo(LC): up to 100 off Maceió harbour(7 October 1990) and Pontal doPeba (14 December 1998), both AL;small flocks near the rio Realestuary (10 May 1995); Praia dePirambu (30 October 1999,8 December 2002); and followingfishing boats near the rio Sergipeestuary (9 February 2004), all SE.Cayenne Tern Thalasseussandvicensis eurygnathus (LC):previously recorded at Maceió andPontal do Peba, both AL13. Up to20 off Maceio harbour (7 October1990); near the rio Real estuary(10 May 1995); and Pontal do Peba(14 December 1998).

AcknowledgementsWe thank P. C. Lima, F. Pinto, M.Toledo and J. Lopes for providinginformation and assisting ourresearch. S. M. de Azevedo Júniorreceived CJC at UFPE. J. F.Pacheco kindly reviewed thetypescript. CJC received a master’sscholarship of CAPES, Brazil.

References1. Azevedo-Júnior, S. M. (1991)

Mortandades de avesoceânicas no nordestebrasileiro-maio e junho de1990. In: Resumos ICongresso Brasileiro deOrnitologia. Belém: MCT-CNPq/Museu ParaenseEmílio Goeldi.

2. BirdLife International (2004)Threatened birds of the world2004. CD-ROM. Cambridge,UK: BirdLife International.

3. Carlos, C. J., Trimble, J. &Fedrizzi, C. E. (2004) Aspecimen of Cape PetrelDaption capense from north-east Brazil. Bull. Brit. Orn.Club. 124: 287–290.

5. del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. &Sargatal, J. (eds.) (1992)Handbook of the birds of theworld, 1. Barcelona: LynxEdicions.

6. del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. &Sargatal, J. (eds.) (1996)Handbook of the birds of theworld, 3. Barcelona: LynxEdicions.

7. Lima, P. C., Grantsau, R.,Lima, R. C. R. & Santos, S. S.(2004) Ocorrência emortalidade de avesoceânicas na costa da Bahia,e a chave de identificação daOrdem Procellariiformes eFamília Stercorariidae.Atualidades Orn. 121: 3.

8. Novaes, F. C. (1959) Procellariaaequinoctialis on AmazonRiver in Brazil. Condor 61:299.

9. Olmos, F. (2002) Non-breedingseabirds in Brazil: a reviewof band recoveries. Ararajuba10: 31–42.

10. Robertson, C. J. R. & Nunn, G.B. (1998) Towards a newtaxonomy for albatrosses. In:Robertson, C. J. R. & Gales,R. (eds.) Albatross biologyand conservation. ChippingNorton: Beatty & Sons.

11. Sick, H. (1997) Ornitologiabrasileira. Rio de Janeiro:Ed. Nova Fronteira.

12. Teixeira, D. M. (1992) Asfontes do paraíso: um ensaiosobre a ornitologia do BrasilHolandês (1624–1654). Rev.Nord. Biol. 7: 1–149.

13. Teixeira, D. M., Nacinovic, J. B.& Luigi, G. (1988) Notes onsome birds of northeasternBrazil (3). Bull. Brit. Orn.Club 108: 75–77.

14. Teixeira, D. M., Nacinovic, J. B.& Luigi, G. (1989) Notes onsome birds of northeasternBrazil (4). Bull. Brit. Orn.Club 109: 152–157.

Marcelo Cardoso de SousaUniv. Tiradentes, Centro deCiências Biológicas e da Saúde, Av.Murilo Dantas 300, Aracaju, SE,CEP 49030-270, Brazil. E-mail:[email protected].

Roque Tosta FragaCooperativa dos Trabalhadores daNatureza (COONATURA), Rua

Givaldo Moura 51, Pirambu, SE,Brazil.

Caio José CarlosLaboratório de Elasmobrânquios eAves Marinhas, Depto. deOceanografia, Fund. Univ. Federaldo Rio Grande, CP 474, CEP96201-900, RS, Brazil. E-mail:[email protected].

A range extension for ElegantMourner Laniisoma elegans inBrazilLaniisoma elegans comprises twoallopatric populations andsubspecies, L. e. elegans (ElegantMourner) in eastern Brazil and L. e.buckleyi (Buckley’s Mourner) inscattered Andean localities fromVenezuela to Peru. It has beensuggested that the two populationsof this rarely encountered species (ofhumid forest and tall second growth)might be better treated as species1,2.

On 10–11 October 2004, Iobserved a male L. elegans nearFazenda Jitituba, in MuriciEcological Station, Alagoas. On10 October I observed onefeeding alone in late afternoon atthe edge of primary forest.Plumage characters included theyellow underparts, limited upper-breast barring, black cap andvery dark green upperparts. Thebird was c.3 m above ground anddid not vocalise during theobservation. Next day, in latemorning, perhaps the same birdwas at a fruiting tree, c.400 mfrom the previous sighting,feeding actively and accompaniedby Opal-rumped TanagerTangara velia, Red-neckedTanager T. cyanocephala,Violaceous Euphonia Euphoniaviolacea and Black-cappedAntwren Herpsilochmusatricapillus. No recordings orphotographs were obtained, butfurther surveys will hopefullyyield more definite evidence ofthis species’ presence in thenorth-east Atlantic Forest.

AcknowledgementsI thank Weber Andrade de Girão eSilva for his invitation to joinsurveys of the area and forencouraging me to place my obser-



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vations on record. I also thankMichael L. P. Retter forcommenting on an early draft.

References1. Collar, N. J., Gonzaga, L. P.,

Krabbe, N., Madroño Nieto,A., Naranjo, L. G., Parker, T.A. & Wege, D. C. (1992)Threatened birds of theAmericas: the ICBP/IUCNRed Data Book. WashingtonDC: Smithsonian InstitutionPress.

2. Ridgely, R. S. & Tudor, G.(1994) The birds of SouthAmerica, 2. Austin:University of Texas Press.

Michael D. FreibergDepartment of Natural Resourcesof Ecology and Management, IowaState University, Ames, Iowa50014, USA. E-mail:[email protected].

First country record of CanadaWarbler Wilsonia canadensis, inthe Atlantic Forest of south-east BrazilCanada Warbler Wilsoniacanadensis breeds in northernNorth America, from north-eastBritish Columbia and northernAlberta east to Nova Scotia, aswell as south in the Appalachiansto northern Georgia1. Post-breeding it migrates to SouthAmerica, principally wintering inColombia and Venezuela south inthe Andes to southern Peru, aswell as, less commonly, in southernCentral America1.

On 13 November 2004 AF waswith Peter Carnell and MarkGibson in an area of selectivelylogged Atlantic Forest at c.600 m,close to km 57 of the Rio deJaneiro–Nova Friburgo road (RJ116). At c.10h30, whilstobserving a mixed flockcontaining Plain AntvireoDysithamnus mentalis, Golden-crowned Warbler Basileuterusculicivorus and OlivaceousWoodcreeper Sittasomus grise-icapillus, AF noticed an unusualbird 25 m away, foraging at eyelevel, which he immediatelyrealised was a North Americanwood warbler. He swiftly drew

the other observers’ attention tothe bird. The most strikingfeature noted by AF was a largeyellow eye-ring and supraloral,contrasting with a bluish-greyhead and back. It also had adark bill with a yellow throat,and yellow underparts streakeddark from the breast, but notheavily. The pale undertail-coverts were also noticeable, aswere the pinkish-orange legs.The bird did not vocalise andnone of the observers had acamera. It was watched forc.5 minutes before the birdmoved off with the flock. MG,who had previous experience ofCanada Warbler in the USA,identified the bird immediatelyand AF, who had the Dunning2

guide to hand, confirmed itsidentity as a male, presumablyan immature. Repeat visits tothe same area were made in aneffort to relocate the warbler anddocument the record, but wereunsuccessful. The report is thesouthernmost for the species andthe easternmost in SouthAmerica.

A previous Brazilian record ofW. canadensis mentioned byNovaes4 referred to a femalecollected by José Hidasi, in April1962, at Posto Parima B, in theSerra Parima (Roraima). However,in 1973, when Brazil officiallydemarcated its northern borderwith Venezuela, this localitybecame part of the latter country,thus the record was deleted fromthe official Brazilian list3.However, we predict that theincreasing numbers of ornitholo-gists visiting northern Brazil willprobably encounter this speciesagain in the highlands of Roraimaor Amazonas states.

Recent documentation of Black-throated Green Warbler Dendroicavirens from Espírito Santo and Riode Janeiro states representedanother Nearctic wood warblernew to Brazil5. These records werealso from montane Atlantic Forest.Such occurrences of Nearctic woodwarblers in south-east Brazil,significantly farther south andeast of their usual winteringgrounds in the Andes, should alertfield ornithologists to the

possibility of future similarrecords. Southern Brazilianrecords also exist for the followingNearctic parulids: BlackpollWarbler Dendroica striata (Rio deJaneiro and southern São Paulostates), Cerulean Warbler D.cerulea (Rio de Janeiro) andBlackburnian Warbler D. fusca(Espírito Santo)6. These recentrecords of Nearctic parulids in theregion might suggest that themontane Atlantic Forest is a moreregular wintering area for thesebirds than previously suspected,but it remains to be seen whetherthis possibility will be confirmed inthe future.

AcknowledgementsMark Gibson provided his detailedfield description and Peter Carnellshared this important observation.

References1. Curson, J., Quinn, D. & Beadle,

D. (1994) New Worldwarblers. London, UK:Christopher Helm.

2. Dunning, J. (1982) SouthAmerican land birds: aphotographic aid to identifi-cation. Newton Square, PA:Harrowood Books.

3. Mallet-Rodrigues F. (2002)Invalidacão do registrosupostamente brasileiro doWilsonia canadensis.Ararajuba 10: 261–262.

4. Novaes, F. C. (1965) Notassobre algumas aves da SerraParima, Território deRoraima (Brasil). Bol. Mus.Para. Emilio Goeldi, n. sér.,Zool. 54: 1–10.

5. Parrini R., Willoughby, P. J. &Rehen, M. P. (2002) Primerosregistros de Dendroica virens(Gmelin, 1798) para o Brasil.Ararajuba 10: 266.

6. Ridgely R. S. & Tudor, G.(1989) The birds of SouthAmerica, 1. Austin:University of Texas Press.

Andrew WhittakerConjunto Acariquara Sul, RuaSamaumas 214, Manaus, Amazonas69085-410, Brazil. E-mail:[email protected].



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Andy FosterSerra dos Tucanos Lodge, CP98125, Cachoeiras de Macacu, Riode Janeiro, Brazil. E-mail:[email protected].

A supposed early specimen ofMantled Hawk Leucopternispolionotus from Rio Grande doSul, southern Brazil Mantled Hawk Leucopternispolionotus (nomenclature followsDavid & Gosselin6) is a globallyNear-Threatened species5 thatinhabits lowland and mid-elevation forests of eastern Brazil(from Alagoas to Rio Grande doSul), southern Paraguay and,possibly, north-east Argentina11.The inclusion of Uruguay in thespecies’ range5,11 is apparentlyerroneous, as no recent authorityor country list includes it1,4 In RioGrande do Sul (RS), southernBrazil, it is known from a handfulof sight records in the highlandnorth-east4,9 and was found once inthe lowlands just east of PortoAlegre (February 1978), where aprimary feather was collected2. Inaddition, Ihering7 mentioned aspecimen taken in the 1800s in theNational Museum of Lisbon,Portugal, probably on theauthority of Sousa10, who listed aspecimen of L. poecilonotus fromRS.

As mentioned by Bencke3, L.poecilonotus is a synonym of L.albicollis (White Hawk) of theAmazon, not L. polionotus. Thus,it was recommended that theidentity of this specimen shouldbe confirmed. I requestedinformation from the Lisbonmuseum (Museu Bocage,Faculdade de Ciências), and DrMaria G. Ramalhino, head of thevertebrate section, kindlyinformed me that the specimenwas destroyed during a fire inMarch 1978, together with theentire bird collection. Thus, theidentity of the supposed earlyspecimen of L. polionotus fromRS is now a matter ofspeculation.

Ihering7 also mentioned that theLisbon museum housed a specimenof Black Caracara Daptrius aterfrom RS. However, this species is

distributed throughout northernSouth America, south to centralBrazil (in Mato Grosso state) andBolivia12. Moreover, Ihering &Ihering8 listed both L. albicollisand L. palliata (=L. polionotus) forRS. These facts suggest that boththe L. poecilonotus and theDaptrius ater specimens werecollected somewhere outside RS(probably in northern Brazil) andwere mislabelled3.

AcknowledgementsDr Maria G. Ramalhino providedimportant information on thespecimen at Museu Bocage. G. A.Bencke kindly reviewed andimproved the typescript. Theauthor received a master’sscholarship from CAPES, Brasília,Brazil.

References1. Azpiroz, A. (2001) Aves del

Uruguay: lista e introduccióna su biología y conservación.Montevideo: Aves Uruguay,GUPECA.

2. Belton, W. (1994) Aves do RioGrande do Sul, distribuição ebiologia. São Leopoldo: Ed.UNISINOS.

3. Bencke, G. A. (2001) Lista dereferência das aves do RioGrande do Sul. Porto Alegre:Fundação Zoobotânica do RioGrande do Sul.

4. Bencke, G. A., Fontana, C. S.,Dias, R. A., Maurício, G. N. &Mähler, J. K. F. (2003) Aves.In: Fontana, C. S., Bencke, G.A. & Reis, R. E. (eds.) Livrovermelho da fauna ameaçadade extinção no Rio Grande doSul. Porto Alegre: Edipucrs.

5. BirdLife International (2000)Threatened birds of theworld. Cambridge, UK:BirdLife International &Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.

6. David, N. & Gosselin, M.(2002) The grammaticalgender of avian genera. Bull.Brit. Orn. Club. 122:257–282.

7. Ihering, H. von (1898) As avesdo Rio Grande do Sul. In:Annuário do Estado do RioGrande do Sul para o annode 1900. Porto Alegre.

8. Ihering, H. von & Ihering, R.von (1907) Aves do Brasil(Catálogo da faunabrasileira, 1). São Paulo:Museu Paulista.

9. Kirwan, G. M. & WWilliamsilliams, R.S. R. (1999) Mantled HawkLeucopternis polionota in RioGrande do Sul, Brazil.Cotinga 11: 97.

10. Sousa, J. A. (1869) MuseuNacional de Lisboa, seção deZoologia: catálogo dascoleções ornithológicas:Psittaci-papagaios,Accipiters-aves de rapina.Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional.

11. Thiollay, J. M. (1994) FamilyAccipitridae (hawks andeagles). In: del Hoyo, J.,Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J.(eds.) Handbook of the birdsof the world, 2. Barcelona:Lynx Editions.

12. White, C. M., Olsen, P. D. &Kiff, L. F. (1994) FamilyFalconidae (falcons andcaracaras). In: del Hoyo, J.,Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J.(eds.) Handbook of the birdsof the world, 2. Barcelona:Lynx Editions.

Caio José CarlosLaboratório de Elasmobrânquios eAves Marinhas, Depto. deOceanografia, Fund. Univ. Federaldo Rio Grande, CP 474, CEP96201-900, RS, Brazil. E-mail:[email protected].

WEST INDIES

South-east CaribbeanMurphy46 records observations of anumber of pelagic species onvoyages between Curaçao(Netherlands Antilles) and themouth of the río Orinoco(Venezuela) in 1996–98, and alsomentions the sighting of anAtlantic Yellow-nosedAlbatross Thalassarche[chlororhynchos] chlororhynchosnorth-west of Tobago in September1968, a record which is now beingconsidered by the relevant recordscommittee.

PUBLISHED RECORDSFROM THE LITERATURE



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MIDDLE AMERICA

Costa RicaThe Gone Birding Newsletter20–22

continues to inform of new andrare species for the country: recentsightings include the first ShinyCowbird Molothrus bonariensis(April 2004), a possible Black-vented Shearwater Puffinusopisthomelas (during a pelagic inJuly 2004), more records ofSouthern Lapwing Vanelluschilensis (which may now bebreeding in the country), thesecond country record of Cory’sShearwater Calonectrisdiomedea, the third record ofGolden-cheeked WarblerDendroica chrysoparia and thesecond record of EurasianCollared Dove Streptopeliadecaocto (all December 2004),along with many interestingmigrant records.

GuatemalaEisermann15 provides data for sixspecies, including several ofconservation concern, recordedduring surveys of the Alta Verapazregion of the country, which add toour cumulative knowledge.

HondurasAnderson et al.2 presentinformation on the avifauna of theMoskitia region of easternHonduras. Two appendices list all358 bird species reliably reportedfrom dpto. Gracias a Dios, as wellas 145 species expected to occurthere. Species accounts areprovided for 12 species, includingHarpy Harpia harpyja andCrested Eagles Morphnusguianensis. The first description ofthe nest of Ocellated AntbirdPhaenostictus mcleannani waspresented recently, based on obser-vations in the country in June20026.

MexicoA recent paper10 examines thedistribution and abundance ofLong-tailed Wood-partridgeDendrortyx macroura at a site inwestern Michoacán, where theauthors estimated almost 2,700individuals to be present within anarea of c.128 km2. Cedar

Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorumwas unusually abundant in Mexicoin the winter of 2002/03, and apaper by Grosselet & RuizMichael30 examines the invasionfrom the standpoint of Oaxacarecords. Martínez-Morales42

reports new records for six speciesin a cloud forest in northernHidalgo. Numbers of AmericanCoot Fulica americana winteringin the country appear to havedeclined during the last 40 years48.

NicaraguaTwo publications by Kjeldsen34,35

provide details of several globallythreatened species found in thecountry, including Keel-billedMotmot Electron carinatum,Three-wattled Bellbird Procniastricarunculata and Golden-cheeked Warbler Dendroicachrysoparia, as well as six newcountry records, namelyMountain Pygmy-owlGlaucidium gnoma, CentralAmerican Pygmy-owl G.griseiceps, Great JacamarJacamerops aurea, Scaly-breasted Foliage-gleanerAnabacerthia variegaticeps, Slate-throated Whitestart Myioborusminiatus and Blackpoll WarblerDendroica striata, along withseveral other notable reports.

SOUTH AMERICA

BoliviaWhittaker56 mentions the firstrecords for Bolivia of Pearly-breasted Conebill Conirostrummargaritae, made on an island inthe río Mamoré, in July 2002 andJune 2003 (see also Brazil).Brumfield et al.5 provide achecklist of 195 species recorded inthe Laguna Kaucaya area of dpto.Santa Cruz, including the firstdepartmental record of CinnamonTeal Anas cyanoptera, withadditional notes covering nineother species. Maillard & Catari41

report on observations of Yellow-billed Blue Finch Porphyrospizacaerulescens in Bolivia. The firstnest of Versicoloured BarbetEubucco versicolor was discoveredin Madidi National Park inOctober 200232.

BrazilA major paper in Bull. Brit. Orn.Club by Andrew Whittaker56,drawing principally on observa-tions made in Rondônia, presentsdetails of a new species to Brazil(Subtropical DoraditoPseudocolopteryx acutipennis)along with notes concerning distri-bution, breeding, austral migrationand taxonomy for 59 other species(several of them very poorlyknown) from the same state, andoccasionally other states inAmazonia, as well as a new speciesfor Bolivia (see above). Otherpapers recently published in thesame journal include records offive new bird species for the stateof Roraima51, the first sightrecords of Dull-colouredGrassquit Tiaris obscura inBrazil, in southern Mato Grosso57,and the first record (an overlookedspecimen) of Cape Petrel Daptioncapense from north-east Brazil, inthe state of Rio Grande do Norte7.A recent study has demonstratedthat small numbers of KermadecPetrels Pterodroma neglecta breedon Ilha da Trindade, in thesouthern Atlantic, amidst thecolony of Trindade Petrel P. armin-joniana; the former species waspreviously considered to berestricted to the Pacific Ocean as abreeder33. Two overlooked andmislabeled specimens of theglobally threatened Ochre-breasted Pipit Anthus nattereri,from only the third-known localityin Paraná, have been reportedrecently19. Three new localities forthe globally threatened Wied’sTyrant-manakin Neopelmaaurifrons have been discovered inMinas Gerais recently55.Stratford53 presents notes on nestsof four species from the centralBrazilian Amazon, aroundManaus: Ruddy Quail-doveGeotrygon montana, LesserSwallow-tailed Swift Panyptilacayennensis, Mouse-colouredAntshrike Thamnophilusmurinus and Scale-backedAntbird Hylophylax poecilonotus.Observations on a nest of StygianOwl Asio stygius in the Braziliancerrado have been published17.Other interesting recordspublished recently include: a new



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state record of Yellow-billedCuckoo Coccyzus americanus inBahia39, the first state record ofLeast Bittern Ixobrychus exilis inRio Grande do Sul1, the firstdocumented state record ofBobolink Dolichonyx oryzivorusin Rio de Janeiro (in February2004)43, the first state records ofCheckered Woodpecker Picoidesmixtus in both Pará andTocantins4, a September 2003record of Harpy Eagle Harpiaharpyja in southern Paraná52, andsome novel seabird records fromBahia38.

ChileNew data have been publishedconcerning the range (and diet) ofMountain CaracaraPhalcoboenus megalopterus in thecountry18, as well as newinformation on the breedingbiology of Thorn-tailed RayaditoAphrastura spinicauda44.

ColombiaChestnut-bellied HummingbirdAmazilia castaneiventris has beenrediscovered in dpto. Boyacá, inApril 2004, the first documentedrecord (photographed) for 25years14. Peruvian MeadowlarkSturnella bellicosa has onlyrecently been demonstrated tooccur in Colombia, althoughspecimens from 35 years ago haveproven to be available, whilst Red-breasted Blackbird S. militarishas also been recorded in theAmazonian part of the country forthe first time8. Estelo16 presentsdetails of four new records ofSouth Polar Skua Catharactamaccormicki from the Caribbeancoast. New observations of thepoorly known Buff-fronted OwlAegolius harrisii from the centralAndes have been presented13. Thenest of the secretive OcellatedTapaculo Acropternis orthonyxhas been described9, and notes onthe nesting of the very rareMoustached Antpitta Grallariaalleni have also been madeavailable40. Wilson’s PloverCharadrius wilsonia has beenfound breeding on the Pacific coastof Colombia24. Naranjo47 discussesthe status of Scarlet Ibis in dpto.Cauca, based principally on three

recent observations, one of whichsuggested nesting, and newrecords of Torrent DuckMerganetta armata have becomeavailable from Antioquia45, whilstStrewe54 presents new distribu-tional and nesting data forWhite-tipped Swift Aeronautesmontivagus in the Serranía dePerijá and elsewhere.

French GuianaCleere & Ingels11 describe recentunsuccessful searches for theenigmatic Cayenne NightjarCaprimulgus maculosus andspeculate as to its possible habitatpreferences, and in a separatecontribution in the same journal,Alauda, provide details ofinteresting new observations ofBlackish Nightjar C. nigrescensin the same country12.

EcuadorThe first record of Pale-leggedHornero Furnarius leucopusinvolved a specimen taken on therío Morona, Morona-Santiagoprovince, in February 200237. Ahost of new nesting data for thecountry has been publishedrecently, with separate communi-cations covering the followingspecies: Sickle-winged GuanChamaepetes goudotii26, Buff-tailed Sicklebill Eutoxerescondamini49, Barred PuffbirdNystalus radiatus29, BicolouredAntvireo Dysithamnus occiden-talis25, Peruvian AntpittaGrallaricula peruviana27,Fulvous-breasted FlatbillRhynchocyclus fulvipectus28 andTropical Gnatcatcher Polioptilaplumbea31.

GuyanaRobbins et al.50 present interestingnew data from a survey of thesouthern Rupununi savana,including a checklist of the 456species recorded at their five studylocalities, with accounts for 30species, of which ten were new toGuyana, namely: Broad-wingedHawk Buteo platypterus, MerlinFalco columbarius, HudsonianGodwit Limosa haemastica, StiltSandpiper Calidris himantopus,Versicoloured EmeraldAmazilia versicolor, Hoary-

throated Spinetail Poeciluruskollari, Streak-headedWoodcreeper Lepidocolaptessouleyetii, Rufous-wingedAntwren Herpsilochmus rufomar-ginatus, Rio Branco AntbirdCercomacra carbonaria andCrowned Slaty FlycatcherGriseotyrannus aurantioatrocrista-tus.

PeruGerhart23 provides novel data,including two new localities, forthe poorly known Selva CaciqueCacicus koepckeae, as well as dataon breeding, habitat and vocalisa-tions. Armacost3 presents the firstdata on the nest, eggs andnestlings of Castelnau’sAntshrike Thamnophiluscryptoleucus, based on observa-tions along the río Amazonas, dpto.Loreto, in June–July 2003.

VenezuelaBased on observations in YacambúNational Park, Kofoed & Auer36

present the first breeding data forthe little-known Great AntpittaGrallaria excelsa, describing thenest, eggs and young.

BrazilA Purple-winged Ground-doveClaravis godefrida was at FazendaAngelim, Ubatuba, São Paulo, on18 October 2004 (GMK); therehave been very few recent recordsin Brazil or elsewhere of thisglobally threatened species.Several Least Terns Sternaantillarum were at Praia Seca, Riode Janeiro, on 18 August 2004(GMK et al.); this species is onlycasually recorded as far south asthe state of Rio (Sick 1997).

French GuianaPhotographs and detailssurrounding a number of firstrecords for the country have beenposted at http://oiseauxdeguyane.monsite.wanadoo.fr/: a LittleEgret Egretta garzetta at Sablièrede Kourou, from 19 November2004; a first-year male Belted

OTHER RECORDS RECEIVED



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Kingfisher Megaceryle alcyon atthe same place on the same date(but not subsequently); a second-winter Common Black-headedGull Larus ridibundus at Cayenneold harbour on 1 September 2004(but probably present since 23December 2002); an AtlanticYellow-nosed AlbatrossThalassarche [chlororhynchos]chlororhynchos c.120 km off theFrench Guianan coast on 2September 2004; and a TerekSandpiper Xenus cinereus atCayenne old harbour on 2February 2005, which representsonly the fifth record for SouthAmerica (see http://tereksandpiper-fg.monsite.wanadoo.fr/).

MexicoProthonotary WarblerProtonotaria citrea is notmentioned for Guerrero in Howell& Webb (1995), thus a female inmangroves at Aztlan ParqueEcologico, in Ixtapa, on 17 January2005 (CR, RS), may well be thefirst state record. Another newspecies for the same state was aYellow-bellied FlycatcherEmpidonax flaviventris, seen justnorth-west of Ixtapa, on 16January 2005 (JF, CR, RS).

AcknowledgementsThe following forwarded orcommented on records: JesseFagan (JF), Guy M. Kirwan(GMK), Craig Rudolph (CR) RickSchaefer (RS) and Olivier Tostain.

Neotropical Notebook: compiledby Juan Mazar Barnett, Guy M.Kirwan and Jeremy Minns.

References1. Agne, C. E. (2004) Primeiro

registro do Socoí-vermelho,Ixobrychus exilis (Gmelin,1789) para o Rio Grande doSul. Atualidades Orn. 120:12.

2. Anderson, D. L., Wiedenfeld, D.A., Bechard, M. J. & Novak,S. J. (2004) Avian diversity inthe Moskitia region ofHonduras. Orn. Neotrop. 15:447–482.

3. Armacost, J. W. (2004) Thenest, eggs, and nestlings ofthe Castelnau’s Antshrike

(Thamnophilus cryptoleucus),with notes on its ecology andconservation. Wilson Bull.116: 262–266.

4. Beadle, D., Grosset, A.,Kirwan, G. M. & Minns, J.(2004) Range extensions forthe Checkered Woodpecker,Picoides mixtus (Aves:Picidae), in north Brazil.Lundiana 5: 155.

5. Brumfield, R. T., Maillard Z.,O., Faucett, R. C., Sánchez,G., Rohwer, V. G., Catari, J.C., Schmitt, C. G., Schmitt, D.C., Strem, R. & Mamani, A.M. (2004) Birds of theLaguna Kaucaya area, asemi-humid valley in theAndean foothills of departa-mento Santa Cruz, Bolivia.Orn. Neotrop. 15: 381–398.

6. Buehler, D. M., Castillo, A. I. &Brawn, J. D. (2004) First nestdescription for the OcellatedAntbird (Phaenostictusmcleannani). Wilson Bull.116: 277–279.

7. Carlos, C. J., Trimble, J. &Fedrizzi, C. E. (2004) Aspecimen of Cape PetrelDaption capense from north-east Brazil. Bull. Brit. Orn.Club 124: 287–290.

8. de las Casas, J. C., Stiles, F. G.,Bolívar, I. A. & Morillo, J. I.(2004) Range extensions oftwo species of “red-breasted”meadowlarks (Icteridae:Sturnella) in Colombia. Orn.Colombiana 2: 37–40.

9. Caycedo-Rosales, P., Cardona,P. J. & Pulido-Santacruz, P.(2004) El nido del TapaculoOcelado (Acropternisorthonyx). Orn. Colombiana2: 41–44.

10. Chávez-León, G. & Velázquez,A. (2004) Abundance anddistribution of the Long-tailed Wood-partridge(Dendrortyx macroura) in atemperate coniferous forest.J. Field Orn. 75: 345–352.

11. Cleere, N. & Ingels, J. (2004)Notes on the CayenneNightjar Caprimulgusmaculosus. Alauda 72:281–284.

12. Cleere, N. & Ingels, J. (2004)Further observations of theBlackish NightjarCaprimulgus nigrescens inFrench Guiana. Alauda 72:285–289.

13. Córdoba, S. & Ahumada, J. A.(2005) Confirmation of Buff-fronted Owl Aegolius harrisiifor the Cordillera Oriental ofColombia. Bull. Brit. Orn.Club 125: 56–58.

14. Cortes-Herrera, O.,Hernández-Jaramillo, A. &Briceño-Buitrago, E. (2004)Reduscubrimiento del ColibriAmazilia castaneiventris, unaespecie endémica yamenazada del Colombia.Orn. Colombiana 2: 47–49.

15. Eisermann, K. (2005)Noteworthy bird observationsin Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 125:3–11.

16. Estela, F. A. (2004)Observaciones del Págalo delPolo Sur (Catharactamaccormicki) en el Caribecolombiano. Orn. Colombiana2: 50–52.

17. Esteves Lopes, L., Goes, R.,Souza, S. & Melo Ferreira, R.(2004) Observations on anest of the Stygian Owl (Asiostygius) in the centralBrazilian cerrado. Orn.Neotrop. 15: 423–427.

18. Figueroa Rojas, R., Orellana, S.A. & Stappung, E. S. C.(2004) Notes on a rangeexpansion and summer dietof the Mountain Caracara(Phalcoboenus megalopterus)in the Andes of south-centralChile. J. Raptor Res. 38:290–292.

19. Fraga, R. M. & Bates, J. M.(2005) Two unreportedspecimens of Ochre-breastedPipit Anthus nattereri from anew Brazilian locality. Bull.Brit. Orn. Club 125: 66–67.

20. Garrigues, R. (2004) The GoneBirding Newsletter 5 (3).




23. Gerhart, N. G. (2004)Rediscovery of the SelvaCacique (Cacicus koepckeae)in southeastern Peru withnotes on habitat, voice, andnest. Wilson Bull. 116: 74–82.

24. Giraldo, A., Hernández, C.,Gómez, C., Castillo, F. &Saavedra, J. E. (2004) Firstbreeding record of Wilson’sPlover (Charadrius wilsonia)from the Pacific coast ofColombia. Wilson Bull. 116:104–105.

25. Greeney, H. F. (2004) Breedingbehavior of the BicoloredAntvireo (Dysithamnusoccidentalis). Orn. Neotrop.15: 349–356.

26. Greeney, H. F. (2005) The nest,eggs and incubationbehaviour of Sickle-wingedGuan Chamaepetes goudotiifagani in western Ecuador.Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 125:113–116.

27. Greeney, H. F., Gelis, R. A.,Hannelly, E. C. & DeVries, P.J. (2004) The egg andincubation period of thePeruvian Antpitta(Grallaricula peruviana).Orn. Neotrop. 15: 403–406.

28. Greeney, H. F., Krabbe, N.,Lysinger, M. & Funk, W. C.(2004) Observations on thebreeding and vocalizations ofthe Fulvous-breasted Flatbill(Rhynchocyclus fulvipectus)in eastern Ecuador. Orn.Neotrop. 15: 365–370.

29. Greeney, H. F., Port, J. &Werner, F. (2004) Firstdescription of the nest of theBarred Puffbird (Nystalusradiatus) from north-westernEcuador. Orn. Neotrop. 15:285–288.

30. Grosselet, M. & Ruiz Michael,G. J. (2004) Bombycillacedrorum en Oaxaca, Oaxaca,México, en el invierno2002–2003. Huitzil 5: 20–23.

31. Hannelly, E. C. & Greeney, H.F. (2004) Observations onincubation and nestingbehavior of the TropicalGnatcatcher (Polioptilaplumbea) in eastern Ecuador.Orn. Neotrop. 15: 539–542.

32. Hennessey, A. B. (2004) Firstdescription of the nest withbreeding and foraging notesof the Versicolored Barbet(Eubucco versicolor). Orn.Neotrop. 15: 283–284.

33. Imber, M. J. (2004) KermadecPetrels (Pterodroma neglecta)at Ilha da Trindade, SouthAtlantic Ocean and in theNorth Atlantic. Notornis 51:33–40.

34. Kjeldsen, J. P. (2003) Estudiosobre diversidad de aves enfincas de café bajo sombra,Nueva Segovia. Privatelypublished.

35. Kjeldsen, J. P. (2004) Aves delmunicipio de Prinzapolka.Wani (Revista Caribenicaragüense) 38: 56–74.

36. Kofoed, E. M. & Auer, S. K.(2004) First description ofthe nest, eggs, young, andbreeding behavior of theGreat Antpitta (Grallariaexcelsa). Wilson Bull. 116:105–108.

37. Krabbe, N. (2004) A record ofPale-legged HorneroFurnarius leucopus fromEcuador. Bull. Brit. Orn.Club 124: 226–227.

38. Lima, P. C., Grantsau, R.,Lima, R. de C. F. da R. & dosSantos, S. S. (2004)Ocorrência e mortalidade deaves oceânicas na costa daBahia, e a chave de identifi-cação da OrdemProcellariiformes e FamíliaStercorariidae. AtualidadesOrn. 120: 3.

39. Lima, P. C., Grantsau, R.,Lima, R. de C. F. da R. & dosSantos, S. S. (2004) Coccyzusamericanus Linné, 1758 napátria da Arara-Azul-de-Lear(Anodorhynchus leariBonaparte, 1856): primeiroregistro para a caatinga naBahia, Brasil. AtualidadesOrn. 120: 5–6.

40. Londoño, G. A., Saavedra-R., C.A., Osorio, D. & Martínez, J.(2004) Notas sobre laanidación del TororoiBigotudo (Grallaria alleni)en la Cordillera Central deColombia. Orn. Colombiana2: 19–24.

41. Maillard Z., O. & Catari, J. C.(2004) El Azulillo Brasileño(Porphyrospiza caerulescens)en la región subandina deBolivia. Orn. Neotrop. 15:399–402.

42. Martínez-Morales, M. A. (2004)Nuevos registros de aves enel bosque mesófilo demontaña del noreste deHidalgo, México. Huitzil 5:12–19.

43. Moreira Lima, L. (2004)Primero registrodocumentado da Triste-pia(Dolichonyx oryzivorus) noestado do Rio de Janeiro.Atualidades Orn. 122: 3–4.

44. Moreno, J., Merino, S.,Vásquez, R. A. & Armesto, J.J. (2005) Breeding biology ofthe Thorn-tailed Rayadito(Furnariidae) in south-temperate rainforests ofChile. Condor 107: 69–77.

45. Múnera-P., W. A. (2004) Nuevoregistro del Pato de Torrentes(Merganetta armatacolombiana) en Antioquia ycomentários sobre sudistribución en el norte de laCordillera Central. Bol. Soc.Antioqueña Orn. 14: 21–24.

46. Murphy, W. L. (2001)Noteworthy observations ofpelagic seabirds wintering atsea in the southernCaribbean. Sea Swallow 50:18–25.

47. Naranjo, L. G. (2004) Presenciade la Corocora (Eudocimusruber) en el valle del ríoCauca, occidente delColombia. Orn. Colombiana2: 45–46.

48. Pérez-Arteaga, A. & Gaston, K.J. (2004) Status of AmericanCoot Fulica americana(Gruiformes: Rallidae)wintering in Mexico ActaZool. Mexicana 20: 253–263

49. Powell, B. F. (2005) Firstdescription of the nest ofBuff-tailed SicklebillEutoxeres condamini. Bull.Brit. Orn. Club 125: 44–46.

50. Robbins, M. B., Braun, M. J. &Finch, D. W. (2004) Avifaunaof the Guyana southernRupununi, with comparisonsto other savannas of


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northern South America.Orn. Neotrop. 15: 173–200.

51. Santos, M. P. D. (2004) Newrecords of birds from theBrazilian state of Roraima.Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 124:223–226.

52. Scherer Neto, P. & Fadel Ribas,C. (2004) Registro de HarpiaHarpia harpyja no litoral suldo Brasil. Atualidades Orn.122: 2.

53. Stratford, J. A. (2004) Notes onnests of Ruddy Quail-dove(Geotrygon montana), LesserSwallow-tailed Swift(Panyptila cayennensis),Mouse-coloured Antshrike(Thamnophilus murinus) andScale-backed Antbird(Hylophylax poecilonotus)from central Amazonas,Brazil. Orn. Neotrop. 15:265–267.

54. Strewe, R. (2004) Notas sobreuna colonia de anidación delVencejo Pierniblanco(Aeronautes montivagus) enla Serranía de Perijá. Bol.Soc. Antioqueña Orn. 14: 2–4.

55. Vasconcelos, M. F., D’AngeloNeto, S. & Maldonado-Coelho, M. (2004) Newnoteworthy occurrences ofthe Wied’s Tyrant-manakin(Neopelma aurifrons) inBrazil. Orn. Neotrop. 15:547–548.

56. Whittaker, A. (2004)Noteworthy ornithologicalrecords from Rondônia,Brazil, including a firstcountry record, comments onaustral migration, lifehistory, taxonomy and distri-bution, with relevant datafrom neighbouring states,and a first record for Bolivia.

Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 124:239–271.

57. Whittaker, A. & Carlos, B.(2004) Recent observations ofDull-coloured GrassquitTiaris obscura in MatoGrosso reinforce its status asan austral migrant to south-west Brazil. Bull. Brit. Orn.Club 124: 285–287.

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Handbook of the birds of the world: volume 9edited by Josep del Hoyo, Andrew Elliott and DavidA. Christie, 2004. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. 864pages, 78 colour plates, 440 colour photographs and809 distribution maps. UK£120.

Scarcely 18 months ago the Lynx team weretreating us to arguably the best (and surely themost sumptuous) book on Neotropical birds sincethe last volume of The birds of South America16, theutterly fantastic volume 8, and yet little more thanone year later here we go again with anotheressential purchase for students and devotees of thebirds of the New World tropics alike. Volume 9 ofHBW covers the cotingas to the wagtails, thusencapsulating nine families of passerine birds,including the first three of the oscines, which willoccupy the remainder of the series here on. Subjectto the usual lavish treatment in the presentvolume, in addition to cotingas and manakins, twoperennial favourites, are those maddening tyrant-flycatchers that always seem to be right in thecanopy of the tallest tree, whilst the Hirundinidaeand Motacillidae, also covered here, hold someinterest too for those whose outlook does not reachbeyond the Neotropics. Once again, we get readable,yet up-to-date and scientifically accurate texts bysome of the undoubted heavyweights (and a few ofthe rising stars) of Neotropical ornithology, a greatmany lovely plates (although what happened toPhylloscartes difficilis [Plate 22], which looks as if it

has brown upperparts, at least in my copy [comparethe real thing on p.251], and some of the shapes ofthe Phyllomyias also leave something to bedesired), and just pages and pages of drop-deadgreat photos. Even if you’ve never had the urge togo and see some African larks you will do once youhave this book in your hands! Just like last time,the coverage in the plates (and text) is oftenexemplary: where else would you find stunningartwork of both sexes of both (rather distinct) formsof Pachyramphus viridis? In addition to all this, andnone of it should disappoint, we also get an intro-duction to the nomenclature of birds by chairman ofthe AOU checklist committee, Richard Banks, andthe type description of a new tribe of flycatchers—the Contopini—for eight genera, includingContopus and Empidonax, which was indeed themost exciting result of the studies particular to thisvolume. Phew!

With the platitudes long since exhausted, and itnow even platitudinous to state that it is impossible tofind something new to say about this wonderful series,whither, might one ask, the review of HBW? This is aseriously meant question, for it is truly becoming verydifficult to find appropriate words for this fantasticand hopefully successful compendium. I was spared,however, dilemmas as to what to write next, for whileperusing volume 9, which like all of the precedingtomes is an absolute pleasure to pore over, I noticedrather more errors and omissions than any other issueI could recall. A large team has been responsible forthe species accounts of the flycatchers and, I suppose,some unevenness of coverage might be expected, but itis disappointing that some published details variouslyrelating to mass, altitudinal limits, seasonalmovements, nesting (especially clutch size), and foodand feeding (which are given in-depth coverage forsome other species) are overlooked, e.g. for Elaeniafallax, E. martinica, Contopus hispaniolensis, C.latirostris, Tyrannus caudifasciatus and Myiarchusantillarum5,6,15. At the risk of boring readers I amgoing to present a flavour of my criticisms for otherspecies. In some cases, it should be stated, thatreferences (particularly those only very recentlypublished) might have been added to the individualspecies’ bibliographies at the editorial stage, makingnon-inclusion of certain data more understandable.

Sapayoa aenigma—there is no specific mentionthat this species might be closely related to broadbills,as suggested more than a decade ago by Sibley &Ahlquist17, and recently ‘confirmed’ by Fjeldså et al.3,although the latter reference is included in the species’bibliography.

Phyllomyias fasciatus—not mapped for Pará, butwell known from the Serra dos Carajás, a significantand important range extension (and mentioned for

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there in Sick19, which is cited by the author in thespecies’ bibliography).

Phyllomyias reiseri—detailed information onhabitat preferences and some information on feedinghave all been ‘missed’, in a paper8 (not cited), whichproposed a potentially close relationship with P.sclateri, which possibility is mentioned, but effectivelyuncredited, because the paper providing rationale forsuch a view is not listed in the species’ bibliography.

Phylloscartes kronei—occurs as far south as thestate of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil1,2. Reference toBencke1 would also have revealed that Culicivoracaudata is known from the same state. Neither ofthese species is particularly common, the former beinglisted as Vulnerable by IUCN, so one might haveexpected more effort to be expended over suchinteresting species?

Mionectes striaticollis—the breeding accountappears to be rather strongly based on an as-yetunpublished study of this species made in north-eastEcuador, although the paper prepared by the observersin question is unmentioned in the bibliography.Researchers trying to track down the source for thesedata would be very hard pressed to find it!

Hemitriccus striaticollis—not mapped as (quite)reaching south to the São Francisco Valley, although areference detailing its occurrence there is cited9 (and aprior reference8 was missed).

Hemitriccus orbitatus—we are informed that fewbreeding data are available for this species, and only abrief description is presented of the nest, and yet onp.230 is a fine portrait of the latter, so surely contactbetween the editors, author and photographer couldhave ensured a slightly more detailed account?

Hemitriccus nidipendulus—cited as occurring to900 m, but the species is actually known to at least1,400 m22 and there at least two published referencesin support of this, of which one is cited and the othermissed13. Reference to Melo Júnior et al.13 would havealso have led to improved altitudinal rangeinformation for Knipolegus lophotes, Xolmis cinereusand X. velatus.

Hemitriccus kaempferi—the description of thespecies’ nest12 is ignored (although the paperdescribing it is cited in the species’ bibliography),instead we have ‘Breeding. No information.’

Poecilotriccus capitalis—well known from theSerra dos Carajás, Pará, for 20 years (which fact hasbeen published in two references, one of which19 iscited by the author), a huge range extension fromsouth-west Amazonian Brazil.

Todirostrum poliocephalum—listed to just 1,200m, but occurs to at least 1,350 m in Minas Gerais22,and the HBW text further states that no ‘relevantpublished information’ is available for breeding, yetMitchell14 related somewhat anecdotal, but neverthe-less pertinent data concerning nest building and adependent juvenile, which might easily have been citedin the absence of anything else.

Contopus caribaeus—HBW has long attempted togive special attention to the issue of conservation, forall species, even going to the lengths of listingprotected areas from which a given species is known.

This works well and is very valuable for genuinely rareor poorly known birds, but in cases like the presentspecies it seems redundant and even potentiallymisleading to list a single national park (which is noteven presaged by ‘e.g.’), given that C. caribaeusprobably occurs in virtually every one of Cuba’sprotected areas!

Fluvicola nengeta—it seems a little churlish tocriticise the attempted level of detail that is given toflesh out the expansion in this species’ range in south-east Brazil, although it might be remarked that thewording is a mere direct copy of Sick18, but the textseems so dated now the species is found in practicallyevery, even the tiniest, green area of Rio de Janeiro (forexample), making a list of specific localities a genuinewaste of effort.

Casiornis rufus—no mention is made that australmigrants have reached southern Bahia and this is notmapped (although records are published: see Cotinga20: 109).

Casiornis fuscus—more data on feeding andhabitat have been published8 than are presented here.

Xenopsaris albinucha—some critics of HBW havebemoaned for some time the lack of references withinthe text itself, perhaps using a superscript numberingsystem, and the present case, to my mind, offers a goodcase in point. In the status and conservation sectionthe species is listed for Serra da Canastra NationalPark, Minas Gerais, the source for which intrigued me,as I was unaware of any records therein. Neither of thetwo park lists20,21 of which I am aware mentions thespecies, nor are they cited, whilst Sick19 does not evenlist Xenopsaris for the state (indeed it is not mapped asoccurring in Minas Gerais by HBW!), and none of theother references in the bibliography appears a likelysource… As an aside, I consider that Ridgely & Tudor16

made a good case for dropping the ‘White-naped’ fromthe species’ English name.

Neochelidon tibialis—this species’ range includesparts of east Amazonian Brazil18,19, of which the formerwork is cited by the author, whilst the latter providesinformation suggesting that the species’ range isbroader than mapped here in the Atlantic Forest, aswell as proffering further information on Movements.

Tachycineta euchrysea—breeding season isconsidered to be ‘Jun–Jul in Jamaica; also Apr inHaiti’, yet breeding reports are also available fromDominican Republic, prospecting in February andactive nests in April–June6,11.

Tachycineta cyaneoviridis—the map of thisspecies’ range in Cuba is almost fanciful, but certainlyexcusable as Garrido & Kirkconnell4 stated‘throughout eastern Cuba’. However, the latter authorsdid mention that the species is very rare in thecountry, and it is perhaps even better considered avagrant there (I have yet to meet a visitingbirdwatcher who has encountered it in Cuba).

Progne subis—huge numbers appear to winter inAmazonian Brazil, e.g. c.60,000 at one locality inAmazonas state (Sick 1993: 523)18, with large numbersalso present in Pará at this season (pers. obs.), andfairly large flocks have even been recorded inmidwinter in north-east Brazil7. None of this is

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mentioned in HBW, although Sick18 is cited in thebibliography.

Progne dominicensis—no altitudinal limits arepresented, although these are available6.

Motacilla citreola—to prove that I did not readonly Neotropical species accounts, this species is noteven mapped for Turkey and yet breeds across most ofthe eastern half of the country10.

I offer the above selection because I know theeditors and publishers have been listening in the pastto our concerns and suggestions, and it never hurts tokeep them on their toes. Nonetheless, don’t let mycriticisms put you off buying this great book, as HBWis still just about the best value in ornithology publica-tions there is. If you don’t own a copy (and possess themoney), shame on you!

Guy M. Kirwan

References1. Bencke, G. A. (2001) Lista de referência das aves do

Rio Grande do Sul. Porto Alegre: FundaçãoZoobotânica do Rio Grande do Sul.

2. Bencke, G. A., Kindel, A. & Mahler, J. K. (2000)Adições à avifauna de Mata Atlântica do RioGrande do Sul. In: Santos Alves, M. A., Cardosoda Silva, J. M., van Sluys, M., Godoy Bergallo, H.& Duarte da Rocha, C. F. (eds.) A ornitologia noBrasil: pesquisa atual e perspectives. Rio deJaneiro: Ed. Universidade Estadual do Rio deJaneiro.

3. Fjeldså, J., Zuccon, D., Irestedt, M., Johansson, U.S. & Ericson, P. G. P. (2003) Sapayoa aenigma: aNew World representative of ‘Old World sub-oscines’. Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. B Suppl. 270:238–241.

4. Garrido, O. & Kirkconnell, A. (2000) Field guide tothe birds of Cuba. Ithaca, NY: Cornell UniversityPress.

5. Keith, A. R. (1997) The birds of St Lucia: anannotated check-list. Tring: BritishOrnithologists’ Union (Check-list No. 15).

6. Keith, A. R., Wiley, J. W., Latta, S. C. &Ottenwalder, J. A. (2003) The birds of Hispaniola:an annotated checklist. Tring: BritishOrnithologists’ Union & British Ornithologists’Club (Checklist No. 21).

7. Kirwan, G. M. & Mazar Barnett, J. (2001) New birdrecords from north-east Brazil. Cotinga 15:67–68.

8. Kirwan, G. M., Mazar Barnett, J. & Minns, J.(2001) Significant ornithological observationsfrom the Rio São Francisco Valley, Minas Gerais,Brazil, with notes on conservation and biogeogra-phy. Ararajuba 9: 145–161.

9. Kirwan, G. M., Mazar Barnett, J., Vasconcelos, M.F., Raposo, M. A., D’Angelo Neto, S. & Roesler, I.(2004) Further comments on the avifauna of themiddle São Francisco Valley, Minas Gerais,Brazil. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 124: 207–220.

10. Kirwan, G. M., Özen, M., Kurt, B. & Martins, R. P.(2003) Turkey Bird Report 1997–2001.Sandgrouse 25: 8–31.

11. Kirwan, G. M., Williams, R. S. R. & Bradshaw, C. G.(1999) Interesting avifaunal records from theDominican Republic. Cotinga 11: 27–29.

12. Mazar Barnett, J., Kirwan, G. M., Pearman, M.,Naka, L. N. & Tobias, J. A. (2000) Rediscoveryand subsequent observations of Kaempfer’sTody-tyrant Hemitriccus kaempferi in SantaCatarina, Brazil, with notes on conservation, lifehistory and plumage. Bird Conserv. Intern. 10:371–379.

13. Melo Júnior, T. A., Vasconcelos, M. F., Fernandes, G.W. & Marini, M. Â. (2001) Bird species distribu-tion and conservation in Serra do Cipó, MinasGerais, Brazil. Bird Conserv. Intern. 11: 189–204.

14. Mitchell, M. (1957) Observations on birds of south-eastern Brazil. Toronto: University of TorontoPress.

15. Oberle, M. (2000) Puerto Rico’s birds inphotographs. Second edn. San Juan: Ed.Humanitas.

16. Ridgely, R. S. & Tudor, G. (1994) The birds of SouthAmerica, 2. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

17. Sibley, C. G. & Ahlquist, J. E. (1990) Phylogeny andclassification of birds: a study in molecularevolution. New Haven & London, UK: YaleUniversity Press.

18. Sick, H. (1993) Birds in Brazil: a natural history.Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.


20. Silveira, L. F. (1998) The birds of Serra daCanastra National Park and adjacent areas,Minas Gerais, Brazil. Cotinga 10: 55–63.

21. Silveira, L. F. (1999) Um refúgio para muitas aves.Ciência Hoje 26 (155): 57–60.

22. Vasconcelos, M. F. & Melo Júnior, T. A. (2001) Anornithological survey of Serra do Caraça, MinasGerais, Brazil. Cotinga 15: 21–31.

Birds of Belize by H. Lee Jones, illustrated by DanaGardner, 2004. Austin: University of Texas Press &London, UK: Christopher Helm. 431 pages, 56 colourplates, 28 figures and 234 distribution maps.UK£29.99.

Lee Jones has spent a considerable part of the lastdecade or so in the field in Belize, thus making veryfew people better or even equally well placed tocontemplate producing such a book as that underreview here. En route to his goal of producing Belize’sfirst field guide, he has co-authored a number ofimportant papers in the periodical literature(including two in these pages) concerning Belizeanavifauna, as well as the most up-to-date checklist forthe country. In short, he has laid much of thegroundwork for modern ornithology in the country, inparticular bringing new rigour to the documentation ofvagrants and rare visitors, and by conducting a much-needed ‘overhaul’ of the national list.

Compared to the countries of Middle America mostfrequently visited by birders, namely Mexico, (c.1,050species), Costa Rica (c.850 species) and Panama (c.930


species), all of which already possess high-quality fieldguides, the Belizean avifauna is rather smaller (atfewer than 600 species) and considerably moremanageable for the newcomer to Neotropical birding.Understandably so, given the country’s geography,overall size (scarcely even half that of the Mexicanstate of Chiapas) and, until recently, almost completelack of resident ornithologists or birdwatchers. Thatsituation is now changing and new discoveries andadditions to the Belizean avifauna are now compara-tively frequent. The country also has anothersignificant advantage for many independenttravellers, it is English-speaking, and this factor,combined importantly with the release of this well-illustrated, modern-approach field guide, shouldstimulate renewed appreciation of Belize as anenticing destination for birders.

The book comprises three principal sections: theintroductory matter, which covers the usual range ofsubjects and includes one of the better introductions tolearning bird sounds I have chanced to read; theplates; and the species accounts. Completing thepackage is a moderately exhaustive reference list,maps for 234 species and the index, which incorporatesEnglish, local and scientific names in the single listing,when these three categories might, arguably, havebetter been presented separately.

It is a universal truth, almost invariably acknowl-edged, that to a large extent field guides live and die bythe quality of their artwork. Dana Gardner (who alsoillustrated Stiles and Skutch’s 1989 Costa Rican guide)is responsible for the plates in this volume, which tomy mind would win few plaudits if hung in a gallerybut very much serve their purpose herein. Gardner’srather heavy-handed style, with few nods to featherdetail, makes for a solid base for field identification,with the occasional exception (e.g. the flying BarnSwallow Hirundo rustica almost has the jizz of ashorebird, and I wouldn’t necessarily wish to rely onthese plates, alone, to identify some waders,woodcreepers or flycatchers). Nonetheless, the vastmajority of the plates are very acceptable and morethan serve their purpose, given that I could easilyidentify the majority of species without recourse to thefacing-page captions. Furthermore, whilst thepublisher’s blurb (erroneously) claims that all ofBelize’s birds are illustrated in the plates (whereas, inpoint of fact, some are relegated to line drawings and atiny few, e.g. Black-legged Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla,are not depicted at all), it is certainly the case that thevisitor can almost entirely dispense with the need tocarry another identification reference such as a NorthAmerican field guide.

The plate’s facing-page text presents basic identi-fication details for each species, including relevantdata to assist with plumages that might not beillustrated, although the artist (and perhaps author)are to be commended for ensuring that a reasonablywide range is depicted, whilst at the same timeproducing plates that never appear cluttered. The brieftexts also give basic range data and cross-reference therelevant species account, but (rather poorly) does notdo so for the maps.

Turning to the species accounts, each comprisesthe English and scientific names (together withalternative English as well as the Belizean names),and sections on Identification, Voice, Habitat,Distribution (which encapsulates general informationconcerning world range), Status in Belize (rather fulldetails being presented for all vagrants and manyrarities), and References. Each species is cross-referenced to the relevant plate (or figure) and, whereappropriate range map. A short introduction presageseach new family and also contains suggestedreferences, as well as a list of key features on which toconcentrate when identifying family members. Thetexts are generally very good, with a strong focus onvocal identification. Stuck at the back, rather thanwith the relevant accounts, are the range maps, whichare presented for c.40% of the Belizean avifauna (ingeneral, maps are not given for species widespreadthroughout the country or for vagrants). The maps arewell presented, clear and of good size, but (again) sadlylack cross-reference to either plates or speciesaccounts.

There are few obvious errors in this guide,although (for instance) on Plate 47 the captions forSwainson’s Limnothlypis swainsonii and Worm-eatingWarblers Helmitheros vermivorus have been reversed.Thus, to my mind, the only significant detraction forusers is the book’s size and proportions. In this respect,the US edition weighs in even more heavily, at 484pages, than the UK and European version reviewedhere. Compare, for example, the Costa Rican fieldguide, which covers c.275 species more than the Belizeguide, includes much additional prefatory material(incorporating habitat photographs) and possessesmore handbook-level species accounts (nesting andnecessarily more detailed altitudinal data, forexample, are included), and yet contains just 511 pagesand is not significantly more bulky a package. Perhapstoo unfair is to compare Birds of Belize to the masterlyCollins bird guide for European birds, which containsjust 400 pages and offers full coverage of 722 species,can easily be carried in a normal coat pocket and stillmore than does the job for which it was intended (i.e.sacrifices have been rather few in terms of textualomissions, small maps and the like). Birds of Belize is,despite employing numerous textual abbreviations,distinctly wasteful of space (although very pleasant onthe eye) and one gains few of the advantages one wouldhope for from such a chunky book. I suspect that someusers will, once again, resort to stripping out the platesand relying upon them alone, despite the inevitableshortcomings of such an approach. This is doublydisappointing because Texas University Press (whocommissioned this title) could, in my opinion, haveproduced a genuine field guide. True, it would havemeant smaller font sizes and all of the other downsidesto such a production, but how many users does onehear complaining about such matters in relation to theCollins bird guide, for example?

Notwithstanding such complaints, this bookshould revolutionise birding in Belize and is anoutstanding credit to Lee Jones and Dana Gardner.Birders travelling to the country need carry nothing

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else and can look forward to using a fine, if unnecessar-ily bulky, field guide.

Guy M. Kirwan

Annotated checklist of the birds of Chile byManuel Marín, 2003. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. 141pages. UK£9.90.

During my only birding visit to Chile, inJanuary–February 1991, I observed four speciesconsidered rare in the country by this checklist: LittleBlue Heron Egretta caerulea, Sparkling VioletearColibri coruscans, Black-throated FlowerpiercerDiglossa brunneiventris and Golden-billed SaltatorSaltator aurantiirostris. The first-named is an increas-ingly regular visitor to Chile, with small numbers nowseemingly regular in northern coastal regions, whilstthe rest all appear to be resident (rather than trulyrare visitors) in northernmost Chile, where they arebest known from around the mining village of Putre.

This pocket-sized checklist is the third suchoffering from Lynx Edicions, previous lists havingcovered Belize and Argentina (see review in Cotinga22: 115–117), and it follows the successful formatestablished by the latter. Bilingual throughout, c.50%of the current volume is devoted to the checklist itself,which is fully coded to life zones and other notes, e.g.whether a species is an austral or boreal migrant, ararity, or a species subject to a recent taxonomicchange. Much of the rest of the book comprises a seriesof very detailed appendices to the checklist, namelylists of hypothetical species, rarities, erroneously citedspecies for Chile, changes in taxonomy and nomencla-ture, endemics and near endemics, and introducedspecies. There is also a very useful list of references,which should satisfy just about any reader’s desire forfurther information, as well as maps depicting the lifezones and political regions of Chile.

My only significant criticism of this slim-linevolume is that in the English editing the author hasbeen poorly served by the publishers, although havingsaid that surely he is aware that the plural of taxon istaxa? (unlike in Spanish). The English text appears tobe principally based on a rather lacklustre effort totranslate the Spanish version almost word for word.Seemingly in consequence, it is littered with incorrectchanges of tense (some of which are genuinelyconfusing), sentences that are effectively incomplete,others that lack true meaning or are otherwise largelyimpenetrable, all of which eventually forced me onseveral occasions to turn to the, presumably original,Spanish text instead). The English text is also subjectto many general inconsistencies of style, there isrelatively frequent repetition of certain points and,whilst I support the author in following and drawingattention to the many changes in scientific namesnecessitated by Normand David and Michel Gosselin’srecent work in Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, I still fail to seethe need to select random or partisan examples ofprevious authors who spelt relevant names incorrectly,given that such failings were widespread.

Coupled with the recent field guide (see review inCotinga 23: 93–95), this checklist offers a vitalresource for the visiting birder. Only by using it willreaders realise the significance of their observationsand ensure that, unlike my own, these do not remainburied in their notebooks.

Guy M. Kirwan

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