Neotropical Birding » Birding

A New Addition: Birds of Peru in Flickr

Jean Paul Perret — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:22:47 +0000

Are you familiar with Flickr? If not, Flickr is a great online tool to share photos. The problem is that Flickr is so popular that sometimes it is a bit hard to find exactly what we want. To help with this situation there are groups where users can share photos grouped according to different subjects.

Now let’s talk about the subject that interests us, birds. On Flickr there are many groups for birds. Some of them are related to families of birds, hummingbirds, owls, shorebirds, etc.

Others are classified depending on the geographical location. Globally the most ambitious and organized group is Field Guide: Birds of the World, with photographs of more than 6000 species of birds. In the Neotropical region we have a great group called Neotropical Birds. Then each country has their own group, for example Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil. Amazing right? But there was a very important country not part of this list…

Although it seems incredible Peru did not have a group on Flickr to organize its bird photos. This situation changed 48 hours ago with the creation of Birds of Peru. The idea of the group is to organize and classify pictures of all species (and hopefully someday subspecies) of birds of Peru. If you have traveled to Peru and have pictures of birds please add them to the group and do not forget to put a tag with the scientific and english names to help organize our index. On the other hand, if you’ve never been to Peru, take look at the photos and see what you are missing!

So far the group is working very well, with over 500 photos submitted during the first 24 hours! Very soon we will enable an area where you can discuss various topics related to birds of Peru and there will be a section designed to help with bird ID. I hope that many birders join the group and take advantage of this resource.

New Species of Antpitta from Colombia

Jean Paul Perret — Thu, 20 May 2010 21:55:41 +0000

UPDATE 6/25/2010: One month ago we published the description of this species in the middle of a controversy between ProAves and Mr. Caranton who discovered and collected the species. At that time we only had access to ProAves version since Mr Caranton had not yet published his description. Now we provide the other side of the story hopping that our readers can draw their own conclusions.

A NEW SPECIES OF ANTPITTA (GRALLARIIDAE: GRALLARIA ) FROM THE NORTHERN SECTOR OF THE WESTERN ANDES OF COLOMBIA

The Price of Priority

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ORIGINAL POST

A new species of bird for science has been discovered and named after a leading conservation family. The bird is named Fenwick’s Antpitta (Grallaria fenwickorum), after American Bird Conservancy (ABC) President George Fenwick and his family.

Fenwick’s Antpitta | © ProAves Colombia

The announcement was made after a comprehensive two-year study and review process following the bird’s discovery in 2008. The capture and evaluation process itself was remarkable in that it is one of the first times that a new species for science has been described from an individual captured, banded, measured, photographed, sampled for DNA, and then released alive back into the wild.

The bird that provided the so-called “holotype” for the description was captured in the Colibri del Sol Bird Reserve located on the Paramo del Sol massif in the western Andes of Colombia. The reserve is managed by Fundación ProAves. The 11,322 acre reserve, founded in 2005, is known for a stunning array of threatened birds, including the Critically Endangered Dusky Starfrontlet that was rediscovered in 2004 after being “lost” for over 50 years, and which provided the initial impetus for the Fenwick family’s support to establish the bird reserve.

Habitat | © ProAves Colombia

The new bird species inhabits a highly restricted area of montane cloud forest where dwarf bamboo thickets thrive on rich volcanic soils on the less-humid eastern-facing slopes; a habitat that has undergone extensive clearance for pasturelands in recent decades. The bird has been proposed as Critically Endangered under IUCN-World Conservation Union criteria, with a population described as extremely small and of great conservation concern, making it a priority for ABC.

Fenwick’s Antpitta is a medium-sized, cinnamon and gray colored, thrush-like bird, with a height of about seven inches, and a weight of only about two ounces. G. fenwickorum is considered probably most closely related to Brown-banded Antpitta G. milleri due to similarities in voice and biometrics and generally non-descript plumage. There are two described subspecies of G. milleri: G. m. milleri occurs 165 km southeast in the Central Andes, and the larger G. m. gilesi occurs 70 km east in the northern sector of the Central Andes. G. fenwickorum can be easily diagnosed from both taxa by the complete lack of a brown breast band (with the breast instead being uniform slate grey) and lighter brown dorsal plumage. Its vocalizations are also distinct.

Fenwick’s Antpitta | © ProAves Colombia

The song of Grallaria fenwickorum consists of three notes, progressively increasing in acoustic frequency and length, with the first note briefest and lowest, and the final note longest and highest. The song could be transcribed as: “tu, tuut, TUUET”. The song of G. milleri is similar to that of G. fenwickorum, also comprising three notes of progressively higher pitch and greater length. However, each note of the G. milleri song is diagnosably longer and higher pitched than the equivalent note in G. fenwickorum.

Read the complete description of the species here.

Photos: ProAves Colombia

Source: American Bird Conservancy and ProAves Colombia

Help Us to Conserve the Long-whiskered Owlet

Jean Paul Perret — Mon, 17 May 2010 02:20:03 +0000

Please help us conserve one of the most enigmatic owl species of the world, the Long-whiskered Owlet. This species was discovered in 1976 and since then has been observed in the wild only by a few people, perhaps less than 10 times. It is found only in the montane forests of northern Peru, an area that is threatened by the rapid development of agriculture and mining.

In an effort to preserve the Long-whiskered Owlet habitat, the local NGO ECOAN created a private reserve around Abra Patricia, an area that now is famous worldwide for birders. Many tourists visit Abra Patricia hoping to find this bird, but despite their efforts they usually never see it.

In 2009, the Israeli birder Shachar Alterman was able to find Long-whiskered Owlets living in a forest 30 km. from Abra Patricia, outside the protected area. This place has become the best (and only) place to observe this species. So far five groups of birdwatchers have visited the area and they all have observed the Owlet as well as two other rare and endemic species of birds; Rusty-Tinged Antpitta, Johnson’s Tody-Tyrant. Another very interesting species that can be observed in these forests includes the Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkey, also in danger of extinction with a restricted range in northern Peru.

Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkey | © Noga Shanee/NPC

Shachar Alterman was part of a group of enthusiastic conservationists from the Neotropical Primate Conservation. They are trying to protect the forest area through a partnership with the local community. The community has taken the first steps to have this area designated as a protected space by the national government. Their greatest hope is that ecotourism will help protect the forest and the species that inhabit it, including the Long-whiskered Owlet.

It takes approximately three and a half hours to reach this area through difficult terrain. But this hike is a small effort in comparison to the rewarding experience of seeing this rare species in its habitat.

How can you help?

Our company wants to support the efforts of the community, La Esperanza, by offering tours to this forest. This tour will include a short visit to the Florida/Pomacochas area where you can see another beautiful and endemic species including the Marvelous Spatuletail hummingbird. You can also combine this trip with a longer visit to the area around Abra Patricia. For more details please see our information page. If you want to set a date for this tour or if you have questions please feel free to contact us.
Additionally, our company is evaluating a compensation scheme for carbon emissions for all tours available in Peru. Proceeds will go directly to Neotropical Primate Conservation (NPC) to support the conservation of these forests.
Neotropical Birding Tours will also make a donation to the NPC reforestation program to plant 50 trees for every tourist that take part in this tour.
If you can’t travel to the area, but want to contribute to the project, please consider making a donation directly to Neotropical Primate Conservation.

Forests of the Western Slopes

Jean Paul Perret — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 13:17:00 +0000

The Andes mountains of Peru, which runs from the north of the country to the south, forms a very effective barrier against the humid winds from the Amazon basin, leaving the western slopes without rainfall needed to sustain extensive tropical forests. These dry slopes are dominated by cactus and small shrubs.

At least that’s the general rule; however in a few places with special climatic conditions, there are forests that look like the tropical eastern rainforests. The upper valley of the rivers Piura, Chira, La Leche and Zaña have these pockets of rainforest due to their proximity to Equator and due to the lower height of the Andes at these locations. This lack of height allows the passage of moisture-laden winds from the Amazon to these western slopes. These forests have unique bird life and are part of the center of endemism called the Tumbesian region.

Chachacomo forest in Lima

Further south, as move south away from the Equator and as the Andes gain altitude, forests become more scarce and are only present in the upper parts of valleys where Queñua (Polylepis sp.) forests are found at altitudes exceeding 3800 meters. Further down in the middle elevations of these valleys, between 2000 and 3000 meters, there are very few places that sustain deciduous forests dominated by trees like Chachacomo (Escallonia resinosa).

Purple Collared Woodstar | © Jean Paul Perret

Perhaps one of the best studied Chachacomo forests is the Zarate forest in the department of Lima. These forests were studied by the famous ornithologist Maria Koepcke in the 50s and 60s. Koepcke’s investigations led to the recognition of the fact that many bird species typical of the cloud forests of the eastern slopes extend their ranges to the western slopes of the department of Lima. Species such as Band-tailed Pigeon, Tyrian Metaltail, Red-crested Cotinga and the Fawn-breasted Tanager, typical of the eastern cloud forests have isolated populations in these western forests.

Pied-crested Tit-tyrant | © Jean Paul Perret

Koepcke’s investigations not only allowed us to know these extensions in the distribution of birds, but they also unveiled new species like the White-cheeked Cotinga discovered in the forest of Zarate, a place relatively close to Lima the capital of Peru in the year 1954, and the Russet-bellied Spinetail on the slopes of the department of Ancash.

Many endemic bird species live in these western slopes of central Peru, for example the Black-necked Woodpecker, Rusty-bellied Brush-finch, Rusty-crowned Tit-Spinetail, and Black Metaltail. All of these species can be observed along the Santa Eulalia Valley and the Zarate forest in Lima.

Rusty-bellied Brush-finch | © Jean Paul Perret

Bare-faced Ground-Dove | © Jean Paul Perret

To see more bird photos visit my Flickr account.

A photographic journey to Chaparrí

Jean Paul Perret — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 14:19:06 +0000

Our first trip of the year in northern Peru was a success! We spent a few days at the Private Conservation Area of Chaparrí taking pictures of birds and animals found in this beautiful forest.

Chaparrí is a reserve that protects 34 thousand hectares of dry forest in the Tumbesian Endemic Bird Area. The reserve covers an altitudinal range that goes from 150 m to 1350 m, which encompasses a great variety of habitats. This variety of habitats is correlated with the reserve’s great diversity of birds; over 200 species have been registered at Chaparrí and in its surrounding area, including more than 40 Tumbesian endemics. Among these bird species include some gems such as the Tumbes Tyrant and the reintroduced White-winged Guan. But Chaparrí is not only about birds, in these forests you can also found Spectacled bears, Pumas, White-tailed Deer and the Sechura Fox.

One of the great opportunities of this trip was to see Chaparrí during the rainy season. As mentioned above, Chaparrí is located in a dry forest which means that from May to December most trees lose their leaves due to the lack of rain. Trees near the small creeks keep their leaves all year and became a refuge for birds and other animals. The rest of the year, from January to April, the forest changes its character entirely. With seasonal rains the trees regain their leaves. The air fills with the fresh sensation of the moist forest and the sweet smell of the Palo Santo tree (Bursera graveolens) and the birds begin their breeding season.

We were lucky to spend a few days birding in this area, observing birds such as Long-billed Starthroat, Tumbes Hummingbird, Scarlet-backed Woodpecker, Collared Antshrike, Brown-chested Martin, Plumbeous-backed Trush, White-tailed Jay, Cinereous Finch (endemic), Tumbes Sparrow and, of course, the reintroduced and endangered White-winged Guan among others.

Our next trip to this area will include the Marañón Valley, home to many endemics, and the de Abra Patricia and Pomacochas area where you can catch a glimpse of mythic birds such as the Long-whiskered Owlet, the Marvelous Spatuletail Hummingbird and many other recently described species.

Coolest Tern!

Jean Paul Perret — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 17:41:49 +0000

This is the coolest Tern ever! It’s native to the Humboldt current from Peru and Chile. I love the way that those feathers look almost like a mustache

Good morning, Ms. Kestrel

Jean Paul Perret — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:46:51 +0000

Today, just after I woke up I noticed that a female American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) was perched on the palm outside my window. Take a look on how she takes care of her feathers before she goes ~~to work~~ hunting.