Now [...]]]>

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.

At least that’s the general [...]]]>

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.

Chaparrí is a reserve that protects 34 thousand hectares of dry forest in the Tumbesian Endemic Bird Area. The reserve [...]]]>

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.

Spectacled Bear | © Jean Paul Perret

Sechura Fox | © Jean Paul Perret

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.

 Landscape at Chaparrí | © Jean Paul Perret

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.

 White-tailed Jay | © Jean Paul Perret

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.

 White-winged Guan | © Jean Paul Perret

 Burrowing Owl | © Jean Paul Perret

 Tropical Gnatcatcher | © Jean Paul Perret

 Tawny-crowned Pygmy-Tyrant | © Jean Paul Perret

On February 9th, Dr. [...]]]>

The Tapaculos (genus Scytalopus) is one of the most difficult to identify families of birds, mainly because of the similarity in appearance to others within the genus. However an important differentiating characteristic is their voice. In recent years many new species of Tapaculos have been described due to analyses of their song.

On February 9th, Dr. Niels Krabbe and Dr. Daniel Cadena from Fundación ProAves Colombia published in Zootaxa a revision to the Paramo Tapaculo. They identifed multiple taxa (three differentiated lineages), including a new subspecies – Scytalopus opacus androstictus – from southern Ecuador and northernmost Peru. The original “Paramo Tapaculo” has changed its name to "Paramillo Tapaculo" (Scytalopus canus) and is now only known from a highly restricted area of timberline vegetation on Paramo de Paramillo and Paramo del Sol. The subspecies Scytalopus canus opacus has been given species ranking and given the name Paramo Tapaculo (Scytalopus opacus) which occurs across the Northern Andes of Colombia (except the Western Cordillera), Ecuador and northernmost Peru.

  Paramillo Tapaculo | ProAves Colombia

At present the Paramillo Tapaculo is only known from Páramo de Paramillo and Páramo de Frontino. It may occur elsewhere in the Cordillera Occidental of Colombia. The Paramillo Tapaculo is restricted to a narrow swath of treeline vegetation (scrub, stunted trees and Polylepis woodland) situated between montane forest and Páramo grasslands that is often just hundreds of meters wide. While locally common, the estimated area of suitable habitat within the known range of the Paramillo Tapaculo is 3 km² in total. Only 0.1 km² is effectively protected by the Fundación ProAves Colibri del Sol Bird Reserve.

According to ProAves Colombia, the Paramillo Tapaculo has not been assessed by IUCN. Given the estimated extent of occurrence and observed decline in the extent and quality of habitat, the Paramillo Tapaculo probably warrants IUCN Critically Endangered status with immediate efforts to assess its population and implement actions to assist its survival.

Listen to the song of the Paramillo Tapaculo:

Paramillo Tapaculo

For more songs follow the Xeno-Canto link