Neotropical Birding

Tapaculo Mystery Solved

Jean Paul Perret — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:52:04 +0000

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

Shorebirds Workshop in Lima

Jean Paul Perret — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:32:02 +0000

Yesterday I attended an excellent workshop on identification of shorebirds organized by the Peruvian NGO CORBIDI with support from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, BirdLife International and the Universidad Científica del Sur. This is one of three workshops that has been organized along the Peruvian coast to train volunteers for the national shorebirds census.

During the workshop, Richard Johnston from Calidris (Colombia) introduced us to key characteristics that allow birders to identify some of the most difficult shorebirds. If you’ve ever tried to distinguish between different Sandpipers of the genus Calidris in the field, then you know very well it is not an easy task.

Then Marshall Illiff from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology gave a presentation on the new webpage eBird Peru. eBird is an online collaborative project which is open to all birders. The information from eBird is used by scientists in several ways; it helps to identify priority areas for conservation and maps the migration patterns and distribution of birds. If you don’t have an account at eBird I recommend you open one and use it for sharing your observations.

Marshall Illiff | Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Finally, the best part of the workshop – the field work! We were lucky to go to the Villa Marshlands near the city of Lima to test the knowledge we had learned in the morning. We were able to observe and easily identify some species such as the Semipalmated Plover, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs and the Peruvian Thick-Knee, among others.

Semipalmated Sandpiper | © Jean Paul Perret

Today, February 11th, the census was conducted simultaneously along the coast of Peru, a great effort to know the status of migratory birds in Peru. Congratulations to CORBIDI for organizing this great event.

First Long-whiskered Owlet video

Jean Paul Perret — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:47:57 +0000

The Long-whiskered Owlet (Xenoglaux loweryi), one of the most elusive birds in the world, was watched and photographed on January 24^th in the town of La Esperanza in Peru. The Owlet was observed by Shachar Alterman, an Israeli birdwatcher who joined a Neotropical Primate Conservation project to carry out birds’ surveys in the region, Noga Shanee, co-founder of the organization, and Edin Fonseca, a local guide who find the bird.

Long-whiskered Owlet was discovered in 1976, when it was caught in the mist nest of a Louisiana State University team. Since it was first sighted, the owlet was found only a very few times. It is endemic to a small area in the Andean mountains in Amazonas and San Martín in northern Peru. It is restricted to cloud forests with dense undergrowth and epiphytes at about 1890-2200 meters (6200-7220 ft) above sea level and is categorized as endangered species by IUCN Red List.

On the same night the owlet was found, the N.P.C group heard no less than five birds which responded to the recorded calls played by the team. No previous record of such dense population exists so far. Two other species of rare and endemic birds; Rusty-Tinged Antpitta and the Johnson’s Tody-Tyrant were identified in Peroles at the same trip.

This is only the fourth time this rare bird is ever seen in the wild – and the first time it is captured on video.

After 50 years, Andean Condors are spotted in Leymebamba

Jean Paul Perret — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:03:45 +0000

After 50 years of absence, the Andean Condor has started to regain lost ground in the mountains of Leymebamba in the Amazon region of Peru.

In the last months of 2009, residents of this area of cloud forest saw two pairs of Andean condors flying over the mountains. A juvenile was later found when, in trying to learn to fly, it broke a leg and was caught in the trees. Fortunately it was rescued by the researcher Adriana von Hagen who took care of the juvenile for three weeks until it completely recovered and was subsequently released.

Juvenile Andean Condor | Adriana von Hagen

The Forestry and Wildlife authority of the Amazonas, took the opportunity to raise awareness among local people, who have the mistaken belief that the carrion birds are to blame for the death and disappearance of their cattle and other animals.

The Andean Condors are associated with the popular Lake of the Condors which is in the vicinity of Leymebamba, where several years ago archaeologists uncovered hundreds of Chachapoyas mummies that are now part of an exhibition in the Leymebamba Museum.

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.

All photos © Jean Paul Perret

Peruvian endemics

Jean Paul Perret — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:14:49 +0000

Today we will start a new series of posts about the endemic bird species of Neotropical countries. Each week we will talk about five bird species endemic to one of the countries within the Neotropical region. An endemic species is an organism that exclusively inhabits a particular geographic region or environment. The Neotropical region is by far the richest region in the world, with over 3000 endemic bird species.

This week we will start with Peru, an amazing country with over 120 endemic bird species.

Long-whiskered Owlet (Xenoglaux loweryi)

Song

Link to song file

Best place to see: Abra Patricia, Northern Peru

Long-whiskered Owlet | © David Geale

Green-and-white Hummingbird (Amazilia viridicauda)

Song

Link to song file

Best place to see: Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel

Green-and-white Hummingbird | © Mike LaBarbera

Surf Cinclodes (Cinclodes taczanowskii)

Best places to see: Rocky around Pucusana Island, south of Lima.

Surf Cinclodes | © Jean Paul Perret

Tumbes Tyrant (Tumbezia salvini)

Song

Link to song file

Best place to see: Chaparri (Lambayeque)

Tumbes Tyrant | © David Cook

Gray-winged Inca-Finch (Incaspiza ortizi)

Song

Link to song file

Best place to see: Hacienda Limón (Cajamarca)

Gray-winged Inca-Finch | © David Cook

Playing with the new camera

Jean Paul Perret — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 22:49:59 +0000

Sorry for not posting for such a long time, I’ll do my best to keep posting more frequently. I wanted to share with you all some photos that I took today at Pantanos de Villa, a protected area for birds to the south of Lima, Peru. I recently bought a Canon 50D camera and a 400mm f/5.6 lens to take with me on my birding trips. Last week I went to Pantanos de Villa to try out the camera for the first time with some disappointing results. I had some problems with the autofocus as well as the exposition of the photos. However, after taking photos of unsuspecting pigeons outside my window, I think I have figured out some of the issues. While I still have a great deal to learn and improve in my photography I wanted to show you all some of the shots that I took today.

American Oystercatcher | © Jean Paul Perret

Plumbeous Rail | © Jean Paul Perret

Pied-billed Grebe | © Jean Paul Perret

Common Moorhen | © Jean Paul Perret

Gray-hooded Gull | © Jean Paul Perret

Belcher’s Gull with trash hanging on its wing | © Jean Paul Perret

Me | © Christine Bare

The Birds of Bolivia

Jean Paul Perret — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:38:25 +0000

There is no doubt that some of the greatest avifauna of the Neotropics are found in Bolivia. This beautiful and rugged country is home to no less than 1,379 bird species (SACC 2009), placing Bolivia just behind Colombia, Peru, Brazil and Ecuador in terms of avian diversity.

There are only a few publications that fully cover these magnificent birds. Among the most prominent are “The Birds of Bolivia” 1943 by James Bond & R. Meyer de Schauensee; “Aves de Bolivia” 1985 by Noel Kempff Mercado; “Birds of Bolivia: Sounds and Photographs” 2000, by Sjoerd Mayer and “Annotated list of the Birds of Bolivia” 2003, by A. Hennessey, S. Herzog and F. Sagot.

Soon there will be a new, comprehensive addition to the mix with the publication of "The Birds of Bolivia" by Joseph Tobias. This guide will appear in two volumes, an increasingly common format among the voluminous guides to Neotropical birds. The first volume will be a field guide containing 210 plates, accompanied by brief descriptions and distribution maps of each species. The second volume will contain information on identification, ecology, taxonomy and status. The artwork in this publication is provided by a seasoned group of artists including Eustace Barnes, David Beadle, Aldo Chiape and Richard Johnson. The later granted us access to some of the beautiful plates that are being produced for this book.

Plate 6 © Richard Johnson

Plate 7 © Richard Johnson

For more beautiful plates visit Richard’s site www.stitchbird.co.uk

“Land of magnificent isolation and awe-inspiring grandeur; land of bleak and desolated plains and vast steaming jungles; land of ultramodern civilization, and life as primitive and pastoral as in the days of Jacob; land of breathtaking contrasts – Bolivia”

Melbourne A. Carriker, Jr.

Experiences of an Ornithologist Along the Highways and Byways of Bolivia

The Blue-crowned Motmot complex could be split into five species

Jean Paul Perret — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:52:51 +0000

A recent work published by F. Gary Stiles in the Journal of Colombian Ornithology (Revista Ornitología Colombiana) presents evidence that the group of the Blue-crowned Motmot (Momotus momota) could be composed of at least 5 species based on differences in plumage patterns, biometrics, vocalizations, supplemented by information on geographic distributions and ecology. Some of the groups such as the Highland Motmot (M. m. aequatorialis), had previously attained the status of species, but were ultimately grouped as a subspecies of M. momota by the South American Classification Committee (SACC prop. 117) due to lack of evidence supporting this status. This new proposal by Stiles has prompted a re-examination of this topic by the SACC (prop. 412). This controversy demonstrates the great need for increased research on many groups of Neotropical birds, especially at genetic level.

Without endorsing either side of this controversy, I wanted to present some images and recordings of the songs of the candidate species. I would like to thank all of the people and institutions that allowed me to use their photographs and sound recordings for this post.

For a detailed discussion on plumage characteristics of each group I suggest consulting Appendix 2 of the original publication located here.

Click on the play button to listen to the songs.

Blue-diademed Motmot (Momotus momota lessonni)

Including the following subspecies: M. m. goldmani and coeruliceps

Distribution: from extreme southern Mexico to southwestern Panama.

Blue-diademed Motmot – Costa Rica

Link to the original file.

Highland (Andean) Motmot (Momotus momota aequatorialis)

Inlcuding: M. m. chlorolaemus

Distribution: Andes from NC Colombia to NE Bolivia.

Highland (Andean) Motmot – Colombia

Link to the original file.

Whooping Motmot (Momotus momota subrufescens)

Including the following subspecies: M. m.osgoodi, argenticinctus and spatha.

Distribution: C Panama to NC Venezuela and the Magdalena valley of Colombia; SE Ecuador and extreme NW Peru.

M. m. argenticinctus – Ecuador

Link to the original file.

Trinidad Motmot (Momotus momota bahamensis)

Distribution: Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad Motmot – Trinidad and Tobago

Link to the original file.

Amazonia Motmot (Momotus momota momota)

Including: M. m. microstephanus and several others outside the scope of the study.

Distribution: Venezuela (S of the Orinoco) and the Guianas S through the entire Amazon basin to extreme N Argentina and Paraguay.

M. m. microstephanus – Ecuador

Link to the original file.

Sound files from Xeno-Canto and the Macaulay Library.

Photos under Creative Commons License.

The Marvelous Spatuletail

Jean Paul Perret — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:52:48 +0000

The Marvelous Spatuletail is a small hummingbird restricted to a tiny area inside the Uctubamba Valley in the Peruvian Andes. This small hummingbird is known from three areas (north and south-east of Leimebamba, the Chachapoyas area and Florida, on the shore of Lago Pomacochas). However, the only recent records are from Florida.

It lives at the edge of humid forest, secondary growth and in dense shrubbery. Its preferred food-plant is the red-flowered lily Alstroemeria (Bomarea) formosissima, but it has been observed feeding on at least five other species of flowering plant.

The breeding season is thought to run from late October to early May. Adult males (which are greatly outnumbered by females and immature males) gather at leks where they display to attract females.

Distribution Map

Map: Xeno-Canto

As this bird species is restricted to a small area of habitat, it is classified as an endangered species according to BirdLife. Fortunately, there are some conservation projects going on to help this situation. ECOAN, a Peruvian NGO, with the support of the American Bird Conservancy, is working to create a reserve for this hummingbird and to restore it’s natural habitat. Ecotourism could play an important role in the conservation of the Marvelous Spatuletail by giving an alternative income to the local population in such as way as to simultaneously support the preservation of the bird’s habitat.

Perhaps one of the most striking features of this species is the extremely long male raquet tail. Take a look into this video to see how the male use his tail to attract females.

Need more information? Read this fully detailed species account from the Threatened birds of the Americas.

Plate: John Gould (1849): A Monograph of the Trochilidae, or Family of Humming-birds, plate 161.