Neotropical Birding

Peruvian endemics

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

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

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

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.

Blue-diademed Motmot © Gary Ashley

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.

Highland Motmot © David Cook

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

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.