NOTA Notes on the Thinocorids of the High Andes of Bolivia
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Memoria de la Fundación La Salle de Ciencias Naturales 2002 (“2000”), 154: 145-151 NOTA Notes on the thinocorids of the high Andes of Bolivia José Cabot, Javier Castroviejo e Iñigo Fajardo Resumen. Attagis gayi, Thinocorus orbignyianus y T. rumicivorus se distribuyen por los Andes Centrales, desde el sur de Perú hasta el norte de Chile y Argentina. Attagis gayi simonsi se localiza en los fondos de valles de la cresta Andina Oriental y en los cinturones pantanosos de vegetación almohadillada de la Cadena Occidental hasta el área de Arica donde intergrada con A. g. gayi que se extiende hacia el sur. Tanto Thinocorus orbignyianus como T. rumicivorus, están representadas por dos poblaciones distintas que difieren entre sí en comportamiento gregario, en hábitos migratorios y en dimensiones corporales. Ambas especies ocurren en planicies y terrenos ondulados del Altiplano. En la Reserva de Ulla-Ulla, en el extremo noroeste de la de los Andes de Bolivia las especies se segregan espacialmente. T. rumicivorus se distribuye por las áridas y pedregosas morrenas planas. La población invernante de T. orbignyianus se ubica en áreas encharcadas de vegetación almohadillada, mientras que la población local residente todo el año se distribuye por las llanuras aluviales secas. Ambas especies comparten un rango altitudinal de 4000 a 4500 m. A. gayi se sitúa por encima hasta los 5000 m de altitud, está en los bordes de los glaciares y los húmedos fondos de valle. Palabras clave. Attagis gayi. Thinocorus orbignyianus. Thinocorus rumicivorus. Sistemática. Distribución. Selección de hábitat. Notas sobre los tinocóridos de los Andes altos de Bolivia. Abstract. Attagis gayi, Thinocorus orbignyianus and T. rumicivorus are distributed throughout the Central Andes, from southern Peru to the northern parts of Chile and Argentina. Attagis gayi simonsi are found in the valleys of the eastern Andean crest and in the belts of marsh vegetation mats on the Western Chain as far as Arica where this taxon intergrades with A. g. gayi which extends south. Both Thinocorus orbignyianus and T. rumicivorus are represented by two distinct populations which differ in gregarious behavior, migratory habits and body dimensions. Both species ocurrs in plains and rollins terrain of the altiplano. In the Ulla-Ulla Reserve of the extreme northwestern Andes of Bolivia, the species segregate spatially. T. rumicivorus is found on the dry and rocky flat moraines. The winter population of T. orbignyianus is located on the flooded vegetation mats, while the local resident population occurs year round on the flat, dry alluvial plains. Both species share an altitudinal range of 4000 to 4500 m. A. gayi is found higher up, occurring to an altitude of 5000 m, where it is found on the borders of glaciers and along wet valley bottoms. Key words. Attagis gayi. Thinocorus orbignyianus. Thinocorus rumicivorus. Systematics. Distribution. Habitat selection. Three Seed-snipe species, Attagis gayi, Thinocorus orbignyianus and T. rumicivorus, can be found in Central Andes, from south Perú to northern Argentina and Chile (Blake 1977, Fjeldsa and Krabbe 1990). The information available about these species in the Central Andes basically referred to distributional data of specimens collected in a few localities (Remsen and Traylor 1989). 146 Notes on the thinocorids of the high Andes of Bolivia In this note we analyse, for the highlands of Bolivia, the distribution of Attagis gayi subspecies; morphological variation among populations of Thinocorus orbignyianus, and migratory habits in T. rumicivorus, as well as habitat preferences for all species. This is based on field data gathered between 1981 and 1985, in the Altiplano and cordilleran localities, and data on the skins of the Estación Biológica de Doñana collection. Habitat data was recorded monthly during 1982 at Ulla-Ulla Reserve (4400 m a.s.l.), 14º50’-15º64’S and 69º15’-69º30’W 60 km N of lake Titicaca, La Paz Dpt. Bolivia. The area comprises one sector of the “Macizo de Apolobamba” in the eastern Andean cordillera, and the large morrain plains to the west. Attagis gayi Geoffroy Saint-Hillaire, I and Lesson 1831. Three subspecies have been recognised. The northernmost, A. g. latreilli, is restricted to páramos of northern Ecuador. The other two, A. g. simonsi and gayi, both southernmore, replace each other in different ecoregions although they overlap somewhat by altitude. Their respective ranges are described in Blake (1977) and Fjeldsa and Krabbe (1990). These authors agree that A. gayi ranges from the puna of northern Chile southwards to Tierra del Fuego, and in the eastern Andes from Salta southwards in Argentina, at high altitudes in the north to near sea level in the south. Johnson (1965), provides basically the same distribution, cites it also in western Bolivia. The only record for this subspecies is from the puna zone of Potosí (Cabot and Serrano 1988), in the southwestern Bolivian extreme, near to the north Chilean border. This subspecies, in its northernmost Bolivian and Chilean range in the western base foothills of the Andean massif, inhabits a specific habitat: bogs (“bofedales”) of humid evergreen cushion plant vegetation in the periphery of the lagoons of the high altitude semidesert. Rufous Seed-snipe was recorded by Fjeldsa (1987) at Sajama in humid bogs, but these authors do not mention its subspecific status. According to Blake (1977) and Fjeldsa and Krabbe (1990), Attagis gayi simonsi ranges from the humid puna zone of Central-Southern Perú (Huancavelica, Puno) and Western-Central Bolivia (La Paz, Cochabamba y Oruro Dpts.), Northwestern Argentina (Tucumán) and probably Northern Chile, in Tarapacá (Blake op. cit.). However the presence of A. g. simonsi in the north of Chile is recorded by a bird photographed at Salar de Surire (northern Chile), which looks like a typical subspecies simonsi (Fjeldså 1996). The habitats occupied in northern Chile are similar to the bogs at the base of volcanoes of south Perú. Johnson (1965) conversely cites the subspecies gayi in the area of Arica (Chile). There could be an intergradation but this needs documentation. Both subspecies range apparently parallel and separately along both sides of the southern Altiplano of Bolivia. A g. gayi inhabits the desert of Potosí in the Bolivian- Chilean Andes ledge, although its presence must be fully confirmed in SW Oruro Dpt. (Bolivia). A.g.simonsi is found at the opposite side of the Altiplano, by the crests on the humid Eastern Andes, from La Paz and Cochabamba departments (Bolivia). Nevertheless the presence has not been confirmed in eastern Oruro, Tarija and Chuquisaca departments in Bolivia. Mem. Fund. La Salle de Cienc. Nat. 154 147 Tinocorus orbignyianus Geoffroy Saint-Hillaire, I and Lesson 1831. Two subspecies have been described on the basis of size difference criterion. T. o. ingae, slightly smaller than the nominate subspecies, has a northernmost distribution, ranging in the Andes from Libertad (Perú) southward to high altitudes in western and central Bolivia to Tarapacá in Chile and Catamarca in Argentina (Blake, 1977). The nominate subspecies goes from the puna zone of Chile (north to Antofagasta but also to Tacna according to Fjeldsa and Krabbe 1990) to La Rioja and Santa Cruz (Argentina) at decreasing elevations southward to Tierra de Fuego and Staten Island (Blake 1977). At Ulla-Ulla two different populations occur: a resident one and a migrant. Each shows different habitat preferences, group size structure, body size and migrant status. Table 1. Weights and body measurements of Thinocorus orbignyanus ingae: resident-permanent and wintering in North Bolivia, and breeding in Southwestern Bolivia. Wintering Potosí Residents NW Bolivia SW Bolivia NW Bolivia (n=7) (n=8) (n=12) X X SD SDX SD Weight 117,3 13,1 114,8 8,7 107,0 7,9 Total L 223,7 5,1 218,0 4,2 214,0 3,1 Culmen L 16,3 1,1 15,9 0,8 15,1 0,9 Tars L 23,1 0,7 21,7 0,7 22,1 0,9 Tars W 3,1 0,2 3,0 0,2 3,0 0,2 M. toe L 21,4 1,7 20,8 0,7 20,4 1,2 Wing L 140,3 6,1 139,1 5,2 136,0 3,8 Tail L 64,7 3,7 62,7 4,3 62,1 2,1 Resident birds are smaller. They live in pairs throughout the year and use rolling plains of dry, stony soils of fine sediments with scarce and short tussock grass. These habitats undergo a severe dry period from April to October, when the vegetation withers and the land becomes denuded. Birds in breeding condition are recorded throughout the year, although more frequently in spring and summer (Cabot 1988). Wintering populations stay in flocks, generally six to thirty individuals, only in the dry season (May to September). They are located in boggy and flooded flat areas, locally named “bofedales” with evergreen grass and compact cushion plant cover. No individuals in breeding condition have been detected. Up to date migratory behaviour has not been recorded for this species (Johnson 1965, Olrog 1959, Blake 1977, Fjelsa and Krabbe 1990). However the occasional autumnal presence has been previously reported in Córdoba prov., Argentina (Nores et al. 1983). No pairs or isolated birds have been seen in boggy areas during the winter. On the other hand, in summer, during the wet season, no bird was observed in the humid or very flooded habitats. Individuals from each population were collected and no difference in plumage was found. However, resident-permanent birds were lighter and 148 Notes on the thinocorids of the high Andes of Bolivia smaller than migrants (Wilcoxon test p > 0.01; Table 1). Local seasonal shifts between bogs and puna terrain occur in the northern part of the range, in Perú (Fjeldsa 1996) Specimens from Potosí, SW Bolivia (aprox.