QL © Biodiversity Heritage Library, http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/; www.zoologicalbulletin.de; www.biologiezentrum.at AVIFAUNA OF NORTHWESTERN COLOMBIA, SOUTH AMERICA by JÜRGEN HAFFER BONNER ZOOLOGISCHE MONOGRAPHIEN, Nr. 7 1975 Herausgeber: ZOOLOGISCHES FORSCHUNGSINSTITUT UND MUSEUM ALEXANDER KOENIG BONN © Biodiversity Heritage Library, http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/; www.zoologicalbulletin.de; www.biologiezentrum.at : BONNER ZOOLOGISCHE MONOGRAPHIEN Die Serie wird vom Zoologischen Forschungsinistitut und Museum Alexander Koenig herausgegeben und bringt Originalarbeiten, die für eine Unterbringung in den „Bonner Zoologischen Beiträgen" zu lang sind und eine Veröffentlichung als Monographie rechtfertigen. Anfragen bezüglich der Vorlage von Manuskripten und Bestellungen sind an die Schriftleitung zu richten. This series of monographs, published by the Zoological Research In- stitute and Museum Alexander Koenig, has been established for original contributions too long for inclusion in „Bonner Zoologische Beiträge". Correspondence concerning manuscripts for publication and purchase orders should be addressed to the editors. LTnstitut de Recherches Zoologiques et Museum Alexander Koenig a etabli cette serie de monographies pour pouvoir publier des travaux zoolo- giques trop longs pour etre inclus dans les „Bonner Zoologische Beiträge". Toute correspondance concernant des manuscrits pour cette serie ou des commandes doivent etre adressees aux editeurs. BONNER ZOOLOGISCHE MONOGRAPHIEN, Nr. 7, 1975 Preis 35 DM Schriftleitung/Editor Dr. H. E. Wolters Zoologisches Forschungsinstitut und Museum Alexander Koenig Adenauerallee 150— 164, 53 Bonn, Germany Druck: Bonner Universitäts-Buchdruckerei © Biodiversity Heritage Library, http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/; www.zoologicalbulletin.de; www.biologiezentrum.at AVIFAUNA OF NORTHWESTERN COLOMBIA, SOUTH AMERICA by JÜRGEN HAFFER BONNER ZOOLOGISCHE MONOGRAPHIEN, Nr. 7 1975 Herausgeber: ZOOLOGISCHES FORSCHUNGSINSTITUT UND MUSEUM ALEXANDER KOENIG BONN © Biodiversity Heritage Library, http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/; www.zoologicalbulletin.de; www.biologiezentrum.at © Biodiversity Heritage Library, http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/; www.zoologicalbulletin.de; www.biologiezentrum.at 3 Table of contents Page 1. Introduction 5 2. Acknowledgements 5 3. Topography 6 4. Climate 12 5. Vegetation 14 6. Ornithological exploration 21 7. Ecology 22 7.1. Ecological distribution of forest birds 22 7.2. Occurrence of bird species inside the forest 27 7.3. Flocking in forest birds 29 8. Zoogeography 30 8.1. Analysis of the trans-Andean lowland forest avifauna 30 8.2. Secondary contact zones 55 8.3. Lowland avifaunas of western and northern Colombia 63 8.4. Historical interpretation of bird speciation and distribution patterns 68 9. Breeding and molting seasons 72 10. List of collecting stations 73 11. Annotated list 77 12. Summary 170 13. Zusammenfassung 171 14. References 172 © Biodiversity Heritage Library, http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/; www.zoologicalbulletin.de; www.biologiezentrum.at © Biodiversity Heritage Library, http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/; www.zoologicalbulletin.de; www.biologiezentrum.at 5 1. Introduction The lowlands of northwestern Colombia connect the isthmus of Panama with the mainland of South America. This largely forested area is today the meeting place of various Middle and South Americans faunas. Many bird species advanced into northwestern Colombia from Amazonia by following the Caribbean lowlands north of the Andes. A lesser number extended their range southward and eastward from Middle America. In the forests around the Gulf of Urabä of northwestern Colombia some of these forms made contact with their strongly differentiated representatives of the Chocö region of western Colombia and of the Nechi region along the northern base of the Colombian Andes. These zones of contact reveal striking faunal discontinuities in a continuous forest environment. I studied the bird fauna of this interesting part of the Neotropical Region from 1958 to 1967. I collected birds and made observations during the course of geological field work as professional duties permitted. Several previously published articles dealt with particular aspects of the distri- bution of certain birds and with portions of my collection. In the present publication 1 summarize the information obtained and give a complete list of birds that I encountered. I specially emphasize the secondary contact zones of parapatric species and hybridizing subspecies in northwestern Colombia. In the introductory portion of this publication, I deal with general aspects of the ecology and zoogeography of the avifauna of north- western Colombia as they relate toward elucidating the relationships of x this forest fauna with other trans-Andean ) faunas and with the Amazo- nian fauna. 2. Acknowledgments I am grateful to my field companion Donald A. Beattie who, during the early years of my field work, helped collect birds and prepare study skins. Manuel Montes obtained many specimens and provided much useful information on the natural history of the forest and its inhabitants. The ornithologists at the Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional, Bogota, Professor Jose I. Borrero (now in Cali), Father Antonio Olivares (deceased) and Dr. Jorge Hernandez C, permitted me to use freely the skin collection and the library of the Instituto and discussed with me many ornithological aspects of Colombia during my stay in that country from 1957 to 1961 and from 1963 to 1967. I am also much indebted to Dr. Eugene Eisenmann, New York, who answered numerous questions since the inception of my work in Colombia and generously 1 ) The tropical lowlands and their faunas west of the Andes and in Middle America are designated as „trans-Andean" or „Pacific", and those east of the Andes as "cis-Andean" or 'Amazonian". Geographically and historically (with respect to the evolution of the lowland bird faunas) this usage seems preferable to that of Chapman (1917, 1926) who sometimes referred to "cis-Andean" and "trans-Andean" in the opposite sense. © Biodiversity Heritage Library, http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/; www.zoologicalbulletin.de; www.biologiezentrum.at 6 gave his time to discuss ornithological problems and particular specimens of my collections. Mr. R. Meyer de Schauensee, Philadelphia, and Dr. A. Wetmore, Washington, kindly identified a number of skins and sent me important information on several species. I thank Drs. E. R. Blake (Chicago), K. C. Parkes (Pittsburgh), F. C. Novaes (Beiern), H. Sick (Rio de Janeiro) and G. E. Watson (Washington) for distributional data on certain species based on material in their respective collections. Dr. E. O. Willis (Brazil) kindly reviewed an early version of the manuscript and permitted me to include some of his observations made in the upper Sinü region in recent years. I also thank Professor J. I. Borrero, Departa- mento de Biologia, Universidad del Valle, Cali (Colombia), who furnished the photographs of Colombian birds mostly taken near Buenaventura on the Pacific coast. The curators of the Departments of Ornithology at the American Museum of Natural History (New York), Dr. W. Lanyon, and at the Academy of Natural Sciences (Philadelphia), Mr. R. M. de Schauensee and Dr. F. Gill, kindly permitted me to use the collections under their care. 3. Topography The Andes are a narrow compact mountain range over most of their huge extension along the west coast of South America. They develop a more diverse relief near their northern end in Colombia, where three Cordilleras are separated by deep tropical valleys (from west to east): Western Cordillera, Cauca Valley, Central Cordillera, Magdalena Valley, Eastern Cordillera, Llanos (Fig. 1). The Eastern Cordillera continues north- eastward into Venezuela (Merida Andes) and follows the Caribbean coast decreasing progressively in height. The Central Cordillera of Colombia ends before reaching the Caribbean coast but can be traced through the isolated Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the low mountains of the outer Guajira Peninsula into the island chain of the Netherlands Antilles. Exten- Fig. 1: Present distribution of humid lowland forest in northern South America and southern Middle America. Modified from Hueck & Seibert (1972, South America) and Lauer (1968, Middle America). Explanation: Shaded — Evergreen forest (Wet and Pluvial Forest). Shaded and dashed vertically — Seasonal forest (Moist and Dry Forest) near savanna regions. Blank — Grass savanna and gallery forest along rivers in the Llanos of eastern Colombia, southern Venezuela and Guyana; agricultural areas in northern Colombia- Venezuela, in Pacific Middle America, and in western Ecuador. „Savannas" are often artifical and include secondary growth with remnants of Dry and Moist Forest. Scrubby vegetation exists on the southeastern Colombian table mountains in the Amazonian forest. Small open circles — Xerophytic vegetation on the Caribbean peninsulas Guajira and Paraguanä, in inter-Andean valleys, and in Pacific lowlands of northwestern Peru. Areas outlined in northwestern Colombia are shown in more detail in Figures 3 and 4, respectively. Mountains above 1000 m elevation are in black. 1 — Mountains of Costa Rica and western Panama. 2 — Serrania del Darien. 3 — Cerro Pirre. 4 — Alto del Buey (Serrania del Baudö). 5 — Western Cordillera. 6 — Central Cordillera. 7 — Eastern Cordillera of Colombia. 8 — Sierra de Perijä. 9 — Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. 10 — Merida Andes. 11 — Sierra