BRENESIA 73-74: 138-140-, 2010 Filling the gap of Turdus nigrescens (Aves: Turdidae) distribution, first record in Barva Volcano, Costa Rica Luis Sandoval1 & Melania Fernández1,2 1. Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica. 2060. Costa Rica.
[email protected] 2. Jardín Botánico Lankester, Cartago, Costa Rica. (Received: October 22, 2009) KEY WORDS. Sooty Thrush, Barva Volcano, new distribution The Sooty Thrush (Turdus nigrescens) is an glacial periods (Pleistocene epoch) the lowest endemic bird species from Costa Rica and western limit of highland vegetation descended, creating Panama highlands (Ridgely & Gwynne Jr.1989, a continuous belt of suitable habitat for highland Stiles & Skutch 1989). It inhabits open areas, forest birds between Central Volcanic and Talamanca edges and páramo in the Central Volcanic and mountain ranges (Barrantes in press). This Talamanca mountain ranges above 2500 m (Stiles likely allowed birds to move between these two & Skutch 1989, Garrigues & Dean 2007). The mountains ranges. Although evidence of the Central Volcanic mountain range represents an presence of Sooty Thrush in Barva Volcano during east-west oriented row of about 80 km of volcanic this period lacks, the presence of other highland cones, formed by Poás (2708 m), Barva (2900 m), bird species with similar habitat requirements Irazú (3432 m) and Turrialba (3340 m) volcanoes of those of the Sooty Thrush (e.g, Catharus (Alvarado-Induni 2000). gracilirostris, Pezopetes capitalis and Basileuterus This robin is very abundant along all its range melanogenys) in the area suggests that this species distribution, but it has not been previously reported likely also occurred in this massif (Wolf 1976, Stiles in the Barva Volcano, a volcanic massif in the & Skutch 1989, Barrantes 2005, Chavarria 2006, Central Volcanic mountain range (Chavarría 2006, Garrigues & Dean 2007).