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103-105, 1993 @ the Neotrorical Ornithological Society . CHANGE IN SHORT COMMUNICATIONS ORNITOWGIANEOTROrICAL 4:103-105, 1993 @The Neotrorical Ornithological Society . CHANGE IN MOBILITY AMONG CREPUSCULAR GROUNO-LIVING BIROS IN AN ECUAOORIAN CLOUO FOREST OURING OVERCAST ANO RAINY WEATHER Bent Otto Poulsen The Zoological Museum, Section of Ornithology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 21, 2100 Copenhagen 0, Denmark. Key words: Crepuscular birds, behavior responsesto weathe1; mobility, habitat fragments, survival. This paper will first describe the normal pattern crepuscular and lives inside dense elfin forest of activity among six species of crepuscular with bamboo, treeferns and often large amounts ground-dwelling birds in a temperate cloud forest of spongy moss (Terborgh & Weske 1972, Hilty in Ecuador and afterwards describe changes in & Brown 1988, Fjeldsa & Krabbe 1990, Krabbe mobility during overcast and rainy weather. 1992). It is extremely difficult to observe. The Finally the implications of the increased ten- few known observations are mostly silhouttes of dency to leave vegetation cover will be discussed flying birds singing at dusk. Here I present with reference to feeding and survival in habitat observations of this species foraging on open fragments. trails during the day. The observed species,Ocellated Tapaculo (Ac- ropternix orthonyx), Chestnut-naped Antpitta STUDY AREA ( Grallaria nuchalis), Rufous Antpitta ( Grallaria The study area was at Cajanuma (04 °06'S, rufula ), U ndulated Antpitta ( Grallaria squami- 79°09'W), Podocarpus National Park, Prov- gera) and Chusquea Tapaculo (Scytalopus, un- ince of Loja, Ecuador. Cajanuma (2750 m) is named species in the Brown-rumped Tapaculo on the west side of the easternmost ridge of the complex; N. Krabbe, pers. comm.) are all con- Andes of southern Ecuador. The weather at sidered crepuscular in their foraging habits. They Cajanuma is heavily influenced by the ex- are all difficult to observe. Occelated Tapaculo tremely humid east side climate. Long periods walks on the forest floor or moves through the with mist, clouds and rain apparently prevail vegetation above the ground in dark recessesof from February until mid October. A less wet dense vegetation, especially in bamboo thickets. period with more sunshine and clear sky lasts Chestnut-naped Antpitta hops on the ground or from mid October through January (Apolo moves around in low vegetation especially in the 1984, Bloch et al. 1991, park guards, pers. darkest parts of bamboo thickets. The Rufous comm.). Exact climatic figures do not exist. Antpitta is lessterrestrial, but forages within 2 m The predominant vegetation is tall primary of the ground in dense stands of bamboo and cloud forest with patches of bamboo on natu- adjacent cloud forest undergrowth. The Undu- rally and man disturbed slopes. Epiphytes are lated Antpitta lives on the ground in the interior heavily developed creatinga very high structural of dense mossy cloud forest, often with patches complexity and heterogeneity with many micro- of bamboo (Fjeldsa & Krabbe 1990, pers. obser- habitats and a dark interior. The undergrowth is vation). The Chusquea Tapaculo is a terrestrial dense, dark and almost impenetrable. Around bird with poor flying capacity restricted to the Cajanuma several open trails were maintained darkest and densest parts of humid undergrowth for purposes of ecoturism and research. (N. Krabbe, pers. comm.). The biology of the Cajanuma is extraordinarily rich in antpittas very rare Imperial Snipe (Gallinago imperialis) is (6 species)and tapaculos (5 species),which made little known. It is considered nocturnal or it ideal for observations of these secretive birds. 103 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS METHODS 251 During a study of inixed species flocks, I recorded crepuscular terrestrial birds on open 20- "' " trails together with weather. In April and May, o weather was also recorded every hour from 06:00 ~ g¡ D to 18:00 h. Weather parameters were cloud cover, O sunshine/t1o sunshine, mist/no mist and precipi- O O; D tation estimated as no rain (dry), dust, light, fine E and heavy rain: The sky was divided in parts ~ from 0/8 to 8/8. The former was clear sky and 8/8 was totally overcast. The weather was classi- fied dark at cloud cover 8/8 combined or not 06'00-10'00 ' 10'00-1400 ' 14'00-18'00 with rain and/or mist. A frequency distribution Hours of observations at different cloud cover showed FIG. I, Daily activity pattern of crepuscular ground- the distinction between 8/8 and less cloud cover living birds on open trails at Cajanuma. to be the best. I defined observations in the morning as 06:00-10:00 h, at midday as 10:00-14:00 h and tistics were not obtained for the last three spe- in the afternoon as 14:00-18:00 h. Observation cies. efforts in these periods were the same. During rains (n = 86) there were more All statistical tests were two-tailed. Expected crepuscular birds (22 of 44) out in the open values were calculated from proportions of hours than during dry weather (n = 193) (Chi2 = with for example rain compared to the total 7.59, p < 0.0l). More Chusquea Tapaculos (7 hours of rain and dry weather during the period of 7) were out in the open during rains (n = of observations. First and last observation of a 72) than during dry weather (n = 174) (Chi2 speciesdefined a period. In the calculations four = 16.90, p < 0.00l). There were no more Imperial Snipes and one Undulated Antpitta Rufous Antpitta (4 of 10) and Undulated were omitted (n = 44), because these were Antpitta (9 of 24) out in the open during rain records from outside the period when weather (n = 61 and n = 58, respectively) than during data were collected every hour. dry weather (n = 149 and n = 124, respec- tively) (Chi 2 = 0.58, ns and Chi 2 = 0.35, ns, RESULTS respectively). More crepuscular birds were seen foraging on In the morning there were more observa- open trails (29 of 44) when cloud cover was 8/8 tions of crepuscular birds out in the open (n = (n = 127) than at less cloud cover (n = 152) 24) than at midday (n = 12) and in the after- (Chi2 = 7.46, p < 0.01). More crepuscular noon (n = 8) (Chi2 = 8.0, p < 0.0l and Chi2 birds were out in the open (44 of 44) when the = 4.0, p < 0.05, respectively; Fig. 1). sun did not shine (n = 201) than during Mist only occured four times when crepus- periods of sunshine (n = 78) (Chi2 = 17.07, cular birds were seen. Each time mist was p < 0.001). accompagnied by totally overcast and rain On the species level, more Rufous Antpittas making the weather extremely dark. (9 of 10) and Chusquea Tapaculos (7 of 7) were One Imperial Snipe was observed foraging out in the open under totally overcast (n = 84 30 min in the open taking a lO cm long and n = 123, respectively) than during periods lumbricid from moss on the ground. Another of less cloud cover (n = l23 and n = 148, Imperial Snipe foraged about 20 min along a respectively) (Chi2 = 10.11, p < 0.01 and trail (R. Tapia, O. Mora, pers. comm.). The last Chi 2 = 8.41, p < 0.01, respectively). There two Imperial Snipes both foraged 10 min in the were no more records of Undulated Antpitta open (J. Fjeldsa, E. Bering, pers. comm.). All (11 of 24) out in the open during totally over- observations were from the same area of Chus- cast (n = 72) than at less cloud cover (n = 110) quea bamboo during days with totally overcast (Chi2 = 0.40, ns). Sufficient data to allow sta- and rainy weather. Three observations also inclu- 1n4 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS ded mist. On several occasions with rain and ments (Bierregaard & Lovejoy 1989) or sufficient shortly afterwards Unslulated Antpittas were ob- mobility motivation to make use of set'eral small served taking 10 cm long lumbricids from moss, fragments as a home-range. This should be inves- soil and surface. tigated in further details. DISCUSSION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS More cr~puscular ground-living birds are for- The Danish National Science Research Council, aging in the open outside their dark interior Copenhagen (grant 11-9116} and The Zoological cloud forest habitat during totally overcast and Museum, University of Copenhagen provided rainy weather than at less overcast and dry financial support to this study. The Ministerio weather. de Agricultura y Ganadería in Quito provided For:iging in the open could be ascribed to the permission to do research in Ecuador. The study generally more intensive feeding activity in the was done in cooperation with Universidad morning (Fig. 1). This is not surprising consider- Nacional de Loja and Dr. D. Espinosa. I thank ing the overnight fast, birds starting on an empty A. Fr0lander and P.A. Cueva for help during the stomach and a habitat chiefly in shade behind fieldwork and N. andJ. Krabbe for hospitality in the eastern ridge. Quito. R. Tapia, O. Mora, J. Fjeldsa and E. Totally overcast weather combined or not Bering kindly let me use their data on Imperial with rain and/or mist may be the factor that Snipe. I also thank J. Fjeldsa for supervision and extends the darkness, prefered by the crepuscular J. Rab0l and C. Rahbek for valuable comments birds, to open trails. Hence, dark weather may be on the manuscript. perceived as the necessary "cover" for shy, ground-Iiving birds of the forest interior to come REFERENCES out foraging in open habitats or to cross open Apolo B., W. 1984. Plan de manejo Parque Nacional space safely. Podocarpus. Ministerio de Agricultura y Gana- Ground foraging birds are generally consid- dería, Quito. ered the first species to be entrapped when Bierregaard, R.O.,Jr., & T.E. Lovejoy. 1989.
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