Birds of Shipstern Nature Reserve and the Sartenejan region
Census 2002-2003
Jacques Laesser [email protected]
March 2007 Contents
Introduction...... 4 Shipstern Nature Reserve ...... 5 History and previous studies...... 7 Habitat and vegetation...... 8 Climate ...... 10 Point-count survey...... 11 - Points and tracks ...... 11 - Habitat...... 12 - Localisation and habitat of the points...... 13 - Time of the day and duration ...... 14 - Census notes...... 14 - Periods...... 14 Other field work ...... 15 - Bird seizing ...... 15 Discussion ...... 16 Bibliography...... 20 - Recordings...... 21 Species account ...... 22 About the species account...... 23 - Systematic and nomenclature...... 23 - Species codes...... 23 - Calendar table...... 23 - Abundance...... 23 - Locations...... 24 - Date ...... 24 - Maps ...... 24 - Graph...... 24 - Calendar, plumages, moult and skull ossification ...... 25 - TINAMIDAE ...... 26 - PODICIPEDIDAE ...... 27 - PELECANIDAE...... 28 - PHALACROCORACIDAE ...... 28 - ANHINGIDAE...... 29 - FREGATIDAE ...... 29 - ARDEIDAE...... 30 - THRESKIORNITHIDAE...... 33 - CICONIIDAE ...... 34 - CATHARTIDAE...... 35 - PHOENICOPTERIDAE ...... 36 - ANATIDAE...... 37 - ACCIPITRIDAE...... 38 - FALCONIDAE ...... 42 - CRACIDAE ...... 43 - ODONTOPHORIDAE...... 44
2 - RALLIDAE...... 45 - ARAMIDAE ...... 47 - CHARADRIIDAE ...... 47 - RECURVIROSTRIDAE ...... 48 - JACANIDAE...... 48 - SCOLOPACIDAE...... 49 - LARIDAE...... 51 - COLUMBIDAE ...... 52 - PSITTACIDAE...... 61 - CUCULIDAE ...... 63 - TYTONIDAE ...... 64 - STRIGIDAE...... 65 - CAPRIMULGIDAE ...... 66 - NYCTIBIIDAE ...... 68 - APODIDAE ...... 68 - TROCHILIDAE...... 69 - TROGONIDAE...... 72 - MOMOTIDAE...... 72 - ALCEDINIDAE ...... 74 - BUCCONIDAE ...... 75 - RAMPHASTIDAE...... 75 - PICIDAE...... 77 - FURNARIDAE...... 80 - DENDROCOLAPTIDAE...... 80 - THAMNOPHILIDAE ...... 83 - FORMICARIIDAE...... 83 - TYRANNIDAE...... 84 - Incerta sedis...... 98 - PIPRIDAE ...... 101 - VIREONIDAE...... 102 - CORVIDAE ...... 108 - HIRUNDINIDAE ...... 109 - TROGLODYTIDAE ...... 112 - SYLVIIDAE ...... 114 - TURDIDAE...... 116 - MIMIDAE...... 118 - BOMBYCILLIDAE ...... 120 - PARULIDAE...... 121 - THRAUPIDAE...... 132 - EMBERIZIDAE...... 136 - CARDINALIDAE...... 139 - ICTERIDAE...... 141
3 Introduction
Many scientific studies have taken place in Shipstern Nature Reserve since 1989, when it was bought by the International Tropical Conservation Foundation (ITCF) and became a private reserve. Still, little was known about the birds. In 1993, Jan C. Meerman established a first list of the birds of the Shipstern Nature Reserve (Meerman 1993). Though this document was a good basis, it clearly needed to be improved. A short trip in February and March 2001 revealed that even species readily found were missing in this list. Others claimed by Meerman were dubious. The list needed to be reassessed and completed. Indeed, birds of the North-eastern Belize remained poorly known. For its unique habitats, some not shared by any other reserve in Belize, one can expect to find in Shipstern, a bird community different from those already documented in other Belizean reserves (i. e. Vallely & Whitman 1997, Horwich & Lyon 1989). An inventory of the birds of the Shipstern Nature Reserve was needed. The Swiss civil ’