COT/NGA 10 The birds of Serra da Canastra National Park and adjacent areas, Minas Gerais, Brazil Lufs Fabio Silveira E apresentada uma listagem da avifauna do Parque Nacional da Serra da Canastra e regi6es pr6ximas, e complementada corn observac;:6es realizadas por outros autores. Sao relatadas algumas observac;:6es sobre especies ameac;:adas ou pouco conhecidas, bem como a extensao de distribuic;:ao para outras. Introduction corded with photographs or tape-recordings, using Located in the south-west part of Minas Gerais a Sony TCM 5000EV and Sennheiser ME 66 direc­ state, south-east Brazil, Serra da Canastra Na­ tional microphone. Tape-recordings are deposited 8 9 tional Park (SCNP, 71,525 ha , 20°15'S 46°37'W) is at Arquivo Sonora Elias Pacheco Coelho, in the regularly visited by birders as it is a well-known Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil area in which to see cerrado specialities and a site (ASEC). for Brazilian Merganser Mergus octosetaceus. How­ A problem with many avifaunal lists concerns ever, Forrester's6 checklist constitutes the only the evidence of a species' presence in a given area. major compilation ofrecords from the area. Here, I Many species are similar in plumage and list the species recorded at Serra da Canastra Na­ vocalisations, resulting in identification errors and tional Park and surrounding areas (Appendix 1), making avifaunal lists the subject of some criti­ 1 with details of threatened birds and range exten­ cism . Several ornithologists or experienced birders sions for some species. have presented such lists without specifying the evidence attached to each record-in many cases Material and methods it is unknown if a species was tape-recorded, or a The dominant vegetation of Serra da Canastra specimen or photograph taken. However, Hayes7 National Park is cerrado sensu lato, but more than provides a source for all species recorded in Para­ 90% of its total area is covered by subdivisions of guay, and in Brazil, Cohn-Haft et al. 3 explicitly this formation, known as campo limpo and campo provided evidence for species' occurrences north of sujo; the park has small portions of campo rupestre, Manaus. These lists class evidence according to and cerrado sensu stricto, and patches of gallery rank, the highest being a specimen and the lowest forest with Atlantic forest characteristics8. The re­ being a heard-only record. I did not collect speci­ lief is undulating, with streams in the valleys. The mens at Canastra, although this is undoubtedly the climate has a marked seasonality, with a rainy sea­ most surefire method of identification (and a speci­ 12 son in September-February and a dry season in men has considerable additional value ). In the list March-August8. presented here, I rank evidence as follows: the high­ I studied the avifauna during February 1996- est evidence is a species cited in Forrester6 (1) also February 1998, with most fieldwork conducted in observed by me (two independent records), followed April- December 1996, when I undertook popula­ by a tape-recording (R), a photo which conclusively tion surveys and investigated the habitat identifies a species (P), a sight observation (0) and, 17 requirements of Brazilian Merganser • This the lowest category, a record based only on a vo­ project's methodology involved considerable activ­ calisation and not tape-recorded (H) (Appendix 1). ity in gallery forest adjacent to watercourses For some species more than one type of evidence is apparently suitable for Mergus octosetaceus. Over available, increasing the value of the record, if it c.45 km of the river Sao Francisco-from its source was made only by me (e.g. Small-billed Tinamou as far as the village of Vargem Bonita-were sur­ Crypturellus paruirostris was observed and tape­ veyed. Downstream of the village, water conditions recorded). I accessed unpublished data from other and environmental degradation have made the area ornithologists (see Appendix 1) who visited SCNP, unsuitable for Brazilian Merganser. Observations and species recorded by more than one of these ob­ were made in both of the area's major drainage servers or for which specific documentation exists systems-the rios Sao Francisco and Parana­ were included in the main list. Thirty-four species within and outside the park. I also undertook an were recorded by only one author (26 in Forrester6- avifaunal inventory, documenting most species re- see Table 1) and these were considered hypothetical 55 COTINGA 10 The birds of Serra da Canastra National Park, Brazil 2 3 4 6 I. Cock-tailed Tyrant Alectrurus tricofor 2. Ochre-breasted Pipit Anthus nattereri 3. Brasilia Tapaculo Scytalopus novacapitalis 4. Brazilian Merganser Mergus octosetaceous 5. Lesser Nothura Nothura minor 6. Grey-backed Tachuri Pofystictus superciliaris (All photos by Edson Endrigo) 5 56 COT/NGA 10 The birds of Serra da Canastra National Park, Brazil because specific evidence was unavailable. Many Furnarius ftgulus BCF hypothetical species are almost certainly present Xiphocolaptes albicol/is BCF in the area, but better documentation is required. Hemitriccus margaritaceiventer BCF Species recorded were classified with respect Myiopagis gaimardii BCF to threatened status5 or relative abundance (in suit­ Todirostrum plumbeiceps BCF able habitat), which was determined subjectively, Knipolegus cyanirostris BCF and changes can be expected through further re­ Arundinicola /eucocephala RAR search. The taxonomy and species sequence follows Casiornis rufa BCF 15 Sick 1997 , exceptAratinga auricapilla, which fol­ Myiarchus tuberculifer BCF 4 lows Collar et al. • Schiffornis virescens JFP Turdus subalaris RAR Results and species accounts Hemithraupis guira BCF 6 Forrester , through compilation of various unpub­ Tachyphonus rufus BCF lished reports, presents a list of 260 species Pipraeidea melanonota BCF recorded from Serra da Canastra National Park. Euphonia cyanocephala RAR The list presented here for the Serra da Canastra Oryzoborus maximiliani BCF region includes 282 species (Appendix 1) for which Oryzoborus angolensis BCF some evidence for its occurrence is available. Coryphospingus cucculatus BCF Twelve species are endemic to the cerrado sensu 16 5 latu and 13 species are endemic to Brazil1 • Observers are coded as follows: BCF = Bruce C. 6 Twenty-one species recorded in the region are clas­ Forrester ; JFP = Jose Fernando Pacheco (pers. sified as threatened or near-threatened4, nine of comm.); RAR =Rose Ann Rowlett (pers. comm); 2 which occur in one of three categories: Critically and WDB =Wolf Dieter Bartmann • Endangered (Brazilian Merganser), Endangered (Ochre-breasted Pipit Anthus nattereri) and Vul­ Species accounts nerable (seven, e.g. Lesser Nothura Nothura minor, Species accounts are presented for those taxa for Dwarf Tinamou Taoniscus nanus and Crowned which I obtained new information from within Eagle Harpyhaliaetus coronatus). According Wege SCNP or nearby. Each species is coded as follows: 18 & Long , SCNP is one of the most important sites (C) = Critical; (E) = Endangered; (V) =Vulnerable; 4 harbouring threatened species of the campos and (NT)= near-threatened ; and (RE)= range exten­ cerrados of Brazil (habitats disappearing rapidly s10n. yet receiving comparatively little attention by con­ servationists, and which require urgent protection, Brazilian Merganser Mergus octosetaceus (C).My 10 as noted by Parker & Willis ). research at SCNP commenced with a population census of this species: six mature pairs and 22 in­ Table I. Species recorded by only one author, dividuals were found along the main rivers and 17 and thus regarded as hypothetical at Serra da streams of the region • Below, I present observa­ Canastra. tions on the six pairs found in the study area. 2 Breeding in SCNP occurs in July . Mergus Podilymbus podiceps WDB octosetaceus has two significant ecological require­ Leptodon cayanensis BCF ments which limit its distribution: one is a lack of Accipiter striatus BCF suitable trees, in much of the gallery forest, with Spizastur melanoleucus WDB holes of a sufficient size for the species to use for Micrastur semitorquatus BCF nesting. Some pairs studied since 1996 have not Falco ruftgularis BCF bred, probably because there are no suitable trees Bartramia longicauda RAR in the gallery forest adjoining their territories. The Gallinago undulata BCF second requirement has meant a lack of vacant ter­ Columbo speciosa BCF ritories for juveniles to occupy. Mergus octosetaceus Columbo plumbea BCF is a highy territorial species, and each pair requires Columbina picui BCF a minimum of 8 km of river with high water qual­ Brotogeris tirica BCF ity (Silveira & Bartmann in prep.). Such conditions Asio ff ammeus BCF exist in few areas, all occupied by mature pairs. It Caprimulgus parvulus RAR is unknown what happens to fledged young. Other Polytmus guainumbi BCF potential areas are disturbed by diamond mining Veniliornis spilogaster BCF and ecological tourism; local farmers are renting 57 COTINGA 10 The birds of Serra da Canastra National Park, Brazil properties by the Sao Francisco river to tourists (Flavia C. T. Lima pers. comm.). The species has who increase water pollution and disturb the envi­ been regularly recorded at Cara9a Natural Park ronment. (20°08'S 43°30'W), Santa Barbara municipality (J. 2 F. Pacheco pers. comm.), and I have found it at Pair 1. Studied by Bartmann , this pair occupies a Tripui Ecological Station (20°17'S 43°30'W), where territory on the Sao Francisco river, above the Casca it is fairly common in secondary forest. At SCNP, I d'Anta waterfall. Bartmann and I observed this pair tape-recorded a pair in a gallery forest near with four small ducklings in September 1996. In Ribeirao das Posses in September 1996. This record February 1997, Henrique R. Nobre (pers. comm.) represents a range extension of c.350 km west from observed the same pair and its young in this area. Tripui, the nearest traceable locality, and demon­ I returned to the territory in April-June 1997 and failed to find any birds there, but in July 1998, Juan strates the need to publish records clarifying the status and distribution of common birds.