© 2021 Jacamar Club - Perú > A Field Report < Of birding excursions and the importance of empowering women in the birding activities for environmental education in Peru and Bolivia. WOMEN BIRDERS PROGRAM Sponsored by Jacamar Club and Vortex Optics, Tambomachay Forest, CUSCO - PERU January 23, 2021 Melinda Valenzuela,1 Ana Amable2, Richard Amable3 [email protected]¹, [email protected]² [email protected] 3 https://jacamarclub.com/ [email protected] The “Women Birders”, a program created to empower women in the good ecological practices of birding & birdwatching in Peru and Bolivia. Through this program the women in the community will be able to increase their leadership and knowledge in conservation and ecotourism. Also, this will make a difference in their communities as they can represent their communities and will lead the changes in local conservation behavior. Finally, it will benefit directly to the conservation of local birds. The Jacamar Club programs perform a series of activities as a preliminary step to environmental education, ecotourism ideas and conservation of bird habitats in Peru and Bolivia. Participants at Tambomachay, Cusco - Photo by Ana Amable - 1 - © 2021 Jacamar Club - Perú Birders in action at Tambomachay, Cusco - Photo by Ana Amable BIRDING LOCALITIES OF INTEREST CUSCO Cuzco is a city in the Peruvian Andes that was the capital of the Inca Empire and is known for its archaeological remains and Spanish colonial architecture. The Plaza de Armas is the center of the old city, with galleries, carved wooden balconies and ruins of Inca walls. The Santo Domingo convent, in the Baroque style, was built on the Inca Sun Temple (Qoricancha) and has archaeological remains of Inca stonework. TAMBOMACHAY Tambomachay is located 5 kilometers from the city of Cusco and 0.6 kilometers from Puka Pukara. Its function was to provide water to nearby sites and as Inca baths. The harmony that exists between its stone walls and the nature that surrounds it make it one of the most important places in the Inca period. - 2 - © 2021 Jacamar Club - Perú Figure 1: Tracking birding map at Tambomachay, Cusco - Perú. Fuente: Google maps 2021 - 3 - © 2021 Jacamar Club - Perú THE KEY TO THE BIRD LIST * = Species heard only Red – IUCN Red List Category IOC = International Ornithological Congress SACC = South American Classification Committee THE LIST TINAMIFORMES TINAMIDAE: tinamous / perdices del nuevo mundo (tinamúes) 1. Ornate Tinamou - Nothoprocta ornata - Perdiz Cordillerana One has been heard at near to Tambomachay. ANSERIFORMES ANATIDAE: Ducks, Geese, and Swans / Patos, Gansos, y Cisnes 2. Andean Goose - Oressochen melanopterus - Cauquén Huallata Seen several. SACC proposal passed to treat Chloephaga melanoptera and Neochen jubatus as congeners; Oressochen Bannister 1870 becomes the name for these two when treated in a separate genus. COLUMBIFORMES COLUMBIDAE: Pigeons and Doves / Palomas y Tórtolas 3. Spot-winged Pigeon - Patagioenas maculosa - Paloma de Ala Moteada Common and widespread on coast, west slope of Andes, and in intermontane valleys, up to 4000 m. Usually very rare on east slope of Andes, although locally fairly common in dry Huallaga Valley; very rare vagrant to Amazonia. Typically found in open, semiarid areas, in fields and scrub, and in towns. Social, often found in flocks. Note slender shape, long tail, and black spotting on wings and neck. Larger and longer tailed than ground-doves (but in Andes, cf. Black-winged Ground-Dove). Also cf. White-tipped Dove. APODIFORMES TROCHILIDAE: Hummingbirds / Colibríes 4. Sparkling Violetear- Colibri coruscans - Oreja-Violeta de Vientre Azul One seen at Tambomachay. It is the more common and widespread of all violetears. It occurs on the west and east slope of the Andes within a broad elevation range that includes 400 – 4500 m. Species range based on: Schulenberg, T. S., D. F. Stotz, and L. Rico. 2006. Distribution maps of the birds of Peru, version 1.0. Environment, Culture & Conservation (ECCo). 5. Black-tailed Trainbearer - Lesbia victoriae - Colibrí de Cola Larga Negra One seen at Tambomachay. It has an iridescent green gorget that has a wide “V” shaped bottom outline. The underparts are green overall. The tail in the male is very long. The uppertail coverts and tail feathers have a reduced coppery green tip and are mostly dusky-black in color. The vent area is pale or buffy. The bill is black, relatively short, and gently decurved. The female is a dull version of the male with grayish-green speckled - 4 - © 2021 Jacamar Club - Perú underparts and a shorter tail. The very similar Green-tailed Trainbearer has broad emerald green uppertail coverts, nearly half of the tail looks emerald green, has a shorter and more straight bill, and a flatter lower outline to the gorget. The Black-tailed Trainbearer is common to fairly common in montane scrub on the east and west slope of the Andes at elevations ranging between 2700 – 4100 m. On the west slope, it ranges from Piura to Lima. On the East slope, it ranges on both sides of the Marañon Valley south to Cusco. 6. Green-tailed Trainbearer - Lesbia nuna - Colacintillo Colilarga Verde One seen in the route. Locally present on west slope of Andes south to northern Lima, both slopes of Marañón Valley, and in intermontane valleys at 1700–3800 m. Overlaps with Black-tailed Trainbearer and found in similar habitats; but more common in drier habitats, and is less common on east-facing slopes of Andes. Similar to Black- tailed, but shorter rectrices are extensively glittering green (iridescence of Black-tailed is bluish green, and limited to tips of all rectrices), the underparts of the male are greener, and gorget is rounded (gorget of Black-tailed is more pointed and contrasts more against duller green belly). In most of Peru, bill of Green-tailed is very short, and upper surface of all but the longest rectrices is mostly green; but in south (nuna; north to Huancavelica, one record from Junín), bill is longer (almost same length as bill of Black-tailed), and in some lights the iridescence of next-to-longest rectrices is restricted to tips (as in Black-tailed). 7. Bearded Mountanieer – Oreonympha nobilis – Montañes Barbudo One seen at Tambomachay. Two seen, uncommon in dry montane scrub in intermontane valleys of south-central Andes, 2700–3900 m. Often seen at tree tobacco, Nicotiana, an exotic plant found along road edges. Large size, long forked black-and-white tail, and white underparts render it unmistakable. Male has narrow green and purple gorget. Crown bordered with whitish line, speckled with green, in albolimbata (Huancavelica), or with deep glittering blue (more widespread nobilis). 8. Tyrian Metaltail - Metallura tyrianthina - Colibrí Tirio Two seen at Tambomachay. 9. Shining Sunbeam - Aglaeactis cupripennis - Rayo-de-Sol Brillante One seen in the trail. Species range based on: Schulenberg, T. S., D. F. Stotz, and L. Rico. 2006. Distribution maps of the birds of Peru, version 1.0. Environment, Culture & Conservation (ECCo). The Field Museum. http://fm2.fieldmuseum.org/uw_test/birdsofperu on 08/01/2015. CHARADRIIFORMES SCOLOPACIDAE: Sandpipers and Allies / Playeros, Becasinas, y Afines 10. Puna Snipe - Gallinago andina - Becasina de la Puna One seen in the route. Species limits in New World Gallinago have been fluid and controversial, and not based on explicit analyses. Miller et al. (2019) provided vocal evidence that magellanica should be treated as a separate species, as well as the first quantitative justification for treatment of G. andina as a separate species. - 5 - © 2021 Jacamar Club - Perú Puna Snipe - Photo by Ana Amable PICIFORMES PICIDAE: Woodpeckers / Carpinteros 11. Andean Flicker - Colaptes rupícola - Carpintero Andino One seen at Tambomachay. Plumage similarities and somewhat complementary distributions suggested that Colaptes pitius and C. rupicola are sister species (Short 1982), and this was confirmed by Moore et al. (2011). - 6 - © 2021 Jacamar Club - Perú Andean Flicker - Photo by Ana Amable FALCONIFORMES FALCONIDAE: Falcons and Caracaras / Halcones y Caracaras 12. Aplomado Falcon - Falco femoralis - Halcón Aplomado One seen flying over at Tambomachay. PASSERIFORMES GRALLARIIDAE: Antpittas / Tororoies 13. Stripe-headed Antpitta - Grallaria andicolus - Tororoi de Cabeza Listada One has been heard at Tambomachay. Stripe-headed Antpitta has olive-brown upperparts and whitish underparts with dusky and brown streaks, scales, and scallops. has streaked back. It is associated with Polylepis forests and adjacent scrub. It sits and waits at elevated perches scanning for insect prey. It is generally uncommon at the proper habitat at elevations ranging from 3000 m to 4600 m. FURNARIIDAE: Ovenbirds / Horneros 14. Cream-winged Cinclodes - Cinclodes albiventris - Churrete de Ala Crema One seen at Tambomachay. Jaramillo (2003) proposed Cream-winged Cinclodes for C. albiventris and Buff-winged Cinclodes for C. fuscus, and Jaramillo proposed Chestnut-winged Cinclodes for C. albidiventris; these are used here tentatively until formal SACC action. - 7 - © 2021 Jacamar Club - Perú 15. White-winged Cinclodes - Cinclodes atacamensis - Churrete de Ala Blanca One seen near to Tambomachay. 16. Streak-fronted Thornbird - Phacellodomus striaticeps - Espinero de Frente Rayada One seen in the route. 17. Junín Canastero - Asthenes virgata (E) - Canastero de Junín Thre seen in the trail. Vuilleumier (1968) considered Asthenes virgata a subspecies of A. flammulata, but see Vaurie (1980). Meyer de Schauensee (1966)