Birds of Peru

665 Pages·2007·56.494 MB·English

by  Thomas S. Schulenberg & Douglas F. Stotz & Daniel F. Lane & John P. O'Neill

Birds of Peru
Illustration by Lawrence B. McQueen
Birds of Peru
Revised and Updated Edition
Thomas S. Schulenberg, Douglas F. Stotz,
Daniel F. Lane, John P. O’Neill,
and Theodore A. Parker III
Foreword by Dr. Antonio Brack Egg
Principal Illustrators
Dale Dyer, Daniel F. Lane, Lawrence B. McQueen,
John P. O’Neill, and N. John Schmitt
Additional Color Plates by
David Beadle, F. P. Bennett, Peter S. Burke,
Hilary Burn, Diane Pierce, H. Douglas Pratt,
Barry Van Dusen, and Sophie Webb
Princeton University Press
Princeton and Oxford
Copyright © 2007 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
All Rights Reserved
Second printing, and first paperback printing, revised and updated, 2010
Paperback ISBN: 978-0-691-13023-1
The Library of Congress has cataloged the cloth edition of this book as follows:
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Birds of Peru/Thomas S. Schulenberg … [et al.] ; principal illustrations, Dale Dyer … [et al.].
p. cm.—(Princeton field guides)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-691-04915-1 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Birds—Peru—Identification. I. Schulenberg, Thomas S.
QL689.P5B57 2007
598.0985—dc22 2006052700
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available
This book has been composed in Goudy and Futura
Introduction illustration credits
Introduction maps (Figures 1–4 and 6): Sergio Rabiela and Jonathan Markel
Line drawings (Figures 5A, 5B, bird topography): Daniel F. Lane
Printed on acid-free paper.
nathist.press.princeton.edu
Designed by D & N Publishing, Baydon, Wiltshire, UK
Printed in Italy by EuroGrafica
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
Foreword by Dr. Antonio Brack Egg 6
Preface 7
Acknowledgments 8
Introduction 12
How to Use This Book 12
Topography of Peru 18
Habitats of Peru 20
Glossary of Bird Topography 22
Molts and Plumages 26
Cautionary Note Regarding Seabird Identification 27
Conservation 27
Species Accounts 30
Vocal Credits 644
Vocal References 645
Artists’ Credits 646
Index 647
FOREWORD
After an arduous effort of 45 years of study, Birds of Peruis being published. This book had its beginnings in
fieldwork initiated by John P. O’Neill in 1961, during which time he and his colleagues conducted ornithological
explorations and collected bird specimens in some of the remotest parts of Peru. When O’Neill began his work in
Peru there were only 1,542 species known from the country; today, the number exceeds 1,800.
I first met John O’Neill in 1974 when I held the post of subdirector of Fauna Silvestre in the Ministry of
Agriculture. Many times we talked about unexplored areas and where it might be possible to find new species of
birds. Each of the technical reports on his fieldwork that came to me with information on newly discovered species
evoked a special emotion. Through the years, I have been able to record the advancement of investigations
benefiting the knowledge of the diversity of Peru’s avifauna, one of the richest of any country on the planet.
O’Neill, together with his colleagues at the Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science, as well as
colleagues and students from the Museo de Historia Natural de San Marcos in Lima, directed decades of
exploration to the Cordillera del Cóndor, Huancabamba and Cerro Chinguela, Yanachaga-Chemillén National
Park, Cordillera Azul National Park, Quillabamba, Ampay, Río Yavarí, Río Napo, Paracas, Tumbes dry forests,
Pampas del Heath, and many other areas of Peru to learn about and understand the avifauna and to collect data
firsthand on the species inhabiting these areas.
This volume, with more than 300 color plates showing all of the species of birds known from Peru through 2004,
presents descriptions, distribution maps, and information on the vocalizations of almost all species. Nevertheless,
this extremely important work is not the end of exploration and investigation on the birds of Peru, because there
still exist many unexplored and unknown areas in a country that is complex and full of surprises.
This volume is a collaborative product combining the efforts of John P. O’Neill, Thomas S. Schulenberg,
Douglas F. Stotz, Daniel F. Lane, Larry B. McQueen, and the late Theodore A. Parker III. The detailed color plates
are the work of various artists, and in them one sees the artistic influence of John O’Neill, who provided the basis
for many directly from his fieldwork.
Birds of Peruis one of the best bird books that has been published for any region of the world and is an invaluable
contribution to avian conservation (especially of rare and endemic species), to ecotourism, to bird tourism, and to
the pleasure of those who appreciate observing these marvelous feathered creatures. It will be an inspiration for
dozens of Peruvian ornithologists who are participating in the conservation of biodiversity and in the development
of new directions for ecotourism in Peru. The authors, and especially John O’Neill, deserve the recognition of all
Peruvians for putting such a valuable volume into our hands.
Antonio Brack Egg
Member, Board of Directors, National Council of the Environment
Member, National Council of Education
Vice President, Peruvian Amazon Institute of Research
Lima
6
PREFACE
Conceptually this book originated in 1974. At that time John O’Neill was a seasoned veteran with over a decade
of experience in ornithological research and exploration in Peru. Ted Parker was a greenhorn, an undergraduate
invited by O’Neill to participate on a months-long expedition to Peru. Although this was Ted’s first visit to South
America, he arrived prepared, having already committed to memory the distribution and characters of most of the
birds of the continent. Before that expedition was over, O’Neill and Parker were planning a collaboration to
produce a book on the birds of Peru.
This book on the birds of Peru passed from idle chatter round a campfire to something approaching reality by
1981, when Larry McQueen initiated the artwork and Ted began writing species accounts. Work proceeded in
stops and starts until Ted’s tragic and untimely death in a plane accident in 1993 in Ecuador.
Ted was an extraordinary field biologist, gifted with remarkable talents of observation, memory, and synthesis.
He quickly established himself as one of the premier ornithologists working in South America. Ted also had
boundless enthusiasm for his work, coupled with great personal charisma. Directly or indirectly, he influenced
several generations of ornithologists working in Peru, including all of the coauthors of this guide.
This book we now offer up is our updated version of the book that John and Ted first conceived so long ago, and
one that incorporates many of Ted’s original contributions. We trust that Ted would be satisfied with our efforts,
but we know that he also would take great pleasure in catching our mistakes.
We learned more than we ever would have imagined about the birds of Peru during the past few years of work.
We hope that this field guide will be equally informative and useful for those who use it, and that it serves to
educate Peruvians and visitors alike about the spectacular diversity of Peru’s birds, supports the efforts of Peruvian
and international ornithologists and birders, and serves as a tool for the conservation of Peru’s natural resources.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Authors’ Acknowledgments
During many years of fieldwork, research, writing, and illustrating, we have received an extraordinary amount of
assistance from countless friends and colleagues.
Avecita Chicchón (John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation) kept this project alive during an early
critical phase; we are extremely grateful for her timely support. We also owe deep gratitude for the generous support
of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, which saw this project through to the end. Other financial support
for the artwork, for the writing, or for the facilitation of our fieldwork in Peru came from Dick and Danie Barrow,
John Barton, Kay Benedict,* John P. Ver Bockel, Kathleen E. Carbonara, Winnie Carter,* Jane Church, Taylor
Clark, George* and Jane Clayton, Mr. and Mrs. Paul F. Cruikshank, Robert B. Debellevue, David M. Demaree,*
Salome “Bix” Demaree, Paul Dickson, Victor Emanuel, Mrs. Joseph N. Field,* Dielle Fleischman, Ann Forster,
the Marshall B. Front Family Charitable Foundation, Anne Gaylord, Anne Geier, Fred* and Esther* Goldman,
James and Ruth* Kessler (who gave the first, important donation for the artwork), George P. Mitchell, Barbara
Moulton,* Lawrence O’Meallie, Kate* and Haylett* O’Neill, George Perbix, Frank* and Catherine Reichelderfer,
Steve and Ruth Russell, H. Irving and Pete Schweppe, Laura R. Schweppe,* Sally and Kenyon Stebbins, Jesse A.
Stewart, Edward Thayer,* and donors who wish to remain anonymous.
Manuel Plenge provided unstinting support and advice for decades. His detailed and extensive knowledge of
the literature on Peruvian ornithology provided the backbone of our field guide; our project would have taken
much longer, and been much less successful, were we not able, time and time again, to turn to Manuel for advice
and information.
Museums have been an essential part of this work, which would not have been possible without the collections
housed by natural history museums. This project began in the Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State
University. Staff at the museum, especially J. V. Remsen, Jr., and Steven W. Cardiff, were extremely generous with
access to the collection (both for artists and for authors) and tolerated a seemingly never ending stream of questions
about the specimens under their care.
Similarly, The Field Museum provided invaluable support during the writing of this book. We are grateful to
John Bates and Shannon Hackett (Division of Birds, Department of Zoology) for office space and access to the
collection, and to Dave Willard and Mary Hennen for their help with specimen loans and other assistance. Also
at The Field Museum, Debby Moskovits and Corine Vriesendorp (Environmental and Conservation Programs)
supervised this project and guided it to completion; we never would have been able to finish this book without
their support and encouragement.
In Lima, the Museo de Historia Natural de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos provided a “home
away from home” for us all and has been a collaborating partner since the beginning of our work in Peru in 1961.
We are deeply grateful to the scientific staff of the museum, particularly María Koepcke,* Hernando de Macedo
R., and Irma Franke J., for their support during this time. We are very appreciative of the many courtesies extended
by Dra. Franke in particular during the recent years we have labored to complete this guide.
We are grateful to the following additional natural history museums for information on Peruvian collections.
We would like to express our deepest gratitude to Leo Joseph and Nate Rice (Academy of Natural Sciences,
Philadelphia); Sievert Rohwer and Rob Faucett (Burke Museum, University of Washington); Paul Sweet and
Thomas Trombone (American Museum of Natural History); Robert Pryˆs-Jones and Michael Walters ([British]
Natural History Museum); Douglas J. Long (California Academy of Sciences); Bradley Livezey and Robin Panza
(Carnegie Museum of Natural History); Kevin McGowan and Charles Dardia (Cornell University Museum of
Vertebrates); Gene Hess (Delaware Museum of Natural History); Andrew Kratter (Florida Museum of Natural
History, University of Florida); Tony Parker (Liverpool Museum); Mauricio Ugarte-Lewis (Museo de Historia
Natural de la Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa); Constantino Aucca (Museo de la Universidad
Nacional San Antonio Abad del Cusco); Tomasz D. Mazgajski (Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish
Academy of Sciences); Eric Pasquet (Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle); Douglas Causey and Jeremiah
Trimble (Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University); Carla Cicero and Ned Johnson* (Museum of
Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley); Kimball Garrett and Christina Couroux (Natural
History Museum of Los Angeles County); Janet Hinshaw and Tom Dietsch (University of Michigan Museum of
Zoology); Gary Graves and Craig Ludwig (United States National Museum of Natural History); Town Peterson
and Mark Robbins (University of Kansas Natural History Museum); Per Ericson (Swedish Museum of Natural
*deceased
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A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
History); Jon Barlow and Brad Millen (Royal Ontario Museum); René Corado (Western Foundation of
Vertebrate Zoology); Kristof Zyskowski (Yale Peabody Museum); Armando Valdés-Velásquez and Bernd
Freymann (Zoologisches Forschungsinstitut und Museum Alexander Koenig); and Jon Fjeldså and Niels Krabbe
(Zoology Museum, University of Copenhagen).
We also are grateful to Jeremy Flanagan and Rob Williams for sharing information on the Markl collection at
the Naturhistorisches Museum, Basel. Todd Mark compiled the data on the material at the Muséum National
d’Histoire Naturelle (Paris), a remarkable task for which we long will be in debt. R. Haven Wiley supplied much
supplemental information on the Olalla collections at the American Museum of Natural History. Shannon
Kenney supplied very useful digital photographs of specimens of some of the rarer species in the American Museum
of Natural History. In addition, we thank the many people who checked specimens on our behalf at natural history
collections far and wide: Todd Mark, José “Pepe” Tello, Paul Sweet, Peter Capainolo, Sara Bertelli, and Ana Luz
Porzecanski (American Museum of Natural History); Robert Pryˆs-Jones, Michael Walters, Paul Salaman, Pamela
Rasmussen, and Dan Davison ([British] Natural History Museum); and Miguel Lentino and Robin Restall
(Colección Ornitológica Phelps). We thank Micha Skakuj and Jan Lontkowksi for their assistance in putting us
in contact with the staff at the Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences.
We were fortunate that several seabird enthusiasts shared their expertise with us. Lisa Ballance and Robert
Pitman (National Marine Fisheries Service) generously shared their seabird observations off the coast of Peru.
Noam Shany provided a great deal of additional information on seabirds. Luke Cole and Larry Spear* supplied
useful literature on seabird distribution.
We are grateful for the indispensable technical support from The Field Museum. Pete Cruikshank labored for
years, entirely as a volunteer, to help develop the database of Peruvian bird records that underlies all of our
distribution maps; there is no way that we can thank him properly for this monumental effort. Ryan Peters, Sergio
Rabiela, and Peter Lowther provided technical advice on digitizing images and kept our (sometimes temperamental)
computers in good working order. Many others at The Field Museum, too numerous to mention, helped in a myriad
of ways; we are grateful to them all. Two additional Field Museum volunteers played vital roles: Helga Karsten helped
us organize our growing collection of Peru plate digital images, and Leslie Majors translated much of the early
literature on Peruvian ornithology from French to English. Marga and Charles Lane also helped with a German to
English translation. Brian O’Shea and Michi Schulenberg compiled much useful data from museum specimen labels.
Robin B. Foster provided helpful comments on our discussion of the topography and habitats of Peru.
We used a digital version of an ornithological gazetteer of Peru, based on Stephens and Traylor (1983), to
georeference Peruvian localities. The gazetteer was compiled by Lorna Anderberg and was given to us by Mort and
Phyllis Isler. Mary LeCroy (American Museum of Natural History) provided important documents that helped us
to pinpoint some historical AMNH localities in Peru.
Josh Engel prepared our initial map of Peru and also initiated the long process of georeferencing our distribution
database. Patty Ruback and Sean Bober extended the mapping process. Final editions of all raw species distribution
maps were prepared by Laura Rico and converted to field guide format by Sergio Rabiela.
There is a long list of birders and field ornithologists who shared their field observations, made comments on
our maps or text, or patiently answered our many questions. Inadvertently we may have overlooked some who
provided important information, and we apologize to anyone whose name we have forgotten. Barry Walker has
been an invaluable source of information on all aspects of the birds of Peru, drawing on his many years of birding
and exploration throughout Peru. Terry Chesser was on the receiving end of a great many questions regarding
austral migration in Peru; we appreciate his insight and patience. José “Pepe” Alvarez Alonso provided a wealth
of information on bird distribution in Loreto. Paul Donahue shared freely from his decades of observation and
experiences. Others who supplied important observations, comments, or reviews are Roger Ahlman, Christian
Albujar, Peter Alden, Michael Andersen, Fernando Angulo Pratolongo, César Arana, Jim Armacost, Thomas
Arndt, John Arvin, Constantino Aucca, Liliana Ayala, Katya Balta, Juan Mazar Barnett, Alfredo Begazo, Oscar
Beingolea, Don Brightsmith, Dan Brooks, Colin Bushell, Clive Byers, Angelo Capparella, Juan Chalco, Zac
Cheviron, Jim Clements,* Paul Coopmans,* Daniel Cristian, Tristan Davis, Alvaro del Campo, Rob Dover, Karen
Eckhardt, Gunnar Engblom, Craig Farquhar, Rob Faucett, Mirko Fernandez, Judith Figueroa, Jon Fjeldså, Jeremy
Flanagan, Michael Force, Ignacio García-Godos, Nathaniel Gerhart,* Michael Gochfeld, Oscar González, Devon
Graham, James Graham, Paul Greenfield, Ben Haase, Jürgen Haffer, Wim tem Have, Bennett Hennessey,
Sebastian Herzog, Steve Hilty, Christoph Hinkelmann, Peter Hocking, Tor Egil Høgsås, Peter Hosner, Mort Isler,
Phyllis Isler, Jaime Jahncke, Ottavio Janni, Alvaro Jaramillo, Leo Joseph, Barb Knapton, Guillermo Knell, Niels
Krabbe, Andy Kratter, Frank Lambert, Dan Lebbin, Huw Lloyd, Lawrence Lopez, Tom Love, Ernesto Málaga,
Curtis Marantz, Todd Mark, Jean Mattos, Sjoerd Mayer, Carlos Mendoza, Matthew Miller, Tim Moermond,
Bertram Murray, Jonas Nilsson, Eduardo Nycander, Pat O’Donnell, Enrique Ortiz, Rosana Paredes Vela, Mark
9