La avifauna del Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Provincia de Misiones, Argentina.

BODRATI A, COCKLE K, SEGOVIA JM, ROESLER I, ARETA JI Y JORDAN EA

COTINGA (SANDY)

Neotropical Bird Club

Año: 2010 vol. 32 p. 41 - 64

1353-985X

Among the most diverse and threatened regions in the world is the Atlantic Forest of south-east Brazil, eastern Paraguay and the province of Misiones in Argentina. Only c.8–10% of this forest remains, nearly all of it degraded by selective logging. During 341 days in 1997–2010, we studied the avifauna of one of the few remaining patches of mature Atlantic Forest in Argentina, Cruce Caballero Provincial Park. In and around this 600-ha park we identified 312 species of birds in 53 families, 280 of them documented by tape-recordings or photographs. Of these species, 19 are globally threatened, 50 threatened in Argentina, and 73 endemic to the Atlantic Forest. The park conserves key populations of Helmeted Woodpecker Dryocopus galeatus, Araucaria Tit-Spinetail Leptasthenura setaria, Bay-ringed Tyrannulet Phylloscartes sylviolus and São Paulo Tyrannulet P. paulista. Other threatened species, including White-bearded Antshrike Biatas nigropectus, Canebrake Groundcreeper Clibanornis dendrocolaptoides and Vinaceous Amazon Amazona vinacea are more common outside the park in the mosaic of small farms and forest fragments between San Pedro and Santa Rosa. Black-fronted Piping Guan Pipile jacutinga appears to be extirpated from the park and Blue-winged Macaw Primolius maracana is apparently extirpated from Argentina. We did not record Bare-throated Bellbird Procnias nudicollis and we consider it hypothetical for the park. The mass flowering and death of takuapi bamboo Merostachys claussenii in 2004–07 generated major changes in the understorey vegetation, resulting in changes in the presence and abundance of many species. To conserve the avifauna of this small Atlantic Forest park it is of key importance to continue to improve environmental education in the surrounding farmlands. Isolation of the park can be avoided by adding neighbouring lots that still support native forest, and by providing small-holder farmers with technical and financial support to promote sustainable crops such as Araucaria angustifolia, rather than the current model of slash-and-burn tobacco farming.