Colombia, world’s most bird species

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From Wildlife Extra:

Almost 2,000 bird species and a world record for Colombia

December 2013: For the first time the official numbers of bird species registered in Colombia has exceeded 1,900, according to the scientific publication Conservación Colombiana.

This represents a new world record and firmly establishes Colombia as the world’s most biodiverse country.

This year, a sixth annual review was published through a collaboration of ornithological experts from Colombia, the USA and Europe, verifying the number of species registered within Colombia. A total of 1,903 species have now been recorded inside Colombia.

After 15 years of compilation, fieldwork and detailed revisions by the authors, these publications reveal Colombia host almost one fifth (18 per cent) of the 10,507 birds known on earth in just 0.8 per cent of its land surface. In an area the size of Texas and California, Colombia has registered almost twice as many bird species as the entire continental United States and Canada (with 976 species)

Colombia leads Peru in second place with 1838 species and Brazil in third place with 1798 species.

“Significant improvements in the security situation in large parts of Colombia in recent years have led to a wave of tours by birdwatchers experiencing Colombia’s stunning bird diversity” said checklist coauthor, Alonso Quevedo. “With this increase in ecotourism and continuing explorations of remote regions by Colombian and other ornithologists, the Colombian bird list will doubtless grow further, highlighting the region as key area for bird conservation.”

Although the Colombian list has increased, largely through ornithological study and findings of rare vagrant species, the situation for the best habitats for birds in Colombia – its primary forests – is less secure. With the return of security to many parts of rural Colombia and economic development, threats to bird life in Colombia have been mounting, forests are being cleared at accelerating rates and bird populations have been reduced. The greatest threats involve clearance of lowland tropical forest for African oil palm plantations for ethanol production (biofuels) in the western lowland forests of Chocó and Amazonian regions, as well as deforestation of Andean forests for agriculture.

“Worryingly, 206 bird species in Colombia are at risk of extinction, including 59 endemic bird species restricted to the country” noted Dr. Paul Salaman, director of Rainforest Trust and another coauthor of the Checklist since 2001. “Fortunately, the Colombian bird conservation group, Fundación ProAves, has been working towards the protection of the most critically endangered birds in recent years with a network of 24 bird reserves established across the country to protect over 1,300 bird species.”

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