Birds Of The Tapajos National Forest, Brazilian Amazon: A Preliminary Assessment

Abstract

This study describes the avifauna of the Tapajós National Forest, an area on the east bank of the Tapajós River where controlled resource exploitation occurs. Here we provide a nearly complete spe- cies list for terra firme forest with an incomplete list of species from less comprehensively surveyed habitat ssuch as “várzea” forest. We document the core avifauna of terra firme forest and characterize net samples of terra firme forest understory birds. The national forest list obtained over a 9-year period includes 342 species, of which 59% were documented with at least a specimen, photo or tape. Of this total, 274 species constitute the core avifauna of terra firme forest, a species richness comparable to totals from other Amazonian terra firme sites. Netting results from terra firme forest indicate a total understory species richness of 109–149 species based on jackknife procedures. Rare species predominated in the net sample, as 90% of114 species in a sample of 1612 individuals were rare (defined as <2% of the sample). Our sample was similar to other Neotropical forest net samples in the most frequently captured species and trophic organization. As with other Amazon terra firme forest net samples, nectarivore and frugivore captures were especially low. As has been suggested previously, this may reflect low understory plant productivity.