Vítor de Q. Piacentini

Hybrid, Subspecies, or Species? The Validity and Taxonomic Status of Phaethornis Loncuemareus Aethopyca Zimmer, 1950 (Trochilidae)

ABSTRACT. Phaethornis longuemareus aethopyga was described by John T. Zimmer in 1950 and treated as a valid subspecies until it was proposed that the three known specimens were hybrids between P. ruber and P. rupurumii amazonicus. On the basis of some recently collected specimens, we reevaluated the validity of P. l. aethopyga. Despite showing some differences related to age and sex, all specimens agree in the general plumage pattern and are fully diagnosable when compared with any other taxon of the genus. The hypothesis of a hybrid origin becomes unsustainable when one notes that (1) P. l. aethopyga has characters that are unique and absent in the purported parental species, such as the white outer margins at the base of the rectrices; and (2) P. l. aethopyga occurs far from the distribution of one of the alleged parental species. Furthermore, field data show that P. l. aethopyga has attributes typical of a valid and independent taxon, such as lekking behavior. Therefore, given its overall diagnosis, P. aethopyga could at least be treated as a phylogenetic species. Yet its morphological and vocal distinctiveness with respect to other Phaethornis spp. in the “Pygmornis group” is greater than that observed between some species pairs traditionally regarded as separate biological species within the group, which supports its recognition as a species under the biological species concept.

Tiny Bird, Huge Mystery—The Possibly Extinct Hooded Seedeater (Sporophila melanops) Is a Capuchino with a Melanistic Cap

Known with certainty solely from a unique male specimen collected in central Brazil in the first quarter of the 19th century, the Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct) Hooded Seedeater Sporophila melanops has been one of the great enigmas of Neotropical ornithology, arguably the only one of a host of long-lost species from Brazil to remain obstinately undiscovered. We reanalysed the morphology of the type specimen, as well as a female specimen postulated to represent the same taxon, and sequenced mitochondrial DNA (COI and Cyt-b) from both individuals. Furthermore, we visited the type locality, at the border between Goiás and Mato Grosso, and its environs on multiple occasions at different seasons, searching for birds with similar morphology to the type, without success. Novel genetic and morphological evidence clearly demonstrates that the type of S. melanops is not closely related to Yellow-bellied Seedeater S. nigricollis, as has been frequently postulated in the literature, but is in fact a representative of one of the so-called capuchinos, a clade of attractively plumaged seedeaters that breed mostly in the Southern Cone of South America. Our morphological analysis indicates that S. melanops has a hitherto unreported dark-coffee throat and that it is probably a Dark-throated Seedeater S. ruficollis collected within its wintering range, acquiring breeding plumage and showing melanism on the cap feathers. Alternatively, it may be a melanistic-capped individual of a local population of seedeaters known to breed in the Esteros del Iberá, Corrientes, Argentina, to which the name S. ruficollis might be applicable, whilst the name S. plumbeiceps might be available for what is currently known as S. ruficollis. A hybrid origin for S. melanops cannot be ruled out from the available data, but seems unlikely. The purported female specimen of S. melanops pertains either to S. nigricollis or to Double-collared Seedeater S. caerulescens based on genetic and morphological data, and thus cannot be a female of S. melanops. We conclude that Sporophila melanops is not typical of any natural population of seedeaters, appears to have been collected far from its breeding grounds while overwintering in central Brazil, and should not be afforded any conservation status.

Birds of Estação Ecológica de Carijós, southern Brazil

Estacao Ecologica de Carijos , southern Brazil, was created to protect biodiversity found in mangrove areas, restingas , and swamps of Santa Catarina Island. This paper presents an updated bird list of this protected area based on different surveying methods between 2009 and 2012. Thirty new species were recorded to Estacao Ecologica de Carijos . Among 227 species known to occur in the area, 6 are threatened and 5 are highly dependent on mangrove areas or restingas . Study area has great importance, once it holds 64% of all bird species recorded in Santa Catarina Island, and 32% of those found in the state of Santa Catarina. High richness that was observed can be due to complex mosaic of natural habitats. Results show this protected area should be expanded to include not only nearby areas of restinga, but also the marine portion of Ratones Bay.

New records of the enigmatic Clytoctantes atrogularis (Thamnophilidae) in Amazonian Brazil, with remarks on plumage, natural history, and distribution

ABSTRACT Clytoctantes atrogularis Lanyon, Stotz and Willard, 1990 (Thamnophilidae) is one of the most mysterious and poorly known birds of the Neotropics. Endemic to Amazonian Brazil, it was known only from the holotype and two sight records at the type locality in Rondônia, and a sighting of a pair with a recording on the Sucunduri River in Amazonas. Here we review the distribution and report five new records in the states of Mato Grosso, Amazonas, and Rondônia, considerably increasing the known range of the species. We present the first detailed descriptions of males, for which the plumage was previously unknown. The records presented herein were made in terra firme forest with understories dominated by Lepidocaryum palms and also with sparse Guadua spp. of bamboo, demonstrating that the bird species occurs in habitats other than those previously described. Stomach contents of six individuals included mostly ants and their eggs, possibly obtained by opening stems of Guadua spp. The high rate of deforestation that characterizes a large part of the range of C. atrogularis could be causing declines in local populations.