Avifauna of the Selva de Florencia National Natural Park (Samaná, Caldas, Colombia): new records and distribution extensions

Abstract

The Selva de Florencia National Natural Park is one of the last fragments of the Andean rain forest in the Central Cordillera of Colombia. With the purpose of updating the state of knowledge of the park's avifauna, we collected information obtained through monitoring carried out by park officials since 2012 and records of two expeditions made between 2017 and 2018. We recorded 357 species, of which 11 are endemic and 20 are in some threat category. We report 18 new records for the department and extensions in the distribution range for 12 of these species. The contact between the assemblies of montane forest species with those from the Middle Magdalena valley, added to the good state of conservation of the park and the regeneration of ecosystems, largely due to the restricted access generated by the armed conflict, could explain the great richness of bird species in the area (≈20% of the Colombian species in less than 0.01 % of its territory). This new information contributes to the knowledge of the bird distribution of in the Central Andes and stresses the importance of the Selva de Florencia National Natural Park as a priority area for the study and conservation of biodiversity.

Keywords

• andes
• aves
• cordillera central
• parques nacionales naturales de colombia