Cardinalito da Venezuela
Discovery of a population of the endangered Red Siskin (Carduelis cucullata) in Guyana
The Red Siskin is provided international legal protection by the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) (Appendix 1) and by the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Prohibition of trade of Red Siskins within Guyana has been recommended by the Management Authority of the Guyanese Wildlife Division, and a proposal for endangered species listing is pending in the Guyana government. Despite national and international protection, Red Siskins apparently are still being smuggled out of Venezuela (Y. Patterson, American Federation of Aviculture, pers. comm.). Indeed, Coats and Phelps (1985) provided details on how birds smuggled out of Venezuela reach the European market via countries such as Holland which still are not signatories of CITES. If the Red Siskin is truly absent from Brazil, then protection of the Guyanese population becomes critically important. Survival of this species in the wild will require international cooperation among law enforcement agencies, landowners, conservationists, and aviculturists.
Within the Guyana range of the siskin, we hope that the combination of the relative inaccessibility of the area and opportunity for ecotourism through the ranch will ensure that this entire area will be protected for not only siskins but for a number of other declining and local avian species, such as the Bearded Tachuri (Polystictus pectoralis). Other high-profile species in need of conservation, such as the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), jaguar (Panthera onca), and Jabiru (Jabiru mycteria), all of which are still fairly common in that region, would also benefit from siskin protection.
ABSTRACT.-A heretofore unknown population of the endangered Red Siskin (Carduelis cucullata) was discovered in southwestern Guyana, ~950 km from populations along the Venezuela coastal cordilleras. Most Venezuelan populations have been greatly reduced by the pet trade during the past 150 years, thus the newly discovered Guyana population represents an opportunity to insure the survival of this highly endangered species in the wild. Breeding of Guyanese siskins coincides with both breeding periods (May to early July and November-December) that have been documented in Venezuela. Breeding behavior, vocalizations, feeding habits, and immature plumages are described.
Received 12 November 2002, accepted 22 April 2003.
RESUMEN.-Se descubrio una poblacion hasta ahora no conocida de Carduelis cucullata en el suroeste de Guyana, localizada a 950 km de poblaciones que se encuentran a lo largo de las cordilleras costeras de Venezuela. Durante los ultimos 150 anos, la mayoria de las poblaciones venezolanas han sido diezmadas por los traficantes de mascotas, por lo que la poblacion descubierta recientemente en Guyana representa una oportunidad para garantizar la sobrevivencia de esta especie fuertemente amenazada en su ambiente natural. Los periodos reproductivos de C. cucullata en Guyana coinciden con los dos periodos reproductivos reportados en Venezuela (mayo a comienzos de julio y noviembre a diciembre). En este estudio se describen el comportamiento reproductivo, las vocalizaciones, los habitos de forrajeo y los plumajes de individuos inmaduros
THE RED SISKIN (Carduelis cucullata) has been the object of intense trapping for the international cagebird trade for over 150 years (Coats and Phelps 1985, Collar et al. 1992). Though it once occurred naturally from extreme eastern Colombia across the northern coastal cordilleras of Venezuela (Fig. 1), the latest summaries of its status suggest that most wild populations have been extirpated, with remaining wild populations highly fragmented and consisting of no more than a few hundred individuals per population in extreme eastern Colombia and western and central Venezuela (Coats and Phelps 1985, Collar et al. 1992, Lopez-Lanus 2000, S. Hilty pers. comm.). The species was introduced into Puerto Rico, probably in the 1930s (Raffaele et al. 1998), and there were a handful of records up until 1960 for Trinidad (ffrench 1991), although natural origin of those birds is open to question due to extensive finch trade. In spite of being legally protected in Venezuela since 1940 (Coats and Phelps 1985), birds continue to be captured and smuggled out of the country (V. Patterson, American Federation Aviculturists, pers. comm.). Collar et al. (1992) listed the species as category 2 of endangered ("situation serious: action urgent").
LITERATURE CITED
COATS, S., AND W. H. PHELPS, JR. 1985. The Venezuelan Red Siskin: Case history of an endangered species. Ornithological Monographs, no. 36.
COLE, M. M. 1986. The Savannas. Biogeography and Geobotany. Academic Press, London.
COLLAR, N. J., L. P. GONZAGA, N. KRABBE, A. MADRONO NIETO, L. G. NARANJO, T. A. PARKER III AND D.C. WEGE. 1992. Threatened birds of the Americas. The ICBP/IUCN Red Data Book, 3rd ed., part 2. International Council for Bird Protection, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
EDEN, M. J. 1964. The savanna ecosystem-Northern Rupununi, British Guiana. McGill University Savanna Research Project, Savanna Research Series, no. 1, Montreal, Quebec.
EDEN, M. J. 1973. The savanna environment Guyana. McGill University Savanna Research Project, Savanna Research Series, no. 17, Montreal, Quebec.
FFRENCH, R. 1991. A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago, 2nd ed. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York.
Discovery of a population of the endangered Red Siskin (Carduelis cucullata) in Guyana
The Red Siskin is provided international legal protection by the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) (Appendix 1) and by the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Prohibition of trade of Red Siskins within Guyana has been recommended by the Management Authority of the Guyanese Wildlife Division, and a proposal for endangered species listing is pending in the Guyana government. Despite national and international protection, Red Siskins apparently are still being smuggled out of Venezuela (Y. Patterson, American Federation of Aviculture, pers. comm.). Indeed, Coats and Phelps (1985) provided details on how birds smuggled out of Venezuela reach the European market via countries such as Holland which still are not signatories of CITES. If the Red Siskin is truly absent from Brazil, then protection of the Guyanese population becomes critically important. Survival of this species in the wild will require international cooperation among law enforcement agencies, landowners, conservationists, and aviculturists.
Within the Guyana range of the siskin, we hope that the combination of the relative inaccessibility of the area and opportunity for ecotourism through the ranch will ensure that this entire area will be protected for not only siskins but for a number of other declining and local avian species, such as the Bearded Tachuri (Polystictus pectoralis). Other high-profile species in need of conservation, such as the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), jaguar (Panthera onca), and Jabiru (Jabiru mycteria), all of which are still fairly common in that region, would also benefit from siskin protection.
ABSTRACT.-A heretofore unknown population of the endangered Red Siskin (Carduelis cucullata) was discovered in southwestern Guyana, ~950 km from populations along the Venezuela coastal cordilleras. Most Venezuelan populations have been greatly reduced by the pet trade during the past 150 years, thus the newly discovered Guyana population represents an opportunity to insure the survival of this highly endangered species in the wild. Breeding of Guyanese siskins coincides with both breeding periods (May to early July and November-December) that have been documented in Venezuela. Breeding behavior, vocalizations, feeding habits, and immature plumages are described.
Received 12 November 2002, accepted 22 April 2003.
RESUMEN.-Se descubrio una poblacion hasta ahora no conocida de Carduelis cucullata en el suroeste de Guyana, localizada a 950 km de poblaciones que se encuentran a lo largo de las cordilleras costeras de Venezuela. Durante los ultimos 150 anos, la mayoria de las poblaciones venezolanas han sido diezmadas por los traficantes de mascotas, por lo que la poblacion descubierta recientemente en Guyana representa una oportunidad para garantizar la sobrevivencia de esta especie fuertemente amenazada en su ambiente natural. Los periodos reproductivos de C. cucullata en Guyana coinciden con los dos periodos reproductivos reportados en Venezuela (mayo a comienzos de julio y noviembre a diciembre). En este estudio se describen el comportamiento reproductivo, las vocalizaciones, los habitos de forrajeo y los plumajes de individuos inmaduros
THE RED SISKIN (Carduelis cucullata) has been the object of intense trapping for the international cagebird trade for over 150 years (Coats and Phelps 1985, Collar et al. 1992). Though it once occurred naturally from extreme eastern Colombia across the northern coastal cordilleras of Venezuela (Fig. 1), the latest summaries of its status suggest that most wild populations have been extirpated, with remaining wild populations highly fragmented and consisting of no more than a few hundred individuals per population in extreme eastern Colombia and western and central Venezuela (Coats and Phelps 1985, Collar et al. 1992, Lopez-Lanus 2000, S. Hilty pers. comm.). The species was introduced into Puerto Rico, probably in the 1930s (Raffaele et al. 1998), and there were a handful of records up until 1960 for Trinidad (ffrench 1991), although natural origin of those birds is open to question due to extensive finch trade. In spite of being legally protected in Venezuela since 1940 (Coats and Phelps 1985), birds continue to be captured and smuggled out of the country (V. Patterson, American Federation Aviculturists, pers. comm.). Collar et al. (1992) listed the species as category 2 of endangered ("situation serious: action urgent").
LITERATURE CITED
COATS, S., AND W. H. PHELPS, JR. 1985. The Venezuelan Red Siskin: Case history of an endangered species. Ornithological Monographs, no. 36.
COLE, M. M. 1986. The Savannas. Biogeography and Geobotany. Academic Press, London.
COLLAR, N. J., L. P. GONZAGA, N. KRABBE, A. MADRONO NIETO, L. G. NARANJO, T. A. PARKER III AND D.C. WEGE. 1992. Threatened birds of the Americas. The ICBP/IUCN Red Data Book, 3rd ed., part 2. International Council for Bird Protection, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
EDEN, M. J. 1964. The savanna ecosystem-Northern Rupununi, British Guiana. McGill University Savanna Research Project, Savanna Research Series, no. 1, Montreal, Quebec.
EDEN, M. J. 1973. The savanna environment Guyana. McGill University Savanna Research Project, Savanna Research Series, no. 17, Montreal, Quebec.
FFRENCH, R. 1991. A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago, 2nd ed. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York.
