Status of the globally threatened forest birds of northeast Brazil

Abstract

The Atlantic Forest of northeast Brazil hosts a unique biota which is among the most threatened in the Neotropics. Near-total conversion of forest habitat to sugar cane monocultures has left the region's endemic forest-dependent avifauna marooned in a few highly-fragmented and degraded forest remnants. Here we summarise the current status of 16 globally threatened species based on surveys conducted over the last 11 years. We found a bleak situation for most of these species and consider that three endemics: Glaucidium mooreorum (Pernambuco Pygmy-owl), Cichlocolaptes mazarbarnetti (Cryptic Treehunter) and Philydor novaesi (Alagoas Foliage-gleaner) are most likely globally extinct. Some positive news can, however, be reported for both Leptodon forbesi (White-collared Kite) and Synallaxis infuscata (Pinto's Spinetail) which may warrant re-evaluation of their respective red list statuses. We outline a road map to prioritise conservation interventions in the region directed at preventing the extinction of this suite of threatened bird species and their companion biota.