Bird species at risk in the cloud forest of five IBASIBAs of the Sierra Madre Oriental, Mexico

Abstract

The presence of 125 species of birds at risk or endemic to Mexico’s montane mesophyll forest has been suggested. These birds need to be conserved. At a time of global defaunation and reduction of these forests, it is important to determine which bird species still inhabit this ecosystem. For the mesophyll forest located in the Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico, no recent field data have been published to indicate their presence. In this analysis we report the records of bird species at risk made in 2016 in five Important Bird Areas with mountain mesophyll forest (Sierra Gorda, Tlanchinol, Huayacocotla, Cuetzalan and Metlac River) located in four states of Mexico (Querétaro, Hidalgo, Veracruz and Puebla). In total we recorded 60 bird species (48%) of the 125, 29 are considered nationally threatened and 34 have some type of endangerment. Six of the species are globally protected (Dendrortyx barbatus, Ara militaris, Contopus cooperi, Ridgwayia pinicola, Setophaga chrysoparia and Passerina ciris). This information can serve as a basis for their preservation and to establish monitoring, studies and conservation actions aimed at species in mesophyll forest areas.