Abstract

Abstract. Probably always rare and local because of its ecology and specialized habitat, the small, isolated population of the Orange-breasted Falcon (Falco deiroleucus) in Belize and Guatemala, likely numbering fewer than 40 territorial pairs, appears to be in steep decline in Belize. Territory occupancy (n = 12 eyries) in the population we studied in Belize declined from 83% (1992 to 1997) to 54% (2003 to 2009), and occupancy in 2009 was only half the mean in the prior decade. Mean annual production of fledglings per territorial pair declined 35% from 0.77 to 0.50. Mean annual population productivity, which measures the combined effect of occupancy and fecundity, declined 57% from 0.90 to 0.38. In contrast, neither occupancy nor fledging success in Guatemala (n = 7 eyries) declined over the same time period. Historical records and recent surveys suggest that the Orange-breasted Falcon has been extirpated from much of Central America and southern Mexico and that its range is contracting in South America,...

Highlights

  • Sugerimos posibles soluciones de manejo, incluyendo la restauración genética y la creación de lugares seguros para nidificar. Species such as the Orange-breasted Falcon (Falco deiroleucus) that are highly specialized ecologically and have small, isolated populations are prone to population declines and local extirpation (Brook et al 2002, Kruger and Radford 2008)

  • A counterpart of the cosmopolitan Peregrine Falcon (F. peregrinus), the Orange-breasted Falcon is a brilliantly colored, medium-sized falcon of unbroken neotropical forests. This little known species is considered rare and may be the most sparsely distributed falcon in the world (Cade 1982, Whittaker 1996, Thiollay 2007), its abundance and distribution are clouded by confusion with the much more common and plumaged Bat Falcon (F. rufigularis) (Jenny and Cade 1986, Howell and Whittaker 1995, Berry et al 2007)

  • Our study population is centered in the Mountain Pine Ridge in western Belize, at about 17° N latitude

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Summary

Introduction

Species such as the Orange-breasted Falcon (Falco deiroleucus) that are highly specialized ecologically and have small, isolated populations are prone to population declines and local extirpation (Brook et al 2002, Kruger and Radford 2008). A counterpart of the cosmopolitan Peregrine Falcon (F. peregrinus), the Orange-breasted Falcon is a brilliantly colored, medium-sized falcon of unbroken neotropical forests. This little known species is considered rare and may be the most sparsely distributed falcon in the world (Cade 1982, Whittaker 1996, Thiollay 2007), its abundance and distribution are clouded by confusion with the much more common and plumaged Bat Falcon (F. rufigularis) (Jenny and Cade 1986, Howell and Whittaker 1995, Berry et al 2007). Females (mean body mass about 600 g) have up to twice the mass of males, a difference corresponding to the female’s dominant role in social relations and eyrie defense (Cade 1982; RBB, pers. obs.)

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