A review of the ornithological knowledge of the northern Serra do Mar mountains in the state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil

Abstract

The northern portion of the Serra do Mar mountains in the state of São Paulo, near the border with the state of Rio de Janeiro, including a portion of the Rio Paraíba Valley, ranges between 450 and 1900 m a.s.l. in altitude and is composed of submontane and montane Atlantic Forest. It is unique in that the ornithological knowledge of the region can be traced back to the 19th century. Here we present a compilation of historical and recent data, including intensive field work undertaken between 1989 and 2015 in nine natural areas as well as the Bananal Ecological Station (BES), the only protected area in the region. A total of 371 bird species were recorded in the Bananal region and can be separated into two main bird communities, those of the higher Serra de Bananal and those of the lowlands of the Paraíba Valley. These are typical of the avifauna of the mountainous regions of the Serra do Mar and the Paraíba Valley, respectively. Of the above species, 23 lacked any recent records with a single possible extinction, 257 were recorded in the BES, 111 are endemic to the Atlantic Forest and 15 are listed as threatened. Despite its small size compared to other protected areas in the Serra do Mar, the BES and its surrounding areas have well preserved regional characteristics and are highlighted as an important area for bird conservation in the northern portion of the Serra do Mar in São Paulo.