Étude et protection de la Serranía de los Churumbelos (Colombie)

The Serranía de los Churumbelos forms the southernmost spur of the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes, and is situated on the border of 4 distinct biogeographical regions: lowland Amazonia, the Eastern Cordillera, the Central Cordillera and the dryer Magdalena Valley. The Serranía de Los Churumbelos Auka-Wasi National Park was created the 30th of August 2007 by the Colombian government. Three biological expeditions were conducted by Fundacion ProAves from 1998 to 2000 and the results were published in Conservacion Colombiana in 2007. These studies raised interest in the region and laid the justification for the protection of this spectacular mountain range.
The mountain range was found to resemble the Northern Andeean and Amazonia North Ecoregions. A total of 462 bird species were recorded in Serranía de los Churumbelos, with 246 species banded. Twelve threatened and near-threatened bird species were recorded. It is estimated that the probable total bird species inventory exceeds 550 species: an exceptional diversity, making the Serranía a global avian « hotspot » and extremely important for bird diversity.
In this article, we propose you a synthesis of the main ornithological results published in the final report « Estudios y Conservación en la Serranía de los Churumbelos » written by Salaman Paul and Donegan Thomas (2007).