Residence status and trophic preferences of bird species in the Biosphere Reserve of Ñacuñán, Mendoza

Abstract

From 1984 through 1988 a total of 82 bird species were recorded in the Biosphere Reserve of Ñacuñán: 46 were permanent residents, 21 summer residents and 6 winter residents. Six species were probably outliers, and the other 3 showed a dubious residence status. This pattern masks the fact that the abundance of several permanent resident species changed dramatically between seasons due to partial migrations. The list presented herein differs from that of Contreras (1979) in several aspects, some of which would show the effect of the protection of the reserve for more than 15 years, and others would probably be the result of the particular geographic location of the reserve within the Monte Desert. The 82 species cited might be classified by their trophic preferences as follows: 13 terrestrial granivores, 8 tree herbivores, 3 omnivores, 23 surface insectivores, 20 aerial insectivores, 13 birds of prey, and 2 carrion eaters.