Summer Eastern Venezuela Jun 18—28, 2009
Posted by David Ascanio
David Ascanio
David Ascanio, a Venezuelan birder and naturalist, has spent the last 26 years guiding birding tours throughout his native country, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, the Amazo...Related Trips
The table-top mountains of the Guyanan shield in southern Venezuela, northern Brazil, Guyana, and eastern Suriname, consisting of more than 100 Precambrian hills with vertical walls and amazing waterfalls, host a high degree of endemism, both in flora and fauna. These mountains were named "tepui" based on the Pemón Amerindian language, referring to the square hills of the region. The first of these mountains to be explored was Mt. Roraima, almost 165 years ago, by the Schomburgk brothers. They collected so many interesting specimens that museums from all over the world were encouraged to further explore these unique wonders.
Many of the famed ornithologists of the Neotropics have been associated in some way with the study of the avifauna of the tepuis: Chapman, Whitely, McConnell, Quelch, Tate, Phelps, Parker, Hilty, and Islers. These magical geologic marvels have been inspiration for both Venezuelans and foreigners, and the number of published accounts is endless.
Perhaps the most important event in Venezuelan ornithology is associated with these tepuis. In 1937 members of the staff of the American Museum of Natural History sailed to Caracas to join an expedition to explore the top of a mountain known as the Auyan-tepui. The key people involved were William H. Phelps, from Caracas, and Frank Chapman, of the American Museum of Natural History. The Auyan-tepui expedition inspired, among many other expeditions, the birth of the Colección Ornitológica Phelps, and, in 1967, publication of The origin of the Bird Fauna of the South Venezuelan Highlands. In this work, Mayr and Phelps summarized the avifauna of several table-top mountains and analyzed the origin of the endemic species described to date.
Publication of The origin of the Bird Fauna of the South Venezuelan Highlands was hoped to resolve many pending taxonomical problems within this region. How wrong we were! A new era of explorations of the tepuis is giving light to various pending matters. A few years ago, members of the Smithsonian Institute and other organizations reached the wall of Roraima from Guyana, producing a number of manuscripts and describing a cryptic species, the Roraiman Antbird. Also, along with Steve Hilty, I have been working to resolve some pending taxonomical aspects of the avifauna of Sierra de Lema, and plan to submit a description of a sibling species. In addition, professor Jorge Perez of the Universidad Central de Venezuela has already explored the summit of Guaiquinima-tepui, producing an incredible manuscript, while I have been taking a series of expeditions to Roraima-tepui obtaining new information about the tepui endemic species (also named Pantepui endemics).
We have explored the Sierra de Lema with such intensity not only for the Red-banded Fruiteater, Flutist Wren, Rose-collared Piha, Roraiman Barbtail, and Black-fronted Tyrannulet, but also for the enjoyment of the mystery that surrounds each of these species. Recent DNA studies have revealed that the closest counterparts to the tepui endemic species are found in Bolivia!
But a trip to this region of Venezuela would not be complete without a visit to other key areas, such as the Cuyuni River watershed (a major tributary of the Essequibo), the extensive tropical humid forest of Rio Grande, and the recently rediscovered Orinoco Delta, where forests, marshes, and savannas represent an amazing mosaic of habitats inviting the visitor to explore further.
On our last day we took a boat ride into the Orinoco Delta. I was a little concerned about the weather, and although I warned everyone to bring enough rain protection, the clouds turned out to be just right. There we saw Black-chested Tyrant, River Island Spinetail, and a Softtail not yet described.
We all like to hear about the total number of species found on a given birding trip. But these numbers also underscore the richness of the Neotropics, becoming a valuable tool in efforts to protect the environment in these bird-rich countries. On our 2009 Summer Eastern Venezuela tour we tallied 423 species, with some families showing a remarkable diversity, including the Psittacidae (macaws, parrots, parakeets, and parrotlets): 22 species; Trochilidae (hummingbirds): 25 species; Picidae (woodpeckers and piculets): 13 species; Cotingidae (cotingas and allies): 10 species; and the Tyrannidae (Tyrant Flycatchers): 67 species.
This was my 25th year guiding in the tepui region, and every time I come I experience the same excitement and expectation as if it were my first trip.