Avifauna of a High Andean Forest: Bosque Protector Cashca Totoras, Bolivar Province, Ecuador

Resumen

I recorded 86 bird species at Bosque Protector Cashca Totoras, a high andean forest and par- amo site in the Cordillera Occidental of Ecuador. The list includes one vulnerable species, the Golden- plumed Parakeet (Leptosittaca branickii), and three species endemic to the Ecuadorian High Andes: the Carunculated Caracara (Phalcoboenus carunculatus), the Ecuadorian Hillstar (Oreotrochilus chimborazo), and the White-winged Bush-finch (Atlapetes leucopterus). Additionally, my records extend the known distributions of two species endemic to the southwestern highlands of Ecuador, the Rainbow Starfrontlet (Coeligena iris) and the Purple-throated Sunangel (Heliangelus viola). This study, combined with previous work, documents 94 species from this area. Overall, the species list of Cashca Totoras shows that it is a typical high andean locality with respect to bird-species composition. Accepted 29 April 2004.