ABSTRACT. Checklist of the birds of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Contrasting with several other Brazilian states, just recently the state of Mato Grosso do Sul started to organize an inventory of its birdlife. We list 630 species of birds for the Mato Grosso do Sul, belonging to 26 orders and 74 families, representing 34% of birds occurring in Brazil. About 90% of these species have documented records of its occurrence in the state (Main List), according to proposed by CBRO. The others species still wait for adequate supporting documentation (Secondary List). Forty fi ve species were excluded for the Main List and included in Tertiary List due to problems in supporting documentation and/or incompatible distribution. The variety of landscapes and vegetation types under the infl uence of the biomes Cerrado, Pantanal, Atlantic forest, Chaco and Bosque Chiquitano is partly responsible for the high species diversity in Mato Grosso do Sul. However, several of these landscapes have been suppressed and/or severely altered by pastures, agriculture (mostly monocultures of sugar cane and soybeans) and agroforestry (Pinus and Eucalyptus). Thirty-eight species of birds occurring in the state were present on red lists at the global and/or national level. There are still large gaps in knowledge about the avifauna of Mato Grosso do Sul, mainly in the region of Paiaguás in the Pantanal wetlands and in neighboring regions with the state of Goiás, Paraguay (Chaco) and Bolivia (Bosque Chiquitano).
The habits and general behaviour of the chachalacas (Ortalis spp.) in the Neotropics are well known. However, the validity and even the diagnoses of some taxa are poorly studied, and this may jeopardize the conservation of some populations. Within Ortalis guttata two subspecies are currently accepted, the nominate O. g. guttata (Spix) and O. g. subaffinis Todd. A third taxa, O. g. remota Pinto, 1960, was described based on a single specimen from SE Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil. Despite appreciable differences between O. g. remota and other members of Ortalis, this taxon was considered as a synonym of O. squamata, a species restricted to the lowlands of Atlantic Forest, east of Serra do Mar. Here we performed coloration and geographical distribution analysis of O. g. remota with additional examination of the holotype and a thorough comparison of skins and photos with other members of Ortalis (O. squamata, O. araucuan, and O. guttata) intending to disentangle the above taxonomic puzzle. Our results showed that a newly recognized population of O. g. remota differs consistently from all other Ortalis taxa currently treated as distinct species in plumage characters and geographic distribution. Therefore, we defend that it should be considered a valid species, Ortalis remota Pinto, 1960. Ortalis remota has a very restricted range on the upper Paraná River and it is threatened by deforestation and construction of dams.
The Pantanal floodplains of Brazil are a region of rich biodiversity. To date, the true richness of the Pantanal avifauna has not been explored satisfactorily caused by a lack of studies in the region and, especially, by the divergence of opinion among the works published by various authors on the many species found in the region. This is due to the lack of criteria in examining records, both with regard to the reliability of the identifications and in the precise geographical allocation. Therefore, in the study, we collage findings from various studies and records created by us in the last few decades from 199 distinct locations to produce a list of birds in the Pantanal floodplains. We grouped the results into three lists: primary, secondary, and tertiary. We found that the avifauna of the Pantanal floodplain is composed of a total of 617 species, of which 571 (92%) have supporting records of occurrence (primary list) and 46 still lack documentation (secondary list). The number of species listed here for the Pantanal floodplain represents 32% of all avifauna known to the Brazilian territory. This reflects the importance of the biome, as part of the national territory, for the maintenance of a meaningful avifaunistic richness. Migratory birds (n = 183), notably northern ones (n = 43), are among the main players involved in ecological processes of nutrient cycling and dispersion of important pathogens between the two continents. With regard to conservation, 25 species are included in some category of threat in the lists of threatened species with global extinction. We hope that our list will help future researchers a more definitive approach when researching the avian fauna in this bountiful region.
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