No abstract

We describe Cinclodes espinhacensis (Furnariidae), a new species discovered at high elevation in the southern portion of the Espinhaço Range, in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. This new taxon is closely related to the Long‐tailed Cinclodes Cinclodes pabsti, endemic to Serra Geral, southern Brazil. We present diagnostic morphological, genetic and vocal characters that support the rank of species for this allopatric taxon. It is readily distinguishable from C. pabsti by its much darker back, chest and flanks, lower body mass, shorter tarsus‐length, lower frequency of vocalizations, and longer duration of calls. DNA sequence data estimate that the divergence time between this new species and Cinclodes pabsti occurred c. 220 000 years ago, during the late Pleistocene. This discovery illustrates remarkable biogeographical connections among the cold regions of South America. The new species has a restricted range and we suggest it meets the criteria of the IUCN Red List category of Endangered.

We surveyed the avifauna of Alto do Palácio, Serra do Cipó National Park, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The park lies in the southern Espinhaço range, a significant biogeographical barrier that separates the forest areas of the Atlantic Forest on its eastern slope and the savanna-like vegetation of the Cerrado to its western slope. Representative habitats include open grasslands, with patches of rocky outcrops and woodlands. We recorded 151 species between 2007 and 2010. Most species occurred in woodlands, with the minority in rocky outcrops, eleven species are of conservation concern, nineteen are endemic to the Atlantic Forest, three to Cerrado, and four to the southeastern Brazilian mountaintops, two of which are restricted to campos rupestres of the Espinhaço range. Our results corroborate that the campos rupestres of the Espinhaço range are not only associated with the Cerrado biome, but harbor species associated with both surrounding biomes (Cerrado and Atlantic Forest) and to the mountaintops of southeastern Brazil, supporting the uniqueness of this vegetation type.

Birds in the genus Cinclodes are habitat specialists, with most restricted to the highlands of South America. The recently described Cipo Cinclodes (C. espinhacensis) is isolated in the southern Espinhaço Range of Brazil and is considered Endangered in Brazil and Near Threatened by the IUCN, but as a subspecies of Long‐tailed Cinclodes (C. pabsti). We examined the population and spatial ecology of Cipo Cinclodes at two geographic scales to improve our understanding of their basic biology and conservation status. We monitored 30 birds at Serra do Breu and found relatively large home ranges (mean = 9.3 ha), a density of paired adults of 0.09/ha, a male‐skewed adult sex ratio (males/total adults = 0.57) due to territories occupied by unpaired males, and long‐term site fidelity. Cipo Cinclodes used all habitat types available in our study area, including rocky outcrops, grasslands, and riparian areas, but habitat selection analyses revealed the importance of riparian areas for foraging and rocky outcrops for nesting. At the species distribution scale, we compiled known and novel recorded occurrence points and used them to calculate the extent of occurrence (EOO) and the area of occupancy (AOO). We used a Maxent species distribution model to generate a binary map to estimate upper limits for EOO (EOO around the model predicted area) and AOO (comprised by the model predicted area within the EOO). We obtained 41 locations, resulting in an EOO of 890.7 km2 (up to 1748.7 km2) and an AOO of 100 km2 (up to 327.5 km2). The global population is estimated to be between 880 and 2882 birds, which is concerning because small populations are at risk of extinction due to demographic stochasticity, genetic drift, and the interaction of these factors. As such, our results support the designation of Cipo Cinclodes as Endangered on the Brazilian red list.

A major barrier to advancing ornithology is the systemic exclusion of professionals from the Global South. A recent special dossier, Advances in Neotropical Ornithology, and a shortfalls analysis therein, unintentionally followed a long-standing pattern of highlighting individuals, knowledge, and views from the Global North, while largely omitting the perspectives of people based within the Neotropics. Here, we review problems with assessing the state of Neotropical ornithology through a northern lens, including discovery narratives, incomplete (and biased) understanding of history and advances, and the promotion of agendas that, while currently popular in the north, may not fit the needs and realities of Neotropical research. We argue that future advances in Neotropical ornithology will critically depend on identifying and addressing the systemic barriers that hold back ornithologists who live and work in the Neotropics: unreliable and limited funding, exclusion from international research leadership, restricted dissemination of knowledge (e.g., through language hegemony and citation bias), and logistical barriers. Moving forward, we must examine and acknowledge the colonial roots of our discipline, and explicitly promote anticolonial research, training, and conservation agendas. We invite our colleagues within and beyond the Neotropics to join us in creating a new model of governance that establishes research priorities with vigorous partici-pation of ornithologists and other stakeholders within the Neotropical region. To include a diversity of perspectives, we must systemically address discrimination and bias rooted in the socioeconomic class system, anti-Blackness, anti-Brownness, anti-Indigeneity, misogyny, homophobia, tokenism, and ableism. Instead of seeking individual excellence and rewarding top-down leadership, institutions in the North and South can promote collective leadership. Authentic collaborations should value the perspectives of those directly involved and affected by policies. In adopting these approaches, we, ornithologists, will join a community of researchers across academia building new paradigms that can reconcile our relationships and transform science.

We assessed the evolutionary histories of two hummingbirds, Augastes scutatus and Augastes lumachella, endemic to the highlands of the Espinhaço Range in Brazil. These hummingbirds are considered relictual taxa with phylogenetic affinities to members of the genus Schistes from the Andean region. We reconstructed phylogenetic relationships of Augastes through the use of mitochondrial DNA and nuclear sequences within the Polytminae hummingbird clade, and found that the inferred phylogenetic reconstructions placed A. scutatus as the sister species of A. lumachella and Augastes as sister to Schistes geoffroyi from the northern Andes, as previously suggested by similarities found in plumage and morphology. Our results are consistent with an initial divergence of Augastes and Schistes lineages in the Late Miocene, associated with geological and climatic changes across the South American landscape. A Late Pliocene vicariant event between A. scutatus and A. lumachella may be associated with climatically distinct environmental conditions influencing the local differentiation and adaptation of ancestral Augastes populations. Our findings represent additional important evidence of vicariant events between east and west in southern South America, and between north and south within the Espinhaço Range of Brazil.

No abstract

A major barrier to advancing ornithology is the systemic exclusion of professionals from the Global South. A recent special feature, Advances in Neotropical Ornithology, and a shortfalls analysis therein, unintentionally followed a long-standing pattern of highlighting individuals, knowledge, and views from the Global North, while largely omitting the perspectives of people based within the Neotropics. Here, we review current strengths and opportunities in the practice of Neotropical ornithology. Further, we discuss problems with assessing the state of Neotropical ornithology through a northern lens, including discovery narratives, incomplete (and biased) understanding of history and advances, and the promotion of agendas that, while currently popular in the north, may not fit the needs and realities of Neotropical research. We argue that future advances in Neotropical ornithology will critically depend on identifying and addressing the systemic barriers that hold back ornithologists who live and work in the Neotropics: unreliable and limited funding, exclusion from international research leadership, restricted dissemination of knowledge (e.g., through language hegemony and citation bias), and logistical barriers. Moving forward, we must examine and acknowledge the colonial roots of our discipline, and explicitly promote anti-colonial agendas for research, training, and conservation. We invite our colleagues within and beyond the Neotropics to join us in creating new models of governance that establish research priorities with vigorous participation of ornithologists and communities within the Neotropical region. To include a diversity of perspectives, we must systemically address discrimination and bias rooted in the socioeconomic class system, anti-Blackness, anti-Brownness, anti-Indigeneity, misogyny, homophobia, tokenism, and ableism. Instead of seeking individual excellence and rewarding top-down leadership, institutions in the North and South can promote collective leadership. In adopting these approaches, we, ornithologists, will join a community of researchers across academia building new paradigms that can reconcile our relationships and transform science. Spanish and Portuguese translations are available in the Supplementary Material.