Justification
A combination of extensive forest loss since 1960, and some pressure from hunting indicate that this species's population is declining rapidly. The population is presumably now small and fragmented in very small subpopulations. It therefore qualifies as Vulnerable.
Taxonomic source(s)
SACC. 2006. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.html.
Sibley, C. G.; Monroe, B. L. 1990. Distribution and taxonomy of birds of the world. Yale University Press, New Haven, USA.
Stotz, D. F.; Fitzpatrick, J. W.; Parker, T. A.; Moskovits, D. K. 1996. Neotropical birds: ecology and conservation. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Identification
51 cm. Large, ornate, black cotinga. Male all black with overhanging crest and long wattle hanging from central chest. Female and immature similar, but wattle much reduced or absent. Voice Generally silent, but displaying males grunt.
Distribution and populationCephalopterus penduliger occurs on the Pacific slope and adjacent lowlands of south-west
Colombia (Chocó to Nariño) and west
Ecuador (Esmeraldas to El Oro), as well as in Ecuador's coastal cordillera (Esmeraldas and northern Manabí). In recent decades its distribution in lowland Ecuador has contracted greatly, but a few leks survived at altitudes as low as 80m at least until the early 2000s
(O. Jahn
in litt. 2007). There are concentrations of records in the far north of the known range in Valle de Cauca
(Hilty and Brown 1986, Wege and Long 1995
, N. Gómez
in litt. 1999), east and west Esmeraldas and adjacent parts of Imbabura and Nariño, although this is likely to be a reflection of observer coverage and the species presumably occurs in suitable habitat between these areas (O. Jahn
in litt. 2007). The rapidly declining population (Ridgely and Tudor 1994, Jahn
et al. 1999)
is currently estimated at 7,290-48,600 mature individuals (O. Jahn
in litt. 2007).
Population justificationThe population is estimated to number 10,000-19,999 individuals based on an assessment of known records, descriptions of abundance and range size. This is consistent with recorded population density estimates for congeners or close relatives with a similar body size, and the fact that only a proportion of the estimated Extent of Occurrence is likely to be occupied. This estimate is equivalent to 6,667-13,333 mature individuals, rounded here to 6,000-15,000 mature individuals.
Trend justificationA rapid and on-going population decline is suspected owing to rates of habitat loss and hunting pressure.
EcologyThis lekking species is found in humid and wet forest from 80-1,800 m altitude (Ridgely and Tudor 1994, Jahn
et al. 1999,
Jahn and Mena 2002b). In some areas, it is believed to make seasonal altitudinal movements
(Ridgely and Tudor 1994, Hornbuckle
et al. 1997, Jahn
et al. 1999)
, although there are records throughout the year from lowland and foothill locations
(K. S. Berg
in litt. 1999, Jahn
et al. 1999). It feeds on palm-nuts, insects, amphibians and reptiles such as lizards
Anolis spp (Hornbuckle
et al. 1997, K. S. Berg
in litt. 1999, Jahn
et al. 1999,
Karubian
et al. 2003,
Greeney
et al. 2006). Nests have been recorded in June and January, at the top of a tree fern
Cyathea sp. 5 m in height and 4.5 m above the ground in a vine tangle, both in secondary forest
(Karubian
et al. 2003,
Greeney
et al. 2006). Although it appears somewhat tolerant of degraded habitats and human activity when selecting nest sites, it may prefer mature forest for feeding and lekking (Jahn
et al. 1999
, Jahn 2001,
Jahn and Mena 2002b
, Karubian
et al. 2003).
ThreatsHunting pressure is rapidly increasing due infrastructural development and advancing colonization frontiers (Jahn and Mena 2002b, Cárdenas 2007)
. It is easy to locate the traditional lek sites and to approach the displaying males, making it an easy bag for hunters (Jahn
et al. 1999, Jahn and Mena 2002b). Rapid deforestation rates have continued to affect Esmeraldas and Nariño during the 1990s ( Salaman 1994, WWF/ IUCN 1994-1997, Salaman and Stiles 1996, Sharpe 1999)
. By 1996, in western Ecuador the remnant cover of evergreen lowland and premontane forests was only 18% and 40% respectively. (Sierra 1999). In Esmeraldas, annual deforestation rates in the lowlands (<300m) were 3.8% and accumulated loss of primary forest >38% during the last decade (Cárdenas 2007). During the same period, the cover of primary premontane forest (300-1300m) was reduced by 7% (Cárdenas 2007). At higher altitudes and in Cauca and south Valle de Cauca, Colombia, deforestation has been slower and more habitat remains
(Dodson and Gentry 1991
, P. G. W. Salaman
in litt. 1999). However, plans to colonise and develop remoter areas are progressing through infrastructural improvements, particularly the rapid expansion of the road network, which have increased the impact of logging, small-scale agriculture, illegal coca plantations, gold mining and hunting (Ridgely and Tudor 1994, Salaman 1994, WWF/ IUCN 1994-1997, Salaman and Stiles 1996, Bowen-Jones
et al. 1999, Jahn
et al. 1999)
, which is already affecting some key protected areas (Jahn and Mena 2002b, O. Jahn
in litt. 2007, P. Mena Valenzuela
in litt. 2007)
. Intensive agricultural development is a major threat, especially oil palm and banana plantations and livestock-farming (
Dodson and Gentry 1991, WWF/ IUCN 1994-1997, P. Coopmans
in litt. 1998, Bowen-Jones
et al. 1999,
Sharpe 1999). Since 2004, some indigenous communities within the Awá Ethnic Reserve have converted their forest into oil palm plantations (O. Jahn
in litt. 2007). It also suffers from trade (Ridgely and Tudor 1994, Jahn
et al. 1999)
: in the Ventanas area of Esmeraldas, they are highly prized as domestic birds, and local people capture them as pets, for sale to third parties and to eat (Sharpe 1999).
Conservation actions underwayThe
Cotacachi-Cayapas Ecological-Reserve, Esmeraldas, may hold one of the largest subpopulations (O. Jahn
in litt. 2007). Jatun Sacha Bilsa Reserve and the neighbouring Mache-Chindul Ecological-Reserve (Esmeraldas) hold significant numbers (Jahn
et al. 1999). The species is also present in the Buenaventura Reserve (El Oro)
(Greeney
et al. 2006), Gran Reserva Chachi (Esmeraldas) (O. Jahn
in litt. 2007), Awacachi Corridor (Esmeraldas), Canandé Reserve (Esmeraldas), Protective Forest Mindo-Nambillo (Pichincha), as well as in the private reserves at Milpe and Sachatamia (Pichincha) (O. Jahn
in litt. 2007). Two national parks, Los Farallones de Cali (Valle de Cauca) and Munchique (Cauca) are probably important, owing to their large size (Hilty and Brown 1986, Wege and Long 1995, Jahn
et al. 1999), although there are no modern records from the latter.
Conservation actions proposedSurvey foothill forests in its range, especially within the two Colombian National Parks (Wege and Long 1995). Consolidate protection of the Awacachi Biological Corridor to maintain link between Awá Ethnic Reserve and Cotacachi-Cayapas Ecological Reserve and the surrounding buffer zone (Bowen-Jones
et al. 1999). Designate the Awá reserve, Cotacachi-Cayapas Ecological Reserve, Awacachi Corridor, Gran Reserva Chachi, and Canandé Reserve, including the Río Santiago, Cayapas, Ónzole, and Hoja Blanca drainages, as a biosphere reserve (Bowen-Jones
et al. 1999, Jahn and Mena 2002b). Sustainably manage the buffer zone to the Awá Ethnic Reserve and Cotacachi-Cayapas Ecological Reserve (Bowen-Jones
et al. 1999, Jahn and Mena 2002b). Implement population monitoring programmes (Jahn and Mena 2002b). Consolidate protection of the Mache-Chindul and Cotacachi-Cayapas ecological reserves through law enforcement against illegal logging, hunting, and colonization inside the reserves and sustainable management projects in their buffer zones (O. Jahn
in litt. 2007).
References
Hilty, S. L.; Brown, W. L. 1986. A guide to the birds of Colombia. Princeton University Press, Princeton.
Dodson, C. H.; Gentry, A. H. 1991. Biological extinction in western Ecuador. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 78: 273-295.
Ridgely, R. S.; Tudor, G. 1994. The birds of South America. University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas.
Salaman, P. G. W. 1994. Surveys and conservation of biodiversity in the Chocó, south-west Colombia. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.
WWF/IUCN. 1994-1997. Centres of plant diversity. A guide and strategy for their conservation. IUCN, Cambridge, UK.
Wege, D. C.; Long, A. J. 1995. Key Areas for threatened birds in the Neotropics. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.
Salaman, P. G. W.; Stiles, F. G. 1996. A distinctive new species of vireo (Passeriformes: Vireonidae) from the Western Andes of Colombia. Ibis 138: 610-619.
Hornbuckle, J.; Mudd, A.; Berg, K. 1997. Survey of the birds of Bilsa Biological Reserve, Ecuador.
Jahn, O.; Grefa, E. E. V.; Schuchmann, K.-L. 1999. The life history of the Long-wattled Umbrellabird Cephalopterus penduliger in the Andean foothills of north-west Ecuador: leks, behaviour, ecology and conservation. Bird Conservation International 9: 81-94.
Jahn, O.; Moore, J. V.; Valenzuela, P. M.; Krabbe, N.; Coopmans, P.; Lysinger, M.; Ridgely, R. S. 2002. The Birds of Northwest Ecuador Volume II: the lowlands and lower foothills. John V. Moore Nature Recordings, San Jose, USA.
Jahn, O. in press. Bird communities of the Ecuadorian Chocó: a case study for conservation. Bonner Zoologische Monographien 56.
Cárdenas, A. 2007. Análisis multitemporal de cobertura vegetal y uso del suelo para la Ventana Binacional Ecuador, período 1998 - 2007, Proyecto "Diseño del SIMSA - CCCM".
Jahn, O. 2001. Integrating biological data into development projects: threatened bird species and management plans for sustainable forestry in the Province of Esmeraldas, Ecuador. In: Rhoades, R. E.; Stallings, J. (ed.), Integrating conservation and development in Tropical America: experiences and lessons in linking communities and policies, pp. 39-54. SANREM CRSP and CARE, Athens, GA, USA.
Krabbe, N.; Nilsson, J. 2003. Birds of Ecuador: sounds and photographs. Bird Songs International, Westernieland, Netherlands.
Sierre, R. 1999. Vegetación remanente del Ecuador Continental.
Greeney, H.F., McLean, A., Bucker, A.D.L., Gelis, R.A., Cabrera, D. and Sornoza, F. 2006. Nesting biology of the long-wattled umbrellabird (Cephalopterus penduliger), part I: incubation. Ornitologia Neotropical 17(3): 395-401.
Jahn, A.E., Saavedra, A.M., Horn, R.I., Dobbs, R.C., Porzecanski, A.L., Weicker, J.J. and Davis, S.E. 2008. A comparison of gallery and dry forest avian communities in the Gran Chaco of Bolivia. Ornitologia Neotropical 19(1): 1-14.
Karubian, J., Castaneda, G., Freile, J.F., Salazar, R.T., Santander, T. and Smith, T.B. 2003. Nesting biology of a female long-wattled umbrellabird Cephalopterus penduliger in north-western Ecuador. Bird Conservation International 13(4): 351-360.
Further web sources of information
Hear sounds for this species from xeno-canto, the community database of shared bird sounds from around the world.
View photos and videos, and hear sounds of this species from the Internet Bird Collection
Text account compilers
Isherwood, I., Jahn, O., Pople, R., Sharpe, C J, Stuart, T., Symes, A.
Contributors
Berg, K., Coopmans, P., Gomez, N., Jahn, O., Salaman, P., Sharpe, C J
IUCN Red List evaluators
Butchart, S., Symes, A.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2013) Species factsheet: Cephalopterus penduliger. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 21/05/2013.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2013) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 21/05/2013.
This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000)
Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004)
Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.
To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife
To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums.
Additional resources for this species
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