Bamboo Birds Specialization in Southeastern Peru
By Pepe Rojas (A freeland bird guide who has spend several years in the Tambopata area – pepereds@hotmail.com)
Campylorhamphus Trochilirostris
Bird diversity reaches is zenith in the western part of the Amazon lowlands of South America; the more than 500 species of bird that have been recorded in the Explorer’s Inn area being an example of this. At Cocha Cashu within Manu National Park in southeastern Peru, Scott Robinson and Ted Parker established an amazing record of 324 species of birds recorded in one day and at one site, in less than a 2 mile radius, and entirely on foot or in canoe. One of the reasons for this high diversity is the diversity of habitats found in the region and the high degree of specialization that species have develop to exploit these habitats. Amongst these groups of species that have evolved a specialization with specific habitats are the “bamboo specialists” that live entirely in areas dominated by giant bamboo.
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