Aves, Cotingidae, Doliornis remseni: filling distribution gap, habitat, and conservation, Ecuador

The Tropical Andes biodiversity hot-spot holds 19 % of restricted-range bird species (BirdLife International and Conservation International 2005). Humid montane forests are rich in endemic species. Nevertheless, anthropogenic deforestation is making this habitat, together with the localized bird species it contains, of special conservation concern. One such threatened species is the Chestnut-bellied Cotinga (Doliornis remseni). Within its restricted range it is rare, occurring at high altitude on the eastern cordillera of the Andes in Ecuador and in the Central Andes of Colombia (BirdLife International 2007; Figure 1). This species was only recently described (Robbins et al. 1994), and its biology is very poorly documented. It was listed as Vulnerable (IUCN 2006) because of its limited range (11,000 km2), its small, decreasing population (2,500 10,000 individuals) and the destruction of its habitat (Renjifo et al. 2002; BirdLife International 2007).