Protegiendo las fuentes de agua para conservar la Bandurria Andina en el Parque Nacional Antisana

The Mica area of Antisana National Park is one of the habitats of the Andean Bandurria (Theristicus branickii). This species is in the category of Near Threatened (NT) according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and Critically Endangered (CR), according to the National Red List of Continental Birds of Ecuador.

In 2016, the first census of this species was conducted, in which 80 specimens were counted; as a result of this first event, a biological monitoring process began in 2017. In this study period, two roosting sites (roosts) and two additional nesting points next to a river “correntoso Antisana” were identified. The behavior of the species led to a preliminary hypothesis that water and the location on rocky walls is very important for the successful rearing of their chicks, as they become natural barriers to predators (hawks, giant owls and caracaras).

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