Iquitos Gnatcatcher Gets a Conservation Boost
I got lucky to see this rare and local species this past July just outside of Iquitos, Peru while leading a private tour. The Allpahuayo Preserve has relatively low diversity for being in the Amazon Basin, due to the nutrient-poor soil that has effects all down the food chain. But this habitat occurs only in small, isolated patches, and species that occur there are highly specialized and therefore very vulnerable to development. This is good news.
For the first time in Peru, conservationists have purchased privately owned lands within a national protected area and then donated them to the national government. Twenty-nine privately owned properties totaling 1,196 acres within Peru’s Allpahuayo Mishana National Reserve were donated on December 1 to SERNANP, the government agency that administers national protected areas. The donated lands are home to the Iquitos Gnatcatcher, a Critically Endangered bird first described in 2005.
Read the rest of the press release at the American Bird Conservancy website.