In spring 2004, the Brehm Fund started a new project to study the avifauna of the Pacific lowland rainforests in Esmeraldas province, northwestern Ecuador. The region is located in the high-precipitation area of Chocó at the foot of the western Andes, representing one of the most diverse forest ecosystems in the world. Moreover, with at least 67 endemic bird species it has the world’s highest continental concentration of restricted-range species. However, the few remaining extensive forest areas are under high pressure, in particular from road construction projects, meaning an urgent need for the immediate realization of nature conservation measures and development aid projects. The two-year study is being conducted by Dr. Olaf Jahn, a scientist experienced in field work and conservation projects in Ecuador, and includes several goals.

1) A rapid-assessment method (“Multiple time-window” mapping, MTW) developed by Dr. Jahn offers considerable temporal and financial advantages for the monitoring of tropical bird communities in poorly accessible, or even inaccessible habitats like rainforests. In contrast to traditional mist-netting, useful only for the sampling of birds inhabiting the lower vegetation strata, this new method focuses on the acoustic activities of birds and is thus more flexible. The standardized observation protocol can be easily adapted to  regional peculiarities, thus allowing an improved monitoring of canopy-inhabiting species and raptors, which are generally more difficult to monitor than those of the lower strata. For example, a complete mapping of all species along a 1200-m transect can be done in only six days. In the course of the project Dr. Jahn is preparing an English handbook that will facilitate the use of the MTW method in other national and international nature conservation projects.

2) Structure, ecology, and population density of bird communities in the study area are insufficiently documented and need to be analyzed along with the status of species. This includes the analysis of correlations between body size and body mass, territory size and threat status. Population densities of selected species will be estimated using the MTW method. Data on habitat selection will be analyzed using multivariate methods, which will help us to understand the threat situation facing tropical birds in relation to specific habitat factors.
Distributional data on threatened birds are lacking, particularly for near-coastal forest areas and the Andean foothills above 400 m a.s.l. Therefore field work is being carried out in the San Lorenzo district as well as in the largely unexplored protected area of Cotacachi-Cayapas. Special attention is given to research on the biology and status of endangered species, e.g., Baudo Guan (Penelope ortoni), Great Curassow (Crax rubra), Brown Wood-Rail (Aramides wolfi), Great Green Macaw (Ara ambigua), Saffron-headed Parrot (Pionopsitta pyrilia), Banded Ground-Cuckoo (Neomorphus radiolosus) and Scarlet-breasted Dacnis (Dacnis berlepschi). It is intended that the data gained will be published  in international ornithological journals.

3) The majority of tropical birds are heard more often than seen in their natural habitats. This problem complicates considerably the mapping of the avifauna in field studies and conservation projects, particularly in view of the fact that several hundred bird species may occur together in one square kilometer in the study area. The currently available bioacoustic recordings of 253 species cover just 20% of all bird voices that can be regularly heard in the Ecuadorian Chocó. Thus a professional audio publication containing all known bird voices (> 2000) of this region is in preparation, which will be of outstanding importance for future ornithological studies.