Avifauna de la Zona Protectora El Rodeo, Costa Rica: anotaciones sobre diversidad e historia natural

The composition and characteristics of the avifauna from the El Rodeo Protected Zone in Costa Rica is presented. The study site represents an humid premontane forest remnant located in the Central Valley, one of the most populated and deforested areas in the country. A total of 162 species belonging to 39 families were recorded. Most of them were resident species (67 %), followed by an important group of latitudinal migratory species (24%), a few were nomads or altitudinal migratories (7 and 2 %, respectively). Grouping by their feeding preferences, the insectivorous and omnivorous species are the most represented (40 and 19%, respectively), and a few species are nectarivorous (3%) or scavengers (1%). The composition resembles more the avifauna from drier areas in the pacific lowlands. In general, the avifauna from this site seems to be less dependent on large areas of forest and probably its composition is reflecting the current conservation status of this forest. An annotated species check-list is included.