PRELIMINARY AVIFAUNA OF THE SERRA GERAL, CENTRAL REGION OF BRAZIL: CONSERVATION OF GRASSLAND BIRDS IN THE CERRADO BIOME AND THE CONTRIBUTION OF FIRE BRIGADES IN KNOWLEDGE OF BIODIVERSITY

BIRDS OF THE SERRA GERAL, CENTRAL REGION OF BRAZIL, CERRADO BIOME

Abstract

Few ornithological studies have been carried out in Serra Geral, central Brazil and a relevant remnant of the Cerrado biome. In this way, we present a preliminary listing of the avifauna recorded in eight inventoried locations in the period from September 2019 to August 2020 at the valley, hillside and plateau of the Serra Geral, between the states of Goiás, Bahia and Tocantins. Furthermore, we highlight the potential role of fire brigades in the discovery of new records of biodiversity. A total of 117 species were recorded, 10 endemic of the Cerrado biome, four threatened of extinction in Brazil and six globally threatened. The list presented shows that the Serra Geral is marked by the predominance of grassland birds of the Cerrado. Moreover, the prospections allowed the realization remarkable records: the third record of Knipolegus nigerrimus for the state of Tocantins and the unpublished records of Synallaxis spixi for Goiás and Micropygia schomburgkii for Bahia, the latter made by the fire brigade during fighting forest fires. This study fills, even if preliminarily, knowledge gap about the birds of Serra Geral, demonstrating the role of this region in the conservation of grassland birds and endangered in the Cerrado.