[BACK] Birdlife International designated the Rio Orosa as an Important Bird Area (IBA) in Peru in 2005. This area includes the Madre Selva and Paucarillo field stations, and is of high conservation value due to the presence of range-restricted species of birds like the globally threatened wattled currasow (below center). In addition to having a very high diversity of over 500 bird species, at least one undescribed subspecies or species of antbird is also present at the Madre Selva Biological Station.

The Rio Orosa area has such a high bird diversity due to the wide range of habitats available on the river. The lower section of the river is an ancient channel of the Amazon itself, and marks the southern edge of the Amazon floodplain in the region. Immediately to the north of the Orosa lies a swampy area of richer soils with scattered floodplain lakes and channels. It is in this area that the globally threatened wattled currasow still hangs on. The lower Orosa River also hosts many bird species characteristic of the large rivers of the region, including many river island specialists which are not found in upland rainforest. To the south of the river lies an extensive area of undisturbed or little-disturbed upland rainforest that extends to the Brazilian frontier on the Yavari River. This large area is home to many species of rainforest birds, including the largest raptor in the Americas - the harpy eagle. While the eagle has been recorded at the Madre Selva Biological Station, on 2 January 2005 a much smaller bird made an even more notable appearance at the field station. A fiery-tailed awlbill made an appearance in what is probably the very first Peruvian record for this widely distributed but very rare species. The appearance of an oilbird on 1 January 2003 was another surprise bird for the river, and there will undoubtedly be many more surprises over the coming years.

fiery-tailed awlbill (Avocettula recurvirostra)	wattled currasow (Crax globulosa)	oilbird (Steatornis caripensis)

Birdlife International has been a global leader in drawing attention to endangered bird species and threatened bird habitats. Their recognition of the value of the Rio Orosa region is of great value in promoting bird research at the two field stations there, and in attracting bird watchers to the area. Ecotourism at the field stations helps to finance our research and conservation work in the Amazon, so birders are always welcome! There is a webpage at Birdlife International with additional information of the Rio Orosa IBA.

An annotated list of the birds recorded from the Project Amazonas field sites and the Rio Orosa area can be downloaded from the Document Center. You may also enjoy visiting the Fauna & Flora web pages for more information on Amazon birds.

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