Abstract

RESENDIZ-CRUZ, Iván; PEREZ-MONTES, L. Ernesto  and  NAVARRO-SIGUENZA, Adolfo G.. The bird community of the southeastern Mezquital Valley, Mexico: Structure and composition. Huitzil [online]. 2017, vol.18, n.1, pp.157-175. ISSN 1870-7459.

We describe the structure and the composition of the bird community in the southeastern section of Mezquital Valley, a semiarid region located in central Mexico. Fieldwork was conducted between January and December 2013, with additional records in 2014, 2015 and 2016. We recorded a total of 160 species, distributed in 118 genera, 44 families and 15 orders. Of these, 98 species were permanent residents, 48 winter visitors, 11 transients, and three summer residents. According to the abundance, 27 were very abundant, 28 abundant, 41 common, 23 uncommon, and 41 rare. We recorded seven endemic species, two quasiendemics, and 17 semiendemics, as well as six exotic species. Moreover, 27 species are under some category of threat. Vegetation types with the highest species richness were the thorn-succulent scrub (85 species), submontane scrub (77 species) and oak forest (75 species). Regarding its species composition, the study area is similar to desert regions of southwestern United States and Barranca de Metztitlán Biosphere Reserve, Hidalgo, than to other northern and central Mexican arid and semiarid areas. The biological importance of the region is highlighted, and we suggested to increase the number of ornithological research in other parts of the Mezquital Valley.

Keywords : Arid scrub; arid regions; endemic species; exotic species; Hidalgo; oak forest; State of Mexico; submontane scrub.