avifauna of “rppn da unisc”, sinimbu municipality, rio grande do sul, brazil

This work presents a list of 169 bird species registered at the “RPPN da UNISC”, Private Natural Heritage in Sinimbu municipality, Rio Grande do Sul state. The survey was carried out between January 2007 and January 2009. Five species were highlighted as being most threatened with extinction in the state: Odontophorus capueira, Patagioenas cayennensis, Amazona pretrei, Triclaria malachitacea and Grallaria varia. One of them, Amazona pretrei, was also threatened on a national and global level, and eight species, were classified as near-threatened globally (Triclaria malachitacea, Strix hylophila, Picumnus nebulosus, Piculus aurulentus, Carpornis cucullata, Leptasthenura setaria, Cyanocorax caeruleus and Euphonia chalybea). The occurrence of four species was previously unknown in the region (Pulsatrix koeniswaldiana, Trogon rufus, Myiopagis viridicata and Turdus leucomelas) and the presence of six rare or rarely-registered species for Rio Grande do Sul state (Accipiter striatus, Geranospiza caerulescens, Micrastur semitorquatus, Chamaeza ruficauda, Macropsalis forcipata and Muscipripa vetula) was also verified. These records, in conjunction with other surveys conducted in the central escarpment of the Planalto, show high diversity of bird life, albeit unprotected due to the lack of conservation areas, environmental policies and fiscalization.