Living in a fragmented world: Birds in the Atlantic Forest

Abstract

The Atlantic Forest is the second largest tropical moist forest domain in South America after the Amazon, home to over 800 bird species (223 endemics or 27% of the avifauna). With only 28% of the original vegetation left, mostly fragmented and altered, the Atlantic Forest is a hotspot for bird conservation. We first introduce the extent, vegetation types, and exploitation history of the domain, and the composition and biogeographic affinities of its birds. We then provide an overview of the knowledge gathered so far on the ways Atlantic Forest birds thrive in the often-fragmented landscape, highlighting the landscape features that influence their occurrence and movement behavior. We end with the conservation issues affecting the Atlantic Forest birds and the actions hitherto taken to address them, including the establishment of conservation units, forest restoration, and rewilding.