What’s in a Bird’s Name? Bird Records and Aguaruna Names in Amazonian Indigenous Territories of Peru

Arcilla N.; Salazar Samecash B.; Tsamajain Shiwig O.; Su S.; Cooper R.J. · Birds (2025) · DOI: 10.3390/birds6010002

Resumen

Highlighting connections between biological diversity and human languages can provide support for the conservation of both nature and culture. We investigated birds and bird names in western Amazonia, the region with the highest bird species richness in the world, working with indigenous communities whose oral traditions include rich knowledge of bird ecology, taxonomy, and behavior. Between 2004 and 2020, we conducted bird surveys together with residents of indigenous Aguaruna territories in the upper Marañón River valley, northern Peru, where no ecological surveys have been published before now. Based on field surveys in 10 Aguaruna communities, we documented 427 bird species in 51 families, including eight wintering Nearctic–Neotropical migratory species. We documented Aguaruna names for 294 bird species, representing 69% of the bird species detected in the study area. Although prior research suggested that unique Aguaruna names exist for the majority of the bird species present, we found unique Aguaruna names for just over a third (38%) of bird species documented, with the remainder of bird names shared by multiple species or families. Our findings provide evidence of high bird species richness benefiting from effective protection on indigenous lands, and of oral traditions that include a significant source of information on bird taxonomy but unfortunately are in decline.