Birds of the highway axis of the Brasilia pilot plan

Abstract

Urbanization transforms natural ecosystems and negatively affects flora and fauna. Even tough, birds can make cities their refuge and carry out environmental functions.It is commonly believed that roads trees to have positive relationships richness,  diversity and abundance of bird species in urban areas.In this scenario, Brasilia is a park city, where long green corridors formed by roads and streets have been inserted since its conception.An example is the highway axis of the Brasilia pilot plan (Eixão), 14 km away as northern and southern parts of the city, which is essential for urban mobility consisting of a large green corridor.This work aims to identify and characterize the bird community present in the Eixão. Birds were sampled at 32 fixed points for a year.Results showed that 86 species of birds belonging to 36 families inhabit the surveyed area.Furnarius rufus, Columba livea, Brotogeris chiriri, Pitangus sulphuratus were the most abundant species. These bird species have a high tolerance for habitat change and can provide important ecological functions in cities. Most of the species they frequent or Eixão are generalist and opportunistic species, originating from natural country areas.  They are able to explore an urban tree-lining of the city to explore resources. This work shows that a very busy street is able to retain a significant portion of bird diversity.