The Chocó vireo (''Vireo masteri'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

in the family

Vireonidae The vireos make up a family, Vireonidae, of small to medium-sized passerine birds found in the New World (Canada to Argentina, including Bermuda and the West Indies) and Southeast Asia. "Vireo" is a Latin word referring to a green migratory bir ...

that was discovered by Paul Salaman in 1991 and described in 1996. It is found in western Colombia and has recently been found in north-west

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is subtropical or tropical moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucia ...

s. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

Discovery

The Chocó vireo was first observed on August 25, 1991, by Paul Salaman in western Nariño located in southwest Colombia. The site, located at an altitude of 1,500 meters (five thousand feet), was in a narrow strip of intact, very wet forest along the Rio Nambi, in the Chocó region which is famed for its high biological diversity. In early June, 1992, ornithologist Gary Stiles observed and collected this species while working in Alto de Pisones in Risaralda department. The bird was small, a little more than four inches, lightweight at 11.4 grams, and greenish in color with a broad, wide yellowish wing bar. It had a distinctive facial pattern with a long white stripe above its eye. Salaman decided to take the novel approach of auctioning off the naming rights to the vireo's scientific name in order to raise money for conservation of the bird's habitat.

Bernard Master Dr. Bernard F. Master (born May 17, 1941) is an internationally recognized conservationist, distinguished health care professional, and business entrepreneur. He received his medical degree from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and was ...

, the first American birder to have seen a representative of every bird family in the world, won the auction with a bid of US$75,000 and named it ''Vireo masteri''. This donation was used to create the Pangan ProAves Reserve in Colombia.

References

Chocó vireo Birds of the Colombian Andes Birds of the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena Chocó vireo Chocó vireo Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Vireonidae-stub