Abstract

ORTEGA ALVAREZ, Rubén  and  CASAS, Alejandro. “BIRDS ARE IN THE FOREST, NOT IN TOWN”: COMMUNITY PERCEPTION ABOUT BIRD SPECIES RICHNESS ASSOCIATED WITH THE BACKYARDS OF ZACUALPAN, MEXICO. Hornero [online]. 2022, vol.37, n.2, pp.6-6. ISSN 0073-3407.

Latin America has a high biocultural richness which is threatened by industrialization and urban expansion. Urban ecology studies have focused on big cities but scarcely evaluated sociocultural aspects. Here, we analyze through an ethnoecological approach people’s perception on the bird species richness in the backyards of a nahua community of Colima, México. We performed semi-structured interviews to learn about the number of bird species that people recognize in their backyards. Additionally, we surveyed birds and estimated the species richness in these sites. We then compared the species richness that local people perceived in the backyards with that resulting from our surveys. Most of the population (61%) recognized 1-10 species of birds, markedly lower than the estimated (49 species), while 21% of people mentioned that they do not pay attention to birds. No perception differences by gender were observed. Knowledge biased to big, diurnal, game, exotic, and urban exploiter species may explain the low perceived species richness. Urbanization and out-of-context teaching might have reduced the local knowledge on birds. Not only is unawareness on birds in human settlements unique to big cities or mestizo communities, but also to small towns and indigenous communities, as found in this case study. Backyards represent areas of encounter, learning, and recreation, which might be used for promoting the reconciliation of people with birds.

Keywords : ethnoecology; gardens; Latin America; nahuas; native people; tropical dry forest; urban ecology.

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