Title: Tres Aves
Species: Moustached Antpitta (Gralleria alleni), Chestnut-capped Brush-finch (Buarremon brunneinucha), and Russet-crowned Warbler (Basileuterus coronatus) Artist: Bruce Bartrug(for
further information, click on the artist's name)
Image size: 25 x 34"
Media: oil
Date: 2004
The artist noted: "In the tropical Andes, the conversion of montane forests to cattle
pasture or to fields for growing corn or coca is occurring at an alarming
rate. In Ecuador, however, the income generated by birding lodges in
Mindo and Tandayapa has encouraged some nearby residents to help
preserve the surrounding forest, allowing significant areas to remain
intact.
The three birds pictured in Tres Aves--the Moustached
Antpitta, the Chestnut-capped
Brush-finch, and the Russet-crowned
Warbler--would be eliminated
from the Mindo/Tandayapa area if the local forest were cleared.
This would be especially tragic in the case of the Moustached
Antpitta, a bird whose known distribution is described by
dots on the map in the Andes of southern Columbia and northern
Ecuador. The preservation of local forests is temporarily
assured, but depends on continuing tourism from wealthier
nations."
