Birds of the Amazon

Rio Branco antbird, a critically endangered bird endemic to the Amazon.

An immense number of bird species live in the Amazon rainforest and river basin (an area which is nominally home to one out of every ten known species of animal).[1] Over 1,300 of these species are types of birds, which accounts for one-third of all bird species in the world. The diets of rainforest birds greatly differ between species, although, nuts, fruits and leaves are a common food for many birds in the Amazon. Birds migrate to the Amazon rainforest from the North or South. Amazon birds are threatened by deforestation since they primarily reside in the treetops.[2] At its current rate of destruction, the rainforest will be gone in forty years.[3] Human encroachment also negatively affects the habitat of many Amazonian birds. Agriculture and road clearings limits the habitable areas. Birds in the Amazon are distinguished by which layer of the rainforest they reside in. Each layer or community has unique plants, animals and ecosystems.[4] Birds interact with other animals in their community through the food chain, competition, mating, altruism and symbiosis.[5]

  1. ^ "Amazon". World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
  2. ^ "Biodiversity in the Amazon". Elon University Brazilmagazine. 2005.
  3. ^ "Rainforest Facts - The Disappearing Rainforests". Retrieved 2016-03-03.
  4. ^ "Amazon Rainforest". blueplanetbiomes.org. 2003. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
  5. ^ "Amazon Rainforest Ecosystem". rainforest-facts.com. Retrieved 2016-03-03.

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