Freile et al • NATURAL HiSTORY OF THE ROYAL SUNANGEL 
91 
suggests the total population in the Ecuadorian 
portion of H. regalis range might total —2,500 
individuals. These numbers are crude as better 
population size estimates and trends are needed. 
H. regalis is seemingly less numerous in lower 
elevation montane and foothill forests above 
Yankuam Lodge. Only three males and one 
female were observed during 7 days of point- 
count surveys above Yankuam, in dense foothill 
and dense lower montane forests, despite a total of 
25 10-min point counts. H. regalis was not found 
in similar habitats above Miazi during 21 10-min 
point counts, but one female was observed by 
random sampling on a small ridgetop. We 
sampled ~2-3 km between both study sites. This 
might indicate 1-1.5 birds/km in these two forest 
types, but dense habitat might reduce detection. 
CONSERVATION IMPLICATIONS 
Habitat loss is still incipient along the Ecua¬ 
dorian range of the species, but mining conces¬ 
sions represent a serious forthcoming threat to the 
endemic biodiversity of the Cordillera del Condor. 
There is major interest by the Ecuadorian 
government to consolidate mining extraction in 
the Cordillera del Condor region because of 
apparently large deposits of gold and copper, as 
well as silver, silica, and other minerals and 
metals (Lopez et al. 2003, Fontbote et al. 2004, 
Neill 2007, Drobe et al. 2008; see also www. 
aurelianecuador.com; www.corriente.com; www. 
kinross.com). Currently, several areas north of 
Nangaritza Valley are being prospected by mining 
companies, and access roads are being rapidly 
opened and improved. Populations of species 
confined to these poor-soil growing forests are 
wiminently threatened as large sandstone ridges 
will potentially be opened to large-scale mining. 
Under this scenario, we consider accurate the 
status of globally Endangered (BirdLife Interna¬ 
tional 2009) for H. regalis despite current popu¬ 
lation figures suggesting it is less threatened. 
Conservation initiatives are underway in the 
Nangaritza Valley, including private birdwatching 
tour operators, land protection, and an ongoing 
Management plan developed by Fundacion Arco 
Ins of Loja along with local communities. These 
initiatives benefit from biodiversity surveys that 
support the biological and hydrological impor¬ 
tance of the Nangaritza Valley. We encourage 
others to undertake more specific studies in the 
re gion, particularly to assess populations and 
habitat of globally threatened species including 
H. regalis. Easy access to the Nangaritza 
sandstone ridges facilitate biological surveys and 
bird studies of an avifauna generally regarded as 
difficult to reach. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
Field work was part of a Rapid Assessment Program by 
Fundacion Arco Iris of Loja, and supported by Conserva¬ 
tion International. We especially thank Robert Jimenez for 
diligent assistance in field work. Oswaldo Jadan thanks 
Zhofre Aguirre and Bolivar Merino of Herbario LOJA, Jose 
M. Manzanares, Charlotte Taylor, and Ron Liesner of 
Missouri Botanical Garden, and Alfonso Garmendia of 
Universidad Politecnica de Valencia for assistance in plant 
identification. Niels Krabbe made thorough comments on 
the manuscript, T. S. Schulenberg provided information 
from Peru, and Alejandro Solano and Daniel Cadena kindly 
helped with bibliographic requests. We thank Leonardo 
Ordonez and Fundacion Arco Iris staff for logistics and 
issuing plant research permits. This research was conducted 
under Ministerio del Ambiente research permits 
Numbers 006-IC-FLO-DBAP-VS-DRLZCH-MA and 
FAU-001-DNB/VS. Fieldwork by Galo Buitron, Paolo 
Piedrahita, and Elisa Bonaccorso was supported by 
Secretarfa Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologfa (SENACYT) 
Project PIC-08-470. Comments by three anonymous 
reviewers greatly improved a previous version of this 
paper. Juan F. Freile dedicates this paper to the dearly loved 
memory of Tami Bueno. 
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