Avifauna of the Social Service of Commerce (SESC) Interlagos region and its historical and current importance to the municipality of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil

Abstract

Ornithological knowledge of the municipality of São Paulo has been produced by naturalists, researchers and bird watchers over the past 200 years, but some of this information has not yet been organized, evaluated and published. Given this scenario, we present a compilation of historical and current data on the avifauna of the Sesc Interlagos region, in the southeast of the municipality. A total of 150 species were registered between 1964 and 2020, of which 15 are endemic to the Atlantic Forest, 13 migratory and one threatened. Of this total, 21 were registered prior to the 1970s and 141 as of 1995, with seven taxa that may be extinct locally due to deforestation. The organized data show the importance of scientific collections, projects undertaken by university students, online ornithological data platforms and forest restoration actions carried out in the unit, and educational activities promoted in recent decades by Sesc Interlagos, including bird watching and environmental awareness programs. This sampling effort makes Sesc Interlagos one of the best ornithologically-known regions in the municipality of São Paulo, but the presence of exotic animal and plant species, feral domestic animals and a large amount of waste on the banks of the Billings reservoir, are major threats that need to be controlled.