Rare birds in Ecuador: Second annual report of the Committee for Ecuadorian Records in Ornithology (CERO)

We summarize bird species records submitted to the Committee for Ecuadorian Records in Ornithology (CERO) from July 2013 to March 2014. CERO compiles Ecuador’s official country checklist and updates it annually. We present four new country records (Amazonetta brasiliensis, Porzana albicollis, Haematopus ater, Chroicocephalus Philadelphia), one new country record that antedates earlier records (Vireo flavifrons), first voucher documentation for four species (Larus californicus, Pangara guttata, Conirostrum bicolor, Cardellina pusilla), and 26 significant range extensions or records of rare and poorly known species (Oceanodroma leucorhoa, Oceanodroma hornbyi, Sula leucogaster, Phalacrocorax bougainvillii, Butorides virescens, Ardea herodias, Egretta rufescens, Egretta caerulea, Eudocimus albus, Eudocimus ruber, Anas clypeata, Anas cyanoptera, Aythya afflnis, Gallinago delicata, Limosa fedoa, Larus delawarensis, Hydroprogne caspia, Glaucidium griseiceps, Chloroceryle aenea, Platyrinchus saturatus, Myiarchus crinitus, Tyrannus niveigularis, Knipolegus poecilurus, Doliomis remseni, Setophaga castanea, Lonchura malacca). Three records are from the Galapagos Islands (Oceanodroma leucorhoa, Butorides virescens, Egretta caerulea), while all others were obtained in mainland Ecuador. Six species are eliminated from the Ecuadorian list (Geotrygon violácea, Topaza pella, Attila bolivianos, Pachyramphus rufus, Pachyramphus validus, Lonchura atricapilla). Two additional records were postponed for further expert revision (Thalassarche cauta) or for additional evidence (Neomorphus pucheranit) and three submitted records were rejected (Patagioenas oenops, Hydropsalis maculicaudus, Colaptes rupicola). This information updates our knowledge of the distribution and status of poorly known species in Ecuador, as well as the national bird checklist that currently reaches 1673 species (1608 confirmed with voucher documentation, 65 hypothetical).