Current Neotropical ornithology: Research progress 1996-2011

Two hundred years of Neotropical ornithology have resulted in comprehensive monographic guides and thousands of scientific papers. Nonetheless, information is not evenly distributed across the region. Replicating previous assessments of Neotropical ornithology, we performed searches at Zoological Record of publications on birds of Neotropical countries (1996-2011) using number of publications as an indication of current knowledge. We calculated the ratio of papers per species richness for each country and compared number of publications in different subjects during the 1979-1995 and 1996-2011 periods. Further, we quantified publications in two Neotropical journals: Cotinga and Omitologia Neotropical. As in previous assessments, Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil were the best-represented countries, accounting for 54% of all references. Most Central American and Caribbean countries, as well as Guianan states, Paraguay, and Uruguay, remain poorly represented. All top-12 better-documented countries experienced significant increases in publication numbers. However, only the four better-documented countries have a ratio per species higher than 1.00. Numbers of papers published in Cotinga were led by Brazil and Ecuador, whereas Brazil and Argentina are the better-represented countries in Omitologia Neotropical. Poorly documented countries in these journals from the entire Neotropics are similar to those in Zoological Record. Neotropical residents authored 74% of papers published in Omitologia Neotropical. Ornithologists are currently contributing an unprecedented wealth of data on systematics and taxonomy, biogeography, evolution, natural history, and conservation of Neotropical birds. Current, unprecedented technological advancements (Internet, powerful bioinformatics, open-source algorithms, DNA sequencing) provide promising perspectives for the further development of Neotropical ornithology.