The 1st Christmas Bird Count of Quito recorded 131 species of birds, of 34 families and 15 orders, reflecting that Quito has a largest species richness of birds that previously estimated. The most represented families were Thraupidae, Trochilidae, and Tyrannidae, and the most abundant species: Zenaida auriculata Eared Dove, Zonotrichia capensis Rufous-collared Sparrow, Turdus fuscater Great Thrush, Colibri coruscans Sparkling Violet-ear, and Spatula discors Blue-winged Teal. Almost one-third of the species were recorded in periuban and rural zones with large natural vegetation cover, far from the urban centre; and over one-third of the species were rare, apparently having small populations. The routes at Pululahua, Pichincha volcano, the valley of Guayllabamba, between the Zoo of Quito and the new airport, and the Parque Arqueológico Rumipamba (incl. the Rumiloma ravine) had the largest species richness and the largest amount of unique species. Thirteen boreal migratory species of birds were recorded; including the rare Progne subis Purple Martin and the first individual of Larus smithsonianus American Herring Gull for Ecuador. Twentyone taxa of birds observed at the count are almost endemic to the Andes of Ecuador. The Christmas Bird Count of Quito is a citizen science activity that can generate long-term information on the diversity and population evology of the birds, allowing the development of conservation estrategies for the birds and wildlife of Quito.

The Streaked Saltator, Saltator striatipectus, is an uncommon to common resident of open areas, cultivated land, gardens, and forest edges, with ten subspecies recognized from west Costa Rica through west Peru (Brewer 2016). Patterns of plumage variation, especially mantle color and streaking pattern below, are complex across subspecies and age classes (Chapman 1926; Ridgely & Tudor 2009; Brewer 2016). Until recently, S. striatipectus was considered conspecific with the Lesser Antillean Saltator S. albicollis, but separated on the basis of genetic differentiation despite overall plumage similarities (Seutin et al. 1993). Actually, S. striatipectus and S. albicollis are not each other’s closest relatives (Chaves et al. 2013).