Generales

By Ronal Magnum Castañeda Tabares, Journalist at UdeA Communications Office 

Between 1994 and 2025, researchers from the Universidad de Antioquia surveyed the bird species that inhabit or migrate through University City. Drawing from the collected data, they classified the birds into several groups, including usual, endemic, near-endemic, and globally threatened species. Interestingly, the university grounds host a quarter of all bird species observed across the Aburrá Valley.

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Among the bird species recorded at the Universidad de Antioquia’s Central Campus is the yellow-throated euphonia (Euphonia laniirostris). Photo courtesy of Sergio Chaparro Herrera. 

Stepping into University City at the University of Colombia is like entering a sanctuary filled with thousands of trees and hundreds of bird species. This campus is more than a place of study; it’s one of Medellín’s most vital ecological strongholds. It sits within a green belt that connects to the north with Parque Norte and the Joaquín Antonio Uribe Botanical Garden. To the west, it links to Cerro El Volador Metropolitan Regional Natural Park and the Volador Campus of the National University of Colombia. The Medellín River, which defines the area’s main ecological corridor, borders University City. These green spaces and corridors form a living network — like highways and cities — that sustains the life and movement of birds across the region. 

The study “Birds of the Central Campus of the Universidad de Antioquia,” published in February 2025 in the SAO Bulletin—a scientific journal indexed by the Antioquia Ornithological Society—details the work of researchers who surveyed bird species on campus from 1993 to 2025. 

The authors compiled data from this study with information from other publications that track bird species at the university. They also included their observations from 2014 to 2022 and data from eBird, one of the most extensive online databases for bird information. 

The authors meticulously curated the data, cross-checking records to ensure no species were misidentified or recorded outside their established geographic range. This rigorous process culminated in a study that offers a historical, curated, and comprehensive database of the bird species inhabiting or migrating through the university’s central campus. 

The researchers found that 121 bird species currently visit the Alma Mater, including one endemic species—Ortalis columbiana, or guacharaca, which is native to Colombia. They also identified four nearly endemic species, meaning their largest populations are in Colombia but extend beyond its borders: Saucerottia saucerottei (blue-tailed hummingbird), Forpus conspicillatus (spectacled parakeet), Thamnophilus multistriatus (laughter), and Stilpnia vitriolina (stubble tanager). Additionally, they recorded three globally threatened species: Psittacara wagleri (red-fronted parrot), Contopus cooperi (boreal pibi), and Setophaga cerulea (cerulean warbler). The study also reports 25 boreal migratory species, which migrate from North America, and four altitudinal migratory species, which move between low and high altitudes. 

The most common birds at the university are the flycatchers (family Tyrannidae), which, as their name suggests, primarily feed on insects. A frequent visitor to the Universidad de Antioquia is Pitangus sulphuratus, known for its tendency to frequent areas where food is available. The second most prominent group is the tanagers (family Thraupidae), easily identifiable by their vibrant plumage and thick, robust beaks. 

To present the findings more clearly, the authors categorized the species based on visitation frequency: 52 species were classified as usual, 27 as occasional, and 42 as rare. This study offers a snapshot of the avifauna and highlights its evolution. 

Green campuses 

The central campus of the Universidad de Antioquia in Medellín, known as University City, covers 28.75 hectares, of which 15.36 hectares—more than half—are covered in greenery, including grass, trees, shrubs, and palm trees. This green space is a rare feature in the Aburrá Valley. A 2023 study by researchers from the Universidad de Antioquia and the National University of Colombia, Medellín campus, revealed that the Valley is about 80% built-up and only 20% green, consisting mainly of grass and trees. 

University campuses in Medellín and around the world often function as vital green lungs in urban environments because of their unique role in supporting biodiversity and providing green spaces. The Universidad Antioquia (UdeA), with the surrounding green spaces, plays a key role in Medellín’s ecological framework. As one of the country’s most densely populated cities, Medellín has an estimated population density of 6,000 inhabitants per square kilometer. 

Migratory birds 

The long-eared owl (Asio stygius), a species observed at the Universidad de Antioquia (UdeA), is classified as rare or infrequent. Photo courtesy of Sergio Chaparro Herrera. 

The report on birds visiting the University of Acapulco (UAA) highlighted several boreal migratory species that migrate from North America. These birds migrate southward in the winter when food sources become scarce, and temperatures drop in their northern habitats. They migrate to tropical regions, where food is plentiful throughout the year. 

“These birds travel between 4,000 and 9,000 kilometers in search of tropical regions. Before returning, they feed heavily to build up the energy reserves needed for the journey—some species make stops along the way, while others complete it nonstop. They gain weight to complete the return to their breeding grounds—part of their annual cycle. Still, there are exceptions: in the Aburrá Valley and other parts of the country, some individuals from migratory species remain and form resident populations,” explained Sergio Chaparro Herrera, a researcher with the Vertebrate Ecology and Evolution Group at the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, and one of the four authors of the study. 

The expert explains that these birds start arriving in the Aburrá Valley in September, with peak migration usually occurring in October. They return to their breeding grounds around April. 

“To complete their long migrations, many birds navigate along coastlines or follow mountain ranges like the Andes. Medellín’s location in the northwestern corner of South America makes it a natural stopover for species heading to areas such as the eastern Andes, the Orinoquía, or the Amazon. The university campus offers key resources—shelter and food—for some of these travelers. Migratory warblers (Setophaga) often feed on the campus’s abundant insects. Others, like the Cuaresmero hawks, are observed flying overhead. Species such as the migratory black vulture likely use the area as a resting point,” said Juan Luis Parra, associate professor at the Institute of Biology, Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences. He contributed observations to the study and has been a mentor, colleague, and friend to the researchers involved. 

Another reason to visit the UdeA 

The blackbird (Turdus ignobilis) is a common species at UdeA. Photo courtesy of Sergio Chaparro Herrera. 

The compiled data also highlighted the ecosystem services provided by these species. “Hummingbirds play a key role as pollinators, and some birds assist in seed dispersal, which is vital for regenerating forests and ecosystems. We also have larger predators, like owls, that serve as natural controllers of pests, such as large insects and rodents,” Chaparro Herrera explained. 

Studying birds allows us to gauge the health of ecosystems, serving as “a reliable bioindicator of their status at any given time,” he stated. 

Finally, Professor Parra emphasized the study’s importance in demonstrating how understanding local biodiversity can provide insights into environmental quality. “The focus on sustainable urban areas is growing, and sustainability includes environmental quality. We can measure this quality through air, water, and temperature quality. However, the first indicators of changes in environmental quality are often the organisms directly affected,” explained the professor and researcher from the Vertebrate Ecology and Evolution Group. 

Finally, it’s important to highlight that the 121 bird species reported at University City in 2025 account for 24% of the species found in the Aburrá Valley, which hosts over 500 species (out of 1,969 recorded in Colombia). Visitors can observe, hear, and appreciate a quarter of the bird species in the Aburrá Valley at the Universidad de Antioquia. 

GEEV research lines 

The Vertebrate Ecology and Evolution Group (GEEV) at the Universidad de Antioquia leads several bird research projects in Antioquia. They focus on bird diversity, bioacoustics, bird-borne diseases like avian malaria, and conservation. For several years, they have collaborated with EPM to monitor bird populations in the area impacted by the Ituango hydroelectric project in the Cauca River Canyon. The group is also involved in the Atlapetes project, which focuses on studying and conserving the Paisa Mountain sparrow (Atlapetes blancae), an endemic species found in the Santa Rosa de Osos plateau in northern Antioquia, a region facing significant habitat destruction.