# Lebrija River

Lebrija River is a river of northern Colombia. It originates in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes in Piedecuesta and flows through the northern part of the department of Santander into the Magdalena River in Puerto Wilches.

## Etymology

The Lebrija River is named after Antonio de Lebrija, the conquistador who discovered the river in 1529.

## Description

The Lebrija River originates at an altitude of 2,532 metres (8,307 ft) in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes to the northeast of Piedecuesta, Santander. The Lebrija River, a confluence of the Suratá River and the Río de Oro, flows northward through the municipalities Girón, capital of Santander Bucaramanga, Lebrija and Sabana de Torres to flow into the Magdalena River near the Loma de Corredor, Puerto Wilches, Santander at an altitude of 41.1 m (135 ft). In the lower course of the river, it forms the natural boundary between Santander and Cesar, close to the border with Bolívar. About 100 kilometres (62 mi) of the river, with a total basin size of 8,790 square kilometres (1.362×10$^{13}$ sq in), is navegable.

### Geology

The type locality of the Girón Formation was identified along the Lebrija River in 1954. At this type section, a total thickness of 4,650 metres (15,260 ft) of the formation was registered in 1968. The type locality of the 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) thick La Paz Formation is also located near the river.

### Climate

The heavy rains over the capital district of Santander, the metropolitan area of Bucaramanga, have caused mortality of fish in the Lebrija River. The Lebrija River transports an average of 4,739,000,000 cubic metres (1.674×10$^{11}$ cu ft) of water per year. The maximum discharge at the San Rafael station has been registered in December with 706 cubic metres per second (24,900 cu ft/s) and the minimum in January with 55.1 cubic metres per second (1,950 cu ft/s). The higher basin of Lebrija Alto has between 66 and 2,065 millimetres (2.6 and 81.3 in) of precipitation per year in a bimodal pattern. The rainy seasons are March to May and September to November with drier periods from December to February and June to August. The temperature ranges from 0 and 35 °C (32 and 95 °F), the relative humidity reached 81% and the hours of sunshine vary between 1472 and 1913.

### Flora and fauna

Many species of flora and fauna have been registered in the Lebrija River basin. A total number of 761 species of which 172 birds, 77 insects, 124 mammals, 104 fish and 284 plant species have been noted at Rionegro, Santander. The Cerulean Warbler Bird Reserve is close to the Lebrija River in Bucaramanga.

#### Flora

The following species and genera are noted in the upper part of the Lebrija River: Ocotea sp., Miconia sp., Guarea grandifolia, Hedyosmum bomplandianum, Guateria sp., Protium sp., Ochroma sp., Piper sp., Trema micrantha, Vismia baccifera, Urera caracasana, Cecropia sp. and Croton leptostachis.

#### Fauna
##### Mammals

The following mammals have been registered in the upper and central Lebrija River basins:
| Name | Species |
| Venezuelan red howler | Alouatta seniculus |
| gray-handed night monkey | Aotus griseimembra |
| white-fronted capuchin | Cebus albifrons |
| oncilla | Leopardus pardalis |
| southern tamandua | Tamandua tetradactyla |
| northern tamandua | Tamandua mexicana |
| silky anteater | Cyclopes didactylus |
| Brazilian porcupine | Coendou prehensilis |
| crab-eating fox | Cerdocyon thous |
| crab-eating raccoon | Procyon cancrivorus |
| collared peccary | Pecari tajacu |
| red brocket | Mazama americana |
| red-tailed squirrel | Sciurus granatensis |
| brown-throated sloth | Bradypus variegatus |
| Linnaeus's two-toed sloth | Choloepus didactylus |
| Hoffmann's two-toed sloth | Choloepus hoffmanni |
| tapeti | Sylvilagus brasiliensis |
| eastern cottontail | Sylvilagus floridanus |
| common opossum | Didelphis marsupialis |
| brown four-eyed opossum | Metachirus nudicaudatus |
| sepia short-tailed opossum | Monodelphis adusta |
| mountain paca | Agouti paca |
| lowland paca | Cuniculus paca |
| black agouti | Dasyprocta fuliginosa |
| Central American agouti | Dasyprocta punctata |
| kinkajou | Potos flavus |
| tayra | Eira barbara |
| long-tailed weasel | Mustela frenata |
| striped hog-nosed skunk | Conepatus semistriatus |
| neotropical otter | Lontra longicaudis |
| nine-banded armadillo | Dasypus novemcinctus |
| northern naked-tailed armadillo | Cabassous centralis |
| dusky rice rat | Melanomys caliginosus |
| Jamaican fruit bat | Artibeus jamaicensis |
| pygmy fruit-eating bat | Artibeus phaeotis |
| silky short-tailed bat | Carollia brevicauda |
| Seba's short-tailed bat | Carollia perspicillata |
| common vampire bat | Desmodus rotundus |
| common big-eared bat | Micronycteris microtis |
| Heller's broad-nosed bat | Platyrrhinus helleri |
| greater sac-winged bat | Saccopteryx bilineata |
| little yellow-shouldered bat | Sturnira lilium |
| great fruit-eating bat | Artibeus lituratus |
| chestnut short-tailed bat | Carollia castanea |
| Thomas's shaggy bat | Centronycteris centralis |
| Godman's long-tailed bat | Choeroniscus godmani |
| northern ghost bat | Diclidurus albus |
| black myotis | Myotis nigricans |

##### Amphibians and reptiles

The following species have been registered in the central Lebrija River basin:
| Name | Species |
| palm rocket frog | Rheobates palmatus |
| robber frog | Craugastor raniformis |
| emerald-eyed tree frog | Hypsiboas crepitans |
| yellow treefrog | Dendropsophus microcephalus |
| Fleischmann's glass frog | Hyalinobatrachium fleischmanni |
| yellow-striped poison frog | Dendrobates truncatus |
| South American common toad | Rhinella margaritifera |
| | Dendropsophus subocularis |
| | Pristimantis miyatai |
| | Rulyrana adiazeta |
| | Allobates niputidea |
| fer-de-lance | Bothrops asper |
| blunthead tree snake | Imantodes cenchoa |
| red-nape snake | Ninia atrata |
| yellow-bellied snake | Coniophanes fissidens |
| | Micrurus dumerilii |
| turnip-tailed gecko | Thecadactylus rapicauda |
| | Polychrus marmoratus |
| | Anolis frenatus |
| | Anolis sulcifrons |
| | Lepidoblepharis xanthostigma |
| | Sphaerodactylus heliconiae |

##### Birds

The following species have been registered in the central Lebrija River basin:
| Name | Species |
| rufous-tailed hummingbird | Amazilia tzacatl |
| orange-billed sparrow | Arremon aurantiirostris |
| bright-rumped attila | Attila spadiceus |
| rufous-capped warbler | Basileuterus rufifrons |
| orange-chinned parakeet | Brotogeris jugularis |
| cattle egret | Bubulcus ibis |
| great black hawk | Buteogallus urubitinga |
| Muscovy duck | Cairina moschata |
| bicolored wren | Campylorhynchus griseus |
| turkey vulture | Cathartes aura |
| grey-cheeked thrush | Catharus minimus |
| golden-headed manakin | Ceratopipra erythrocephala |
| dusky antbird | Cercomacra tyrannina |
| green kingfisher | Chloroceryle americana |
| green honeycreeper | Chlorophanes spiza |
| blue-tailed emerald | Chlorostilbon mellisugus |
| bananaquit | Coereba flaveola |
| spot-breasted woodpecker | Colaptes punctigula |
| crested bobwhite | Colinus cristatus |
| ruddy ground dove | Columbina talpacoti |
| black vulture | Coragyps atratus |
| white-bibbed manakin | Corapipo leucorrhoa |
| smooth-billed ani | Crotophaga ani |
| little tinamou | Crypturellus soui |
| green jay | Cyanocorax yncas |
| rufous-browed peppershrike | Cyclarhis gujanensis |
| black-faced dacnis | Dacnis lineata |
| violet-bellied hummingbird | Damophila julie |
| plain-brown woodcreeper | Dendrocincla fuliginosa |
| straight-billed woodcreeper | Dendroplex picus |
| yellow-bellied elaenia | Elaenia flavogaster |
| mountain elaenia | Elaenia frantzii |
| white-tailed kite | Elanus leucurus |
| checker-throated stipplethroat | Epinecrophylla fulviventris |
| thick-billed euphonia | Euphonia laniirostris |
| white-necked jacobin | Florisuga mellivora |
| spectacled parrotlet | Forpus conspicillatus |
| white-tailed hawk | Geranoaetus albicaudatus |
| wedge-billed woodcreeper | Glyphorynchus spirurus |
| white-breasted wood wren | Henicorhina leucosticta |
| scrub greenlet | Hylophilus flavipes |
| yellow-backed oriole | Icterus chrysater |
| Euler's flycatcher | Lathrotriccus euleri |
| white-tipped dove | Leptotila verreauxi |
| striped manakin | Machaeropterus regulus |
| white-bearded manakin | Manacus manacus |
| boat-billed flycatcher | Megarhynchus pitangua |
| tropical screech owl | Megascops choliba |
| red-crowned woodpecker | Melanerpes rubricapillus |
| southern nightingale-wren | Microcerculus marginatus |
| yellow-headed caracara | Milvago chimachima |
| tropical mockingbird | Mimus gilvus |
| ochre-bellied flycatcher | Mionectes oleagineus |
| buff-rumped warbler | Myiothlypis fulvicauda |
| rusty-margined flycatcher | Myiozetetes cayanensis |
| pauraque | Nyctidromus albicollis |
| Colombian chachalaca | Ortalis columbiana |
| chestnut-bellied seed finch | Oryzoborus angolensis |
| cinereous becard | Pachyramphus rufus |
| band-tailed pigeon | Patagioenas fasciata |
| pale-bellied hermit | Phaethornis anthophilus |
| green hermit | Phaethornis guy |
| stripe-throated hermit | Phaethornis striigularis |
| olivaceous piculet | Picumnus olivaceus |
| great kiskadee | Pitangus sulphuratus |
| slaty-headed tody-flycatcher | Poecilotriccus sylvia |
| spectacled owl | Pulsatrix perspicillata |
| blue-and-white swallow | Pygochelidon cyanoleuca |
| vermilion flycatcher | Pyrocephalus rubinus |
| flame-rumped tanager | Ramphocelus flammigerus |
| crimson-backed tanager | Ramphocelus dimidiatus |
| roadside hawk | Rupornis magnirostris |
| olive-grey saltator | Saltator olivascens |
| buff-throated saltator | Saltator maximus |
| streaked saltator | Saltator striatipectus |
| black phoebe | Sayornis nigricans |
| saffron finch | Sicalis flaveola |
| Lesson's seedeater | Sporophila bouvronides |
| plumbeous seedeater | Sporophila plumbea |
| ruddy-breasted seedeater | Sporophila minuta |
| yellow-bellied seedeater | Sporophila nigricollis |
| southern rough-winged swallow | Stelgidopteryx ruficollis |
| chestnut-collared swift | Streptoprocne rutila |
| white-winged swallow | Tachycineta albiventer |
| white-shouldered tanager | Tachyphonus luctuosus |
| blue-necked tanager | Tangara cyanicollis |
| bay-headed tanager | Tangara gyrola |
| black-capped tanager | Tangara heinei |
| scrub tanager | Tangara vitriolina |
| barred antshrike | Thamnophilus doliatus |
| blue-grey tanager | Thraupis episcopus |
| palm tanager | Thraupis palmarum |
| band-tailed barbthroat | Threnetes ruckeri |
| sooty grassquit | Tiaris fuliginosus |
| fasciated tiger heron | Tigrisoma fasciatum |
| common tody-flycatcher | Todirostrum cinereum |
| house wren | Troglodytes aedon |
| black-billed thrush | Turdus ignobilis |
| pale-breasted thrush | Turdus leucomelas |
| tropical kingbird | Tyrannus melancholicus |
| red-eyed vireo | Vireo olivaceus |
| blue-black grassquit | Volatinia jacarina |
| plain xenops | Xenops minutus |
| eared dove | Zenaida auriculata |
| jet antbird | Cercomacra nigricans |
| sooty ant tanager | Habia gutturalis |
| sooty-headed wren | Pheugopedius spadix |
| brown-winged schiffornis | Schiffornis turdina |
| northern slaty antshrike | Thamnophilus punctatus |

##### Fish

The following species have been registered in the central Lebrija River basin:
| Name | Species |
| guppy | Poecilia reticulata |
| redhump eartheater | Geophagus steindachneri |
| wolf fish | Hoplias malabaricus |
| | Prochilodus magdalenae |
| | Sturisomatichthys leightoni |
| Cauca molly | Poecilia caucana |
| | Astroblepus homodon |
| | Leporinus muyscorum |
| | Ancistrus caucanus |
| | Astynax magdalenae |
| | Brycon henni |
| | Chaetostoma fischeri |
| | Chaetostoma milesi |
| | Gephyrocharax melanocheir |
| | Hemibrycon dentatus |
| | Hypostomus hondae |
| | Ichthyoelephas longirostris |
| | Parodon magdalenensis |
| | Pimelodus blochii |
| | Pimelodus grosskopfii |
| | Rhamdia quelen |
| | Roeboides dayii |
| | Salminus affinis |

## Trivia

* In 1898, Princess Theresa of Bavaria made the first reported finding of an egg of the Magdalena River turtle (Podocnemis lewyana) near the Lebrija River