Juan Ruiz-Esparza

Birds of the Grota do Angico Natural Monument in the semi-arid Caatinga scrublands of northeastern Brazil

No inventario da avifauna do Monumento Natural Grota de Angico na Caatinga ao norte de Sergipe, Brasil, revelou a presenca de pelo menos 140 especies, incluindo nove endemicas da Caatinga e florestas sazonais adjacentes. Apesar do alcance limitado do estudo (duas expedicoes em Julho e Agosto, 2008), a riqueza de especies registrada no sitio aparentemente pode ser tipica da regiao e do Bioma Caatinga.

Uroderma magnirostrum Davis, 1968 (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae): First record from the state of Sergipe, northeastern Brazil

This study provides the first record of Uroderma magnirostrum Davis, 1968 from the state of Sergipe in the Brazilian northeast, based on the capture of two specimens, one male and one female. The morphometric data and morphological characters were consistent with those recorded for the species at other Brazilian sites. This record extends the distributional range of the species within South America approximately 220 km eastwards.

Predation of birds in mist nets by callitrichids (primates): how to prevent similar events

ABSTRACT We report predation of four birds while caught in mist nets and recommend some means of prevention. Two birds were attacked by Callitrhix jacchus and one by Saguinus midas. The predator in the fourth case was unidentified. These cases were relatively rare, affecting 0.4–4.4% of the captured birds. Two of the predated birds were caught more than 1 m above the ground and may have been accessed from branches. The other two were caught close to the ground. Reducing time intervals between net checks and cutting off branches close to nets may reduce bird predation in mist nets.

Diversity of birds in the Mata do Junco State Wildlife Refuge, a remnant of the Atlantic Forest of Northeastern Brazil

This study presents an inventory of the bird fauna of the Mata do Junco State Wildlife Refuge in Capela, in the northeastern Brazilian state of Sergipe. Monthly samples were collected between January 2011 and May 2012. Each 3-day sample was based on mist-netting (100 m) in two areas and the compilation of MacKinnon lists of 10 species. During the 17 months of the study period, the occurrence of 129 bird species belonging to 41 families was confirmed for the study area. In the mist-nets, a total of 469 individuals representing 58 species were captured in 3400 net-hours of sampling effort. A total of 100 MacKinnon lists were compiled, resulting in an inventory of 119 bird species. Eight of the species are endemic to Brazil, of which, five are restricted to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Three of the species are included in the IUCN Red List, at different levels of concern. Overall, the results of the study indicate that the Mata do Junco represents an important area for the protection of the region’s avian fauna and the habitats they rely on.

Expansion of the known range of Marmosops incanus (Mammalia, Didelphimorphia, Didelphinae) to the right bank of the São Francisco River in north-east Brazil

Abstract The family Didelphidae includes most of the New World marsupials, with 97 species distributed in 18 genera. The slender opossums, genus Marmosops, include 15 species, of which 8 can be found in Brazil. Two of these species, Marmosops paulensis and Marmosops incanus, are endemic to eastern Brazil. M. incanus is more widely distributed, being found in coastal Atlantic forests of south-eastern Brazil, but also further north into peripheral areas of the Cerrado savannas and the Caatinga scrublands. Before the present study, the northernmost record of M. incanus was from the municipality of São Gonçalo dos Campos, in the Brazilian state of Bahia. The present study provides the first records of the species from the Brazilian state of Sergipe, and extends its geographic range as far as the right bank of the São Francisco River, 320 km north and east of its previous northernmost locality in the state of Bahia. Specimens were collected from two sites in Sergipe, the Mata do Junco Wildlife, in the Atlantic Forest, and a highland forest enclave in the Caatinga at Serra da Guia, in the eastern extreme of the state.

First record of Dermanura anderseni (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) for the Atlantic Forest

Abstract The genus Dermanura currently comprises 11 species, four of which occur in Brazil. Dermanura anderseni was previously recorded only in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes. Here, we expand the known geographic distribution of D. anderseni over 1000 km eastwards for the Atlantic Forest biome. We captured an adult male specimen in mist-nets set at ground level in the Caju Private Natural Heritage Reserve, Itaporanga D’Ajuda, Sergipe State, northeastern Brazil. Owing to their similarities in external morphology, D. anderseni may be easily mistaken for Dermanura cinerea. Thus, considering that D. cinerea is one of the most common species in the Atlantic Forest of northeastern Brazil, we are alert for the possibility of misidentified specimens in zoological collections.

Consumption of leaves by Carollia perspicillata (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae): a new dimension of the species’ feeding ecology

Abstract Relatively little is known about folivory in bats, which is considered an occasional item in the diet of phyllostomids. Here we provide evidence on the consumption of leaves by Carollia perspicillata in northeastern Brazil, through records of its feeding behavior using camera traps, during the monitoring of the Gruta da Janela cave. The analysis of 12 months of monitoring revealed folivory in 7 months. Extra footage (1-min samples) allowed us to confirm C. perspicillata consuming the whole leaf (juices and fibers), which was never recorded in Neotropical bats. The record provides new insights into the diet of C. perspicillata, with an important new perspective on the feeding ecology of the species. We also highlight the use of camera traps as an important tool to monitor bat colonies in permanent shelters.

Range extension for Wedge-billed Woodcreeper Glyphorynchus spirurus cuneatus in north-east Brazil

Wedge-billed Woodcreeper Glyphorynchus spirurus is the smallest dendrocolaptid in Brazil. It occurs from Mexico to Bolivia, including Amazonian Brazil and the Atlantic Forest (Sick 1997). Thirteen subspecies are recognised, of which eight occur in Brazil (Piacentini et al. 2015). G. s. cuneatus is endemic to the east coast of Brazil, in the states of Bahia and Espírito Santo. On 20 March 2016, a G. spirurus (Fig. 1) was trapped in a mist-net at Fazenda Rio Fundo (11°08’07”S, 37°18’43”W), Itaporanga D’Ajuda municipality, Sergipe, Brazil. This private reserve encompasses fragments of forest, with a total area of c.800 ha, within a matrix of eucalypt and bamboo plantations, and pasture. Vegetation is typical deciduous Atlantic Forest of coastal restinga habitats in Sergipe, growing on sandy soils with a continuous canopy of 5–10 m in height (Beltrão-Mendes et al. 2011). Our record of G. spirurus represents an extension of the species’ range in eastern Brazil (BirdLife International 2017) by c.195 km north (Fig. 2), based on the published literature. However, two previously unpublished specimens for Sergipe are held at the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (MZUSP 83411–412). These were collected by

Range extension for Buff-fronted Owl Aegolius harrisii in north-east Brazil and a case of Heterochromia iridis in Strigidae

Buff-fronted Owl Aegolius harrisii is one of 22 species of Strigidae in Brazil (Sick 1997). The species has a circum-Amazon range (Barlow & Cuello 1964, Fjeldså & Krabbe 1990, König et al. 1999, Barrionuevo et al. 2008, Ubaid et al. 2012) and is found from sea level to 3,800 m (Lima & Castro 1994, Marks et al. 1999, Bravo & Barrio 2014). In Brazil, isolated records indicate that A. harrisii is distributed throughout most of the east of the country (Kaminski 2009, Santos 2009, Rebelato et al. 2011, Ubaid et al. 2012, Santos et al. 2014). Here