Breeding review of Gray-hooded Gull Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus in Brazil with contributions on nests and egg biometry

Abstract

The Gray-hooded Gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus) is a seabird distributed in almost all South American countries. However, breeding information on the species in Brazil is scarce. In this study, literature review and search in online databases (WikiAves and eBird) were carried out to gather breeding information on the species in the country and nests of the Gray-hooded Gull were recorded on the northern coast of the Rio de Janeiro state. Literature review indicated breeding records in Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Norte states. On WikiAves, 19 records of the species with nests, eggs, chicks and breeding colonies were reported between 2009 and 2020, in Macau, Rio Grande do Norte and one adult hatching at Rio Grande do Sul. In August 2019, two nests were recorded at Ubatuba lagoon (22°09′S and 41°18′W) in the Restinga de Jurubatiba National Park, in the Quissamã municipality in Rio de Janeiro. The nests were described and monitored during five weeks. Each nest contained two eggs and was built with the grass Paspalum vaginatum. Over time, the eggs were degraded and disappeared from the nests, without signs of hatching and possible predation. This study compiles for the first time all the breeding information on the species in Brazil and contributes with data about the nests and egg biometry.

Breeding biology review of White‑backed Stilt Himantopus melanurus in Brazil and a case study in the largest restinga protected area (Aves, Charadriiformes, Recurvirostridae)

“…The main predators of Recurvirostrid eggs are terrestrial vertebrates, which can either ingest the eggs (dogs, snakes) or trample them (cattle and horses) (Cuervo, 1993;Arroyo, 2000). In addition to mammals and reptiles, some birds also prey on eggs and chicks, such as herons, vultures and falcons that are abundant in the area (Teunissen et al, 2008;Andrade et al, 2020;Canabarro & Fedrizzi, 2010;Frias et al, 2020b). Despite the high number of preyed nests, about a quarter of them (26%) were successful, considering hatched eggs.…”

“…Literature and online plataforms (WikiAves, E-bird) review has been widely used to update information of birds species occurrence (Martínez-Curci et al, 2014;Frias et al, 2020a;Barbosa et al, 2021;Pinheiro et al, 2021;Kaiser et al, 2022), breeding (Scherer et al, 2013;Guilherme & Lima, 2020;Tubelis, 2020;Tubelis & Sazima, 2020;Frias et al, 2020b;Alexandrino et al, 2022), and migration (Schubert et al, 2019;Degroote et al, 2020).…”

Comportamiento reproductivo de Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus (Vieillot, 1818) (Charadriiformes: Laridae) y Coragyps atratus (Bechstein‎, 1793) (Cathartiformes: Cathartidae) en el humedal costero humedal de Villa, Lima-Perú

“…En el sector Sangradero, es común observar parches de grama dulce alrededor de la laguna, lo que la convierte en un recurso fácilmente accesible. Un estudio realizado en la laguna Ubatuba, Brasil también registró el uso de P. vaginatum como material de construcción de nidos, dado que esta planta es predominante en los alrededores de la laguna (Teixeira et al, 2020). En la laguna Chilca, Perú, la gaviota capucha gris empleó plumas de Flamenco chileno Phoenicopterus chilensis (Molina, 1782), una especie de ave común en la laguna (Tovar & Ashmole, 1970).…”

“…El promedio del diámetro externo del nido fue menor (20.21 ± 2.92 cm) que el registrado en Río de Janeiro (~23 cm) (Teixeira et al, 2020), y también menor que los nidos encontrados en Laguna Mayor (25,81 ± 0,98 cm) por Burgos et al (2023). Por otro lado, en nuestro estudio en promedio se registraron 1,83 huevo/nido (n= 12) para C. cirrocephalus; siendo similares a los valores encontrados para otras investigaciones: l.5 huevo/nido (n= 4 274) (Pierote de Sousa, 2021) y 1,75 huevo/nido (n=19) (Burgos et al, 2023).…”

“…Sin embargo, en un estudio realizado un año antes en Laguna Mayor se registraron tamaños mayores (56.2 ± 0.2 mm largo, 37.3 ± 0.4 mm ancho) (Burgos et al, 2023). Otros estudios en Brasil también han registrado una longitud mayor (57 ± 1.2 mm x 37.4 ± 1.7 mm) (Teixeira et al, 2020). El tamaño del huevo puede estar determinado por la disponibilidad y la habilidad de conseguir recursos de calidad, la condición ambiental, edad y tamaño de la hembra (Williams, 1994;Krist, 2011).…”