Robson Silva e Silva - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Robson Silva e Silva

Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia, 2023

Kinglet Calyptura Calyptura cristata is one of the great enigmas of the South American avifauna. ... more Kinglet Calyptura Calyptura cristata is one of the great enigmas of the South American avifauna. Endemic to an apparently tiny area of southeastern Brazil, in the Atlantic Forest biome, the species was not definitely seen between sometime in the second third of the 1800s and 1996, when it was briefly rediscovered in submontane forest northwest of Rio de Janeiro. Since then, C. cristata has been reported several times, but without documentation and always by single observers. It is currently considered Critically Endangered by BirdLife International, and various authors have speculated that the species might already be extinct. Given the extreme paucity of knowledge of this species, we provide a complete inventory of museum material for Kinglet Calyptura-more than 100 specimens are listed, the majority held in European collections, almost doubling previous estimates made in the literature. Several are held in relatively small institutions, thereby suggesting that yet more specimens might still be identified or found. In addition, with the benefit of this large sample of material, we discuss morphological variation in the species and we hypothesise particularly about the appearance of male, female and juvenile plumages.

Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia, 2021

Culicivora caudacuta occurs in the Cerrado, Pampa and Chaco grasslands of Bolivia, Brazil, Paragu... more Culicivora caudacuta occurs in the Cerrado, Pampa and Chaco grasslands of Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay. Its breeding biology is poorly known. Here, I present a summary of the published information and new data gathered between 2003 and 2009 in southeast Brazil at Tapira, Minas Gerais. Breeding occurred during the rainy season (October to March), clutch size being three eggs. Juveniles and immatures show a different plumage from the adults, mostly brownish orange. All nests studied at Tapira showed evidence of cooperative breeding, with one helper engaged in incubation and provisioning the young. This is the first observations of this behavior for the species. The species has a wider range than currently understood and its presence in protected areas is similarly more common.

Atualidades Ornitológicas, 2020

First records of six species of waterbirds in the state of Minas Gerais, southeast Brazil. Betwee... more First records of six species of waterbirds in the state of Minas Gerais, southeast Brazil. Between 2002 and 2006 six species of waterbirds were recorded in the Triângulo Mineiro, which until then had not been listed for the Minas Gerais state. The species were recorded in the facilities of the company Fosfertil, currently Mosaic Fertilizantes, being Anas bahamensis in Tapira, and Laterallus exilis, Charadrius semipalmatus, Calidris himantopus, Phalaropus tricolor and Amblyramphus holosericeus in Uberaba. The species used artificial habitats, as dams and temporary lagoons, in addition to flood-plains or marginal lagoons of Rio Grande.

Atualidades Ornitológicas, 2020

New bird records for the mangroves of Santos and Cubatão (São Paulo), southeast Brazil. The mang... more New bird records for the mangroves of Santos and Cubatão (São Paulo), southeast Brazil. The mangroves of Santos-Cubatão, coast of São Paulo state, hold one of the most diverse bird communities in this habitat anywhere in the Neo-tropics. Here we presented 53 new species first recorded for the area and supply further information on 70 species considered to be regionally rare or uncommon. The updated list for the area now totals 321 species (seven exotic), highlighting the importance of its conservation in the face of increasing pressures from port developments and urbanization.

Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club , 2019

We report a documented record of a Great Frigatebird Fregata minor at Fernando de Noronha, 360 km... more We report a documented record of a Great Frigatebird Fregata minor
at Fernando de Noronha, 360 km of the coast of northeast Brazil in the equatorial Atlantic. We presume that the bird at Fernando de Noronha originated from Trindade Island, c.1,800 km to the south, since it is the species’ nearest breeding site, and we hypothesise that it moved with the south-east trade winds towards the north-east Brazilian coast.

Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 2017

An event of infanticide by Scarlet Ibises (Eudocimus ruber) was observed on 14 January 2014 in a ... more An event of infanticide by Scarlet Ibises (Eudocimus ruber) was observed on 14 January 2014 in a breeding colony located in the mangrove swamps of Cubatão, southeastern Brazil. During a fight over a nest involving several adults who were stealing nesting material, two young (about four and seven days old) were thrown out from the nest and immediately attacked by a pair of adult birds, especially the female. This attack ceased only after the young fell in the water and drowned. The lack of intensive monitoring may be a reason infanticide is commonly underestimated, and mostly unrecorded, by most studies on bird breeding biology. More detailed studies, with adequate monitoring, are required to understand the role played by infanticide in the biology and population dynamics of colonial waterbirds.

Atualidades Ornitológicas, 2017

We present the first records of Coscoroba coscoroba from São Paulo State, southeastern Brazil.

Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, Dec 2015

We revise the distribution and habitat associations of Aramides cajaneus avicenniae, a localised ... more We revise the distribution and habitat associations of Aramides cajaneus avicenniae, a localised Brazilian form of the
widespread Gray-necked Wood-Rail, and provide data on its foraging and breeding behaviors. This rail is a mangrove specialist
endemic to the coastal belt from São Paulo to Santa Catarina, with some insular populations off the northern coast of São Paulo.
Crabs, especially Uca spp., are the main prey in mangroves while island birds feed on large ground-dwelling arthropods and scavenge
fish dropped by seabirds. Breeding is tied to the rainy season and nests found in mangrove sites were built with twigs and leaves on
trees overhanging rivers and tidal channels and had 1-6 eggs.

Atualidades Ornitológicas, 2014

Ornitologia Neotropical, 1997

Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, Dec 2006

Record of Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) in the cerrado of Tapira, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. On... more Record of Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) in the cerrado of Tapira, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.
On 23 February 2006 an adult Harpy Eagle, probably female, was seen and photographed in an area of open cerrado in Tapira, southwestern Minas Gerais. This seems to be the first recent record of a Harpy in the core area of the cerrado, and one of the very few documented records of this regionally threatened species in southeastern Brazil.

Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, Sep 2006

Records of Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra) in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. The first records ... more Records of Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra) in the State of São Paulo, Brazil.
The first records of Masked Booby in the state of São Paulo, based in four specimens, are presented. One sub-adult and one immature were found alive on the beaches of Santos and São Vicente during the summer months of 2001 and 2002, and two dead immatures were found at Laje de Santos islet in 2005. Two specimens are now housed in the collections
of the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (MZUSP).

Ararajuba

Catharacta chilensis (Bonaparte, 1857) in Brazil. Brazil has been commonly included in the distri... more Catharacta chilensis (Bonaparte, 1857) in Brazil. Brazil has been commonly included in the distribution of the Chilean Skua Catharacta chilensis but documented records from the country are rare. Specimens have been collected in Rio Grande do Sul (now in the collections of FURG and MN), Santa Catarina (BM), Rio de Janeiro (AMNH and YPM) and Bahia (MCNC).

Ornitologia Neotropical, 2002

The breeding biology of Little Blue Herons (Egretta caerulea) nesting in Santos-Cubatão, southeas... more The breeding biology of Little Blue Herons (Egretta caerulea) nesting in Santos-Cubatão, southeastern Brazil, was studied during the 1997 (75 monitored nests) and 1998 (65 nests) breeding seasons in one colony (Saboó River), and during the 1997 season (58 nests) in another colony nearby (Morrão River).
Both mixed-species colonies were in mangroves affected by pollution and port activities. Colonies were active in September–March (Saboó River), and November–March (Morrão River). Little Blue Herons built their nests lower in the red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) Morrão River colony where Scarlet Ibises (Eudocimus ruber) were the commonest nesting species, and nested higher in trees of the white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa) Saboó River colony, where they were most common. Breeding chronology was similar to
North American populations but clutch sizes were smaller (mean 2.21 to 2.57 eggs/nest), productivity lower (mean 0.53 to 0.98 young/breeding attempt) and young remained with adults for longer. Nest collapse, followed by predation, accounted for most failures. Parasitism by nematode worms may be an important source of mortality in some years. Differences in nest-sites between colonies resulted both from
the vegetation structure and interactions with other nesting species; male herons likely tend to select the more exposed display territories (where nests will be built).

Waterbirds, 2001

We studied the diet composition and overlap of Scarlet Ibises (Eudocimus ruber) and Little Blue H... more We studied the diet composition and overlap of Scarlet Ibises (Eudocimus ruber) and Little Blue Herons (Egretta merulea) in a mangrove swamp in southeast Brazil during the 19961997 breeding season, which occurs during the rainiest period. Crabs comprised 95% of all prey taken by the ibises and 80% of the prey of the herons.
Nevertheless, diet overlap was small (30%) due to ibises feeding mostly on C'ca spp. and Eulythium limosum crabs,
which were taken from their burrows; the herons fed on the arboreal and semi-arboreal Aratus pisonii and veta asesarma
rubripes crabs. Divergent hunting strategies of ibises (tactile foragers) and herons (visually-oriented predators)
explains the diet segregation when preying on an ecologically diverse crab guild, but it is unclear why herons prey rarely on fiddler crabs. Scarlet Ibises bred successfully while feeding on estuarine organisms living in low salinities in the mangroves, showing that mangroves may be adequate foraging habitats for chick-rearing ibises during periods of low salinity.

Waterbirds, 2001

The breeding biology of the only Scarlet Ibis Eudocimus ruber colony in southeastern Brazil was s... more The breeding biology of the only Scarlet Ibis Eudocimus ruber colony in southeastern Brazil was studied during the 1996-97 breeding season. The ibises began to visit their colony site by mid September. Nest building and egg laying took place in early November and was synchronous, making the first "nesting pulse". Mean clutch size in this pulse was 2.45 eggs/nest, and 0.67 young/nest reached age three weeks, when they were able to walk about the nest tree and environs. Predation was the main cause of nest failures (74% of all losses), followed by nest collapses (19%). A second nesting pulse. also synchronous, started in late December, when the young from the first nests were already able to wander about the colony and make short flights. Mean clutch size of this pulse was 2.05 eggs/nest and productivity was 0.54 young/nest. Nest collapses during storms accounted for 38% of the losses, and predation for a further 27%. A third pulse, with only a few nests, started when the second pulse young were in their third week, but no nest was successful. The incubation time was 21-24 days. and the young were able to fly well when 40 days old, deserting the colony by age 75 days. Nesting early in the breeding season yielded greater success. Nests were built close to each other (a sphere with a 1.8 m radius and centered on an average nest would include the four nearest neighbors) and there tras always more than one nest per tree. Most nests were built on the upper third of
the nest-tree and had some cover from overhanging branches. There was a trend for the ibises building their nests in even closer proximity during the second pulse, perhaps as a strategy to lessen individual predation risks.

Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, Mar 2008

ReSumO: O entufado Merulaxis ater (Rhinocryptidae) abrigando-se em cavidade. Um par de Merulaxis ... more ReSumO: O entufado Merulaxis ater (Rhinocryptidae) abrigando-se em cavidade. Um par de Merulaxis ater foi observado, por dois dias consecutivos no final da tarde, se recolhendo em uma profunda fissura natural em um afloramento de calcário no Parque Estadual Intervales, São Paulo, Brasil. A fissura, parcialmente preenchida por folhas e outros materiais, parecia estar em uso a bastante tempo, sugerindo que esta espécie habitualmente utiliza cavidades como abrigo noturno.

Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia, 2023

Kinglet Calyptura Calyptura cristata is one of the great enigmas of the South American avifauna. ... more Kinglet Calyptura Calyptura cristata is one of the great enigmas of the South American avifauna. Endemic to an apparently tiny area of southeastern Brazil, in the Atlantic Forest biome, the species was not definitely seen between sometime in the second third of the 1800s and 1996, when it was briefly rediscovered in submontane forest northwest of Rio de Janeiro. Since then, C. cristata has been reported several times, but without documentation and always by single observers. It is currently considered Critically Endangered by BirdLife International, and various authors have speculated that the species might already be extinct. Given the extreme paucity of knowledge of this species, we provide a complete inventory of museum material for Kinglet Calyptura-more than 100 specimens are listed, the majority held in European collections, almost doubling previous estimates made in the literature. Several are held in relatively small institutions, thereby suggesting that yet more specimens might still be identified or found. In addition, with the benefit of this large sample of material, we discuss morphological variation in the species and we hypothesise particularly about the appearance of male, female and juvenile plumages.

Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia, 2021

Culicivora caudacuta occurs in the Cerrado, Pampa and Chaco grasslands of Bolivia, Brazil, Paragu... more Culicivora caudacuta occurs in the Cerrado, Pampa and Chaco grasslands of Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay. Its breeding biology is poorly known. Here, I present a summary of the published information and new data gathered between 2003 and 2009 in southeast Brazil at Tapira, Minas Gerais. Breeding occurred during the rainy season (October to March), clutch size being three eggs. Juveniles and immatures show a different plumage from the adults, mostly brownish orange. All nests studied at Tapira showed evidence of cooperative breeding, with one helper engaged in incubation and provisioning the young. This is the first observations of this behavior for the species. The species has a wider range than currently understood and its presence in protected areas is similarly more common.

Atualidades Ornitológicas, 2020

First records of six species of waterbirds in the state of Minas Gerais, southeast Brazil. Betwee... more First records of six species of waterbirds in the state of Minas Gerais, southeast Brazil. Between 2002 and 2006 six species of waterbirds were recorded in the Triângulo Mineiro, which until then had not been listed for the Minas Gerais state. The species were recorded in the facilities of the company Fosfertil, currently Mosaic Fertilizantes, being Anas bahamensis in Tapira, and Laterallus exilis, Charadrius semipalmatus, Calidris himantopus, Phalaropus tricolor and Amblyramphus holosericeus in Uberaba. The species used artificial habitats, as dams and temporary lagoons, in addition to flood-plains or marginal lagoons of Rio Grande.

Atualidades Ornitológicas, 2020

New bird records for the mangroves of Santos and Cubatão (São Paulo), southeast Brazil. The mang... more New bird records for the mangroves of Santos and Cubatão (São Paulo), southeast Brazil. The mangroves of Santos-Cubatão, coast of São Paulo state, hold one of the most diverse bird communities in this habitat anywhere in the Neo-tropics. Here we presented 53 new species first recorded for the area and supply further information on 70 species considered to be regionally rare or uncommon. The updated list for the area now totals 321 species (seven exotic), highlighting the importance of its conservation in the face of increasing pressures from port developments and urbanization.

Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club , 2019

We report a documented record of a Great Frigatebird Fregata minor at Fernando de Noronha, 360 km... more We report a documented record of a Great Frigatebird Fregata minor
at Fernando de Noronha, 360 km of the coast of northeast Brazil in the equatorial Atlantic. We presume that the bird at Fernando de Noronha originated from Trindade Island, c.1,800 km to the south, since it is the species’ nearest breeding site, and we hypothesise that it moved with the south-east trade winds towards the north-east Brazilian coast.

Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 2017

An event of infanticide by Scarlet Ibises (Eudocimus ruber) was observed on 14 January 2014 in a ... more An event of infanticide by Scarlet Ibises (Eudocimus ruber) was observed on 14 January 2014 in a breeding colony located in the mangrove swamps of Cubatão, southeastern Brazil. During a fight over a nest involving several adults who were stealing nesting material, two young (about four and seven days old) were thrown out from the nest and immediately attacked by a pair of adult birds, especially the female. This attack ceased only after the young fell in the water and drowned. The lack of intensive monitoring may be a reason infanticide is commonly underestimated, and mostly unrecorded, by most studies on bird breeding biology. More detailed studies, with adequate monitoring, are required to understand the role played by infanticide in the biology and population dynamics of colonial waterbirds.

Atualidades Ornitológicas, 2017

We present the first records of Coscoroba coscoroba from São Paulo State, southeastern Brazil.

Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, Dec 2015

We revise the distribution and habitat associations of Aramides cajaneus avicenniae, a localised ... more We revise the distribution and habitat associations of Aramides cajaneus avicenniae, a localised Brazilian form of the
widespread Gray-necked Wood-Rail, and provide data on its foraging and breeding behaviors. This rail is a mangrove specialist
endemic to the coastal belt from São Paulo to Santa Catarina, with some insular populations off the northern coast of São Paulo.
Crabs, especially Uca spp., are the main prey in mangroves while island birds feed on large ground-dwelling arthropods and scavenge
fish dropped by seabirds. Breeding is tied to the rainy season and nests found in mangrove sites were built with twigs and leaves on
trees overhanging rivers and tidal channels and had 1-6 eggs.

Atualidades Ornitológicas, 2014

Ornitologia Neotropical, 1997

Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, Dec 2006

Record of Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) in the cerrado of Tapira, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. On... more Record of Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) in the cerrado of Tapira, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.
On 23 February 2006 an adult Harpy Eagle, probably female, was seen and photographed in an area of open cerrado in Tapira, southwestern Minas Gerais. This seems to be the first recent record of a Harpy in the core area of the cerrado, and one of the very few documented records of this regionally threatened species in southeastern Brazil.

Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, Sep 2006

Records of Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra) in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. The first records ... more Records of Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra) in the State of São Paulo, Brazil.
The first records of Masked Booby in the state of São Paulo, based in four specimens, are presented. One sub-adult and one immature were found alive on the beaches of Santos and São Vicente during the summer months of 2001 and 2002, and two dead immatures were found at Laje de Santos islet in 2005. Two specimens are now housed in the collections
of the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (MZUSP).

Ararajuba

Catharacta chilensis (Bonaparte, 1857) in Brazil. Brazil has been commonly included in the distri... more Catharacta chilensis (Bonaparte, 1857) in Brazil. Brazil has been commonly included in the distribution of the Chilean Skua Catharacta chilensis but documented records from the country are rare. Specimens have been collected in Rio Grande do Sul (now in the collections of FURG and MN), Santa Catarina (BM), Rio de Janeiro (AMNH and YPM) and Bahia (MCNC).

Ornitologia Neotropical, 2002

The breeding biology of Little Blue Herons (Egretta caerulea) nesting in Santos-Cubatão, southeas... more The breeding biology of Little Blue Herons (Egretta caerulea) nesting in Santos-Cubatão, southeastern Brazil, was studied during the 1997 (75 monitored nests) and 1998 (65 nests) breeding seasons in one colony (Saboó River), and during the 1997 season (58 nests) in another colony nearby (Morrão River).
Both mixed-species colonies were in mangroves affected by pollution and port activities. Colonies were active in September–March (Saboó River), and November–March (Morrão River). Little Blue Herons built their nests lower in the red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) Morrão River colony where Scarlet Ibises (Eudocimus ruber) were the commonest nesting species, and nested higher in trees of the white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa) Saboó River colony, where they were most common. Breeding chronology was similar to
North American populations but clutch sizes were smaller (mean 2.21 to 2.57 eggs/nest), productivity lower (mean 0.53 to 0.98 young/breeding attempt) and young remained with adults for longer. Nest collapse, followed by predation, accounted for most failures. Parasitism by nematode worms may be an important source of mortality in some years. Differences in nest-sites between colonies resulted both from
the vegetation structure and interactions with other nesting species; male herons likely tend to select the more exposed display territories (where nests will be built).

Waterbirds, 2001

We studied the diet composition and overlap of Scarlet Ibises (Eudocimus ruber) and Little Blue H... more We studied the diet composition and overlap of Scarlet Ibises (Eudocimus ruber) and Little Blue Herons (Egretta merulea) in a mangrove swamp in southeast Brazil during the 19961997 breeding season, which occurs during the rainiest period. Crabs comprised 95% of all prey taken by the ibises and 80% of the prey of the herons.
Nevertheless, diet overlap was small (30%) due to ibises feeding mostly on C'ca spp. and Eulythium limosum crabs,
which were taken from their burrows; the herons fed on the arboreal and semi-arboreal Aratus pisonii and veta asesarma
rubripes crabs. Divergent hunting strategies of ibises (tactile foragers) and herons (visually-oriented predators)
explains the diet segregation when preying on an ecologically diverse crab guild, but it is unclear why herons prey rarely on fiddler crabs. Scarlet Ibises bred successfully while feeding on estuarine organisms living in low salinities in the mangroves, showing that mangroves may be adequate foraging habitats for chick-rearing ibises during periods of low salinity.

Waterbirds, 2001

The breeding biology of the only Scarlet Ibis Eudocimus ruber colony in southeastern Brazil was s... more The breeding biology of the only Scarlet Ibis Eudocimus ruber colony in southeastern Brazil was studied during the 1996-97 breeding season. The ibises began to visit their colony site by mid September. Nest building and egg laying took place in early November and was synchronous, making the first "nesting pulse". Mean clutch size in this pulse was 2.45 eggs/nest, and 0.67 young/nest reached age three weeks, when they were able to walk about the nest tree and environs. Predation was the main cause of nest failures (74% of all losses), followed by nest collapses (19%). A second nesting pulse. also synchronous, started in late December, when the young from the first nests were already able to wander about the colony and make short flights. Mean clutch size of this pulse was 2.05 eggs/nest and productivity was 0.54 young/nest. Nest collapses during storms accounted for 38% of the losses, and predation for a further 27%. A third pulse, with only a few nests, started when the second pulse young were in their third week, but no nest was successful. The incubation time was 21-24 days. and the young were able to fly well when 40 days old, deserting the colony by age 75 days. Nesting early in the breeding season yielded greater success. Nests were built close to each other (a sphere with a 1.8 m radius and centered on an average nest would include the four nearest neighbors) and there tras always more than one nest per tree. Most nests were built on the upper third of
the nest-tree and had some cover from overhanging branches. There was a trend for the ibises building their nests in even closer proximity during the second pulse, perhaps as a strategy to lessen individual predation risks.

Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, Mar 2008

ReSumO: O entufado Merulaxis ater (Rhinocryptidae) abrigando-se em cavidade. Um par de Merulaxis ... more ReSumO: O entufado Merulaxis ater (Rhinocryptidae) abrigando-se em cavidade. Um par de Merulaxis ater foi observado, por dois dias consecutivos no final da tarde, se recolhendo em uma profunda fissura natural em um afloramento de calcário no Parque Estadual Intervales, São Paulo, Brasil. A fissura, parcialmente preenchida por folhas e outros materiais, parecia estar em uso a bastante tempo, sugerindo que esta espécie habitualmente utiliza cavidades como abrigo noturno.