Breeding biology of the Horned Screamer ( Anhima cornuta ) in non-protected areas in the Brazilian Cerrado
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Breeding biology of the Horned Screamer (Anhima cornuta) in non-protected areas in the Brazilian Cerrado Dárius Pukenis Tubelis 1 Received: 13 February 2020 / Revised: 8 July 2020 / Accepted: 10 July 2020 # Sociedade Brasileira de Ornitologia 2020
Abstract The Horned Screamer (Anhima cornuta) is one of the three species of the family Anhimidae occurring in South America. It is widely distributed in the Amazon, the Cerrado, and the Atlantic Forest biomes, but detailed studies on its biology are lacking. The objective of this study was to examine aspects of the breeding of A. cornuta in the Brazilian Cerrado. Evidences of breeding birds were obtained through a search for records (photographs) in the WikiAves database in November 2019. Documented records (n = 46) of breeding birds were obtained by citizens between 2009 and 2019 in 30 municipalities. Nests with eggs (n = 15) were found mainly in marshes and grassy areas, often adjacent to the water surface. They had 2–5 white eggs and were found in two periods of the year—one comprising mainly the dry season, and the other, the rainy season. Other records (n = 31) involved families with young birds. The periods of occurrence of yellow young were highly overlapped with those of eggs. More developed young with downy plumage were found throughout the year. Young with plumage similar to that of adults (juveniles) were eventually found. Records accompanied by comments provided by citizens indicated that nests and young are cared by both parents. It was observed that birds can breed successfully outside full protected conservation areas. This study suggests that marshes should be considered a major habitat for the conservation of A. cornuta in the Brazilian Cerrado. Keywords Anhimidae . Bird . Humid area . Marsh . Reproduction . Savanna
Introduction Anhimidae family (Anseriformes) is restricted to South America, where three species occur—the Horned Screamer Anhima cornuta (Linnaeus, 1766), the Northern Screamer Chauna chavaria (Linnaeus, 1766), and the Southern Screamer Chauna torquata (Oken, 1816) (Remsen et al. 2019). They are large birds weighting about 3.0 kg and having a gallinaceous aspect, robust and short legs, enormous toes, and a bill with rudimentary lamellae (Sick 1997; Mata et al. 2006). The Horned Screamer is widely distributed through most of northern and central South America (Piland 2010; Carboneras et al. 2019). In Brazil, it occurs mainly through extensive areas in the Amazon, the Cerrado, and the Atlantic Forest biomes (Sick 1997; WikiAves 2019). They use a wide range of habitats, Communicated by: Leandro Bugoni * Dárius Pukenis Tubelis [email protected] 1
Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido, Mossoró, RN, Brazil
including swamps, marshes, grassy meadows near rivers, lakes, rivershores, moist forests, and wetlands (Matta et al. 2006; Piland 2010; Carboneras et al. 2019). Horned Screamers are herbivorous birds and feed mainly on succulent parts of aquatic plants, including leaves, stems, roots,
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