The Tocantins-Araguaia Basin as a migratory route and a wintering area of Falco peregrinus (Aves, Falconidae)

Brito G.R., Kirwan G.M., Assis C.P., Firme D.H., Figueira D.M., Buainain N., Raposo M.A.

We report on a collection of birds made at a study site in Presidente Kennedy, midway between the Araguaia and Tocantins Rivers, in north-central Tocantins state, Brazil. Interesting records are presented for 22 species, most of them principally Amazonian taxa with comparatively few previous records for the state of Tocantins, and generally amplifying their local ranges either further south, from the north of the state, or further east, from the banks of the Araguaia River. Among them, we report the first specimen records for Tocantins of hybrids/intermediaries Pyrrhura parakeets of the “P. perlata-coerulescens” complex (which was common at our study site), Pearly-breasted Cuckoo Coccyzus euleri, Yellow-billed Cuckoo C. americanus, Rufous-tailed Flatbill Ramphotrigon ruficauda and Sooty Grassquit Tiaris fuliginosus. Our surveys emphasize once more the unusually high component of Amazonian species within the scattered taller forests of this region of predominantly Cerrado physiognomies.

Lees A.C., Naka L.N., Aleixo A., Cohn-Haft M., de Piacentini V.Q., Santos M.P., Silveira L.F.

Site-based avian inventories are ubiquitous in Neotropical ornithology but are prone to error if feldworkers are not familiar with the regional species pool, particularly in species-rich regions such as the Amazon basin. Here, we review recent species lists from the Brazilian Amazon in both the primary ornithological literature and in protected area management plans to assess the level of putative errors in terms of bird species recorded in site-based inventories that are biogeographically unlikely in the sampled region. We found errors to be frequent across all inventory types. Failure to recognize recent taxonomic modifcations in a cited taxonomy was a common error in many inventories. We outline a series of steps to follow to improve the utility and accuracy of avian inventories, and stress the importance of both obtaining and archiving documentary material, which should be included in the publications as digital vouchers to facilitate detailed peer review.

Fuller M.R., Seegar W.S., Schueck L.S.