Scientists have long been trying to understand why the Neotropical region holds the highest diversity of birds on Earth. Recently, there has been increased interest in morphological variation between and within species, and in how climate, topography, and anthropogenic pressures may explain and affect phenotypic variation. Because morphological data are not always available for many species at the local or regional scale, we are limited in our understanding of intra‐ and interspecies spatial morphological variation. Here, we present the ATLANTIC BIRD TRAITS, a data set that includes measurements of up to 44 morphological traits in 67,197 bird records from 2,790 populations distributed throughout the Atlantic forests of South America. This data set comprises information, compiled over two centuries (1820–2018), for 711 bird species, which represent 80% of all known bird diversity in the Atlantic Forest. Among the most commonly reported traits are sex (n = 65,717), age (n = 63,852), body mass (n = 58,768), flight molt presence (n = 44,941), molt presence (n = 44,847), body molt presence (n = 44,606), tail length (n = 43,005), reproductive stage (n = 42,588), bill length (n = 37,409), body length (n = 28,394), right wing length (n = 21,950), tarsus length (n = 20,342), and wing length (n = 18,071). The most frequently recorded species are Chiroxiphia caudata (n = 1,837), Turdus albicollis (n = 1,658), Trichothraupis melanops (n = 1,468), Turdus leucomelas (n = 1,436), and Basileuterus culicivorus (n = 1,384). The species recorded in the greatest number of sampling localities are Basileuterus culicivorus (n = 243), Trichothraupis melanops (n = 242), Chiroxiphia caudata (n = 210), Platyrinchus mystaceus (n = 208), and Turdus rufiventris (n = 191). ATLANTIC BIRD TRAITS (ABT) is the most comprehensive data set on measurements of bird morphological traits found in a biodiversity hotspot; it provides data for basic and applied research at multiple scales, from individual to community, and from the local to the macroecological perspectives. No copyright or proprietary restrictions are associated with the use of this data set. Please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications or teaching and educational activities.

A sobrevivência e a reprodução de todos os animais somente é possível quando da disponibilidade de energia utilizável pelas células vivas. No reino animal, em particular, a alimentação, tipicamente a captura de presas, é o modo pelo qual esse recurso é obtido. Quanto mais presas são capturadas, mais energia é armazenada em compostos orgânicos. Para capturarem o maior número de presas possíveis, cada predador desenvolveu estratégias específicas que favorecessem tal maximização. O conjunto dessas estratégias utilizadas por um indivíduo para encontrar, capturar, subjugar, engolir e combater os mecanismos de defesa desenvolvidos pelas presas recebe o nome de "forrageamento" (Pough et al. 2008).Na atividade de forrageamento, quando uma presa em potencial é identificada, decisões por parte dos

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non‐detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non‐governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer‐reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non‐detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio‐temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large‐scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data.

ABSTRACT. Formicivora littoralis (Gonzaga and Pacheco, 1990), the Restinga Antwren, considered the only endemic bird species of the Restinga ecosystem (sandy plain coastal vegetation), is threatened with extinction. The scientific literature provides little information on the biology of this bird, which was discovered in 1990. We evaluate gender-related differences in the composition of the diet and morphometric measurements of this species. We tested the hypothesis that the sexes differ in what they eat and in morphometric characters. Our results revealed that the diet of the Restinga Antwren includes mainly arthropods, which is consistent with the diets of other Thamnophilidae. The lack of differences in the composition of the diet between the sexes does not support the hypothesis that habitat partitioning to avoid intraspecific competition is taking place. We found significant differences in six morphometric measurements, two in the beak and four in body size. It is possible that intraspecific differences between the sexes are a result of sexual selection, a hypothesis that needs to be tested.

Patterns of bat distribution in Cerrado can be influenced by habitat heterogeneity and seasonal variation. We described the bat fauna in Cerrado landscape during an environment-monitoring program in Tocantins State, Northern Brazil. Additionally, we tested the influence of habitat heterogeneity and seasonality on the abundance and species richness of Phyllostomidae in this region by Generalized Linear Mixed Models. In 2010, we sampled 40 nights (rainy and dry seasons) in four vegetation types of Cerrado biome. Taxonomic identification was based on measurements and qualitative diagnostics. With a sampling effort of 43,965 m2·h, we captured 274 bats of 30 species, 22 genera and six families. Carollia perspicillata was the most abundant species captured. Colinas do Tocantins municipality was richer than Goiantins (26 and 19 species respectively). The best model for abundance was the interaction between heterogeneity and seasonality and the best model for richness was a mix between these two variables. We registered eight new species for the Tocantins including three species considered threatened with extinction at national level and one at global level. Such results highlight that this region is important for new investigations on the Cerrado biome.

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Many studies have shown the positive and negative impacts of feeding wild birds using feeders; however, none of them considered case studies in Brazil. In 2020, social isolation measures imposed by COVID-19 boosted Brazilians’ interest in bird feeders, encouraging a group of birders to create an event (called JaneLives) to broadcast simultaneous live images of feeders across the country. Using the structure of JaneLives and relying on volunteers, we investigated which species visit Brazilian bird feeders, and discussed the effectiveness of our opportune citizen science initiative implemented during this event. Forty-eight feeders (19 urban and 29 non-urban) included in six biomes were sampled during nine JaneLives sessions (May–November 2020). The audience watched 133 species, 104 of which were visiting feeders. Non-urban feeders ( n = 94) had higher richness than urban feeders ( n = 68), but there were shared and unique species in both strata. Thraupidae, Turdidae, small, and medium birds (< 90 g) were the most common at the feeders. Owners of 23 feeders did data sampling at least once, while the other 25 feeders were sampled by 25 online birders (94.8% of their bird records were reliable). The narration that accompanied each JaneLives session enabled the audience to learn about Brazilian birds and increased environmental awareness. Audience numbers declined over the events, but the number of online birders was not affected. Ecolodges and parks that broadcasted their feeders received new clients afterwards. The events generated social interaction and pragmatic discussions about the usage of feeders, indicating that our citizen science initiative has potential for future research. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43388-022-00094-1.

We describe the nest, eggs, and nestlings of the Restinga Antwren (Formicivora littoralis), an endangered bird of Restinga ecosystem (sandy coastal plain vegetation) that is endemic to Rio de Janeiro state. Twelve nests were found at the edges of trails or natural gaps at Massambaba Restinga region, in different supporting plants and heights from the ground (X ± SD 1.27 ± 0.97 m, range 0.27 to 3.45 m). Nests were cup-shaped and were in horizontal forks attached to branches at three to fi ve points with whitish, soft, and thin cotton-like vegetable fi ber. The nests' cup shape and measurements were similar to congeneric species, but nest material was different. Eggs were white with brown spots concentrated on the large end or around the middle, giving the appearance of a rough brown ring. Their mean (± SD) minimum diameter was 13.1 ± 0.34 mm, with maximum diameter of 18.0 ± 0.38 mm, and mass of 1.7 ± 0.18 g (n = 8). We found two nestlings completely naked on their fi rst day after hatching.