Interspecific foraging association between the cryptic forest-falcon, Micrastur mintoni and primates in an Amazon rainforest in Brazil

Abstract

Following behavior is a well-documented foraging specialization in Neotropical birds, which consists of individuals of solitary or mixed-flocking species following other moving animals to capture fleeing prey. Here, we report two observations of the cryptic forest-falcon, Micrastur mintoni following troops of primates during an ornithological inventory in the eastern Brazilian Amazon. During both observations, the falcon emitted a typical vocalization and captured fleeing insects dispersed by the primates moving through the forest while foraging. This is the first report of an apparently commensal association between a Micrastur forest falcon and two species of primates.

Kleptoparasitism attempt on a greater grison (Galictis vittata) by a white hawk (Pseudastur albicollis) in the Brazilian Amazon

“…White hawks usually land on the forest edge for long periods to find their prey (Pallinger and Menq 2021). Similarly to other birds of prey (Ubaid and Beco 2022), the species may also follow other animal groups in search for food, such as black-crowned Central American squirrel monkeys, Saimiri oerstedii (Reinhardt, 1872) (Boinski and Scott 1988), black-capped capuchin monkeys Sapajus apella Linnaeus, 1758 (Zhang and Wang 2000), and white-nosed coatis, Nasua narica (Linnaeus, 1766) (Booth- Binczik et al 2004), and may detect potential prey fleeing from these groups. Thus, the white hawk may have an opportunistic feeding behavior, an expected trait for a predator that may act as a kleptoparasite in situations where competitors may be vulnerable (Iyengar 2008).…”