Feeding associations between capybaras Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris (Linnaeus) (Mammalia, Hydrochaeridae) and birds in the Lami Biological Reserve, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Feeding associations between capybaras Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris (Linnaeus, 1766) and some bird species were registered in the Lami Biological Reserve, southern Brazil, through observations in a set of transects established in the five major vegetation types of the study area: shrubby and herbaceous swamps, wet grasslands, sandy grasslands and forests. Data included: date and time, vegetation type, bird species, number of individuals (birds and capybaras), type of prey consumed, foraging strategy of the birds and the behavior of the capybaras in relation to the presence of birds. Five species of birds were registered: Caracara plancus (Miller, 1777), Furnarius rufus (Gmelin, 1788), Machetornis rixosus (Vieillot, 1819), Milvago chimachima (Vieillot, 1816) and Molothrus bonariensis (Gmelin, 1789). The interactions were observed in the shrubby swamp (M. bonariensis), forest (C. plancus) and wet grassland (F. rufus, M. rixosus, M. chimachima). The foraging strategies were: (1) use of the capybara as a perch, hunting from its back (M. rixosus, M. bonariensis); (2) use of the capybara as a beater, hunting in the ground (F. rufus, M. rixosus, M. bonariensis); (3) foraging in the skin of the capybara, by picking the ectoparasites (C. plancus, F. rufus, M. chimachima). Strategies (1) and (2) were employed to catch arthropods flushed from the vegetation. Sometimes, capybaras lay down and exposed the abdomen and lateral areas of their bodies to facilitate cleaning by M. chimachima, but the presence of other bird species seemed to be neutral to capybaras. KEY WORDS. Bird-mammal interaction, feeding behavior, foraging.

Cleaner birds: an overview for the Neotropics

“…Another cause for the smaller number of cleaner birds in the Neotropics may be the lack of field studies focused on terrestrial cleaning associations in South America (e.g. Tomazzoni et al 2005, Sazima & Sazima 2010 and references therein) as compared to those in Africa (e.g. Dean & MacDonald 1981, Ruggiero & Eves 1988 and references therein).…”

“…In the Neotropics, this association type is poorly known except for studies mostly in the Galápagos Islands and Brazil (e.g. MacFarland & Reeder 1974, Christian 1980, Grant 1986, Tomazzoni et al 2005, Sazima 2007a, Sazima & Sazima 2010.…”

“…Weeks 2000, Groch 2001, Sazima 2007a. No attempt to quantify or compare the relative occurrence of cleaning behaviour of the bird species was made, due both to our haphazardly collected data and the general lack of comparable data sets for Neotropical cleaner species (see MacFarland & Reeder 1974, Christian 1980, Tomazzoni et al 2005, Sazima 2007a, 2008 for examples). Voucher digital copies of photographs (when copyright allowed) are on file at the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade Estadual de Campinas (ZUEC).…”

Validated cleaner: the cuculid bird Crotophaga ani picks ticks and pecks at sores of capybaras in southeastern Brazil

“…This contrasts with the capybaras' behaviour while attended by larger cleaners like the yellow-headed caracara (Milvago chimachima) in which case these mammals adopt "inviting" postures, and react promptly and sometimes vigorously to the likely dolorous pecking at their sores by the bird of prey (Macdonald 1981, Tomazzoni et al 2005, Sazima 2007). The capybaras remaining apparently unperturbed with the anis' cleaning activity may be due to the small size of the birds, as a similar reaction is reported for the cleaning activity of the giant cowbird (Molothrus oryzivorus) on the same mammal clients (Sazima 2007).…”

Relações alimentares de aves com capivaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) em parque urbano no Sudeste do Brasil

“…Nos Neotrópicos, um dos mamíferos mais procurados por aves é a capivara, Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris, à qual se associam diversas espécies de aves (Macdonald, 1981;Tomazzoni et al, 2005;Queirogas, 2010;Sazima, I. & Sazima, C., 2010a).…”