RECORD OF SHIP-ASSISTED DISPLACEMENT OF Chionis albus (GMELIN, 1789) (AVES: CHIONIDAE) FROM ANTARCTICA TO SOUTH AMERICA

Abstract

Seabirds can use merchant, research and/or fishery vessels as a refuge to avoid extreme environmental conditions at sea during their migration seasons. Here we report the visualization of six individuals of the Snowy Sheathbill (Chionis albus; Charadriiformes, Chionidae) landed on a ship for about twenty-three hours in the Drake Passage, during its displacement from the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, to Tierra del Fuego, confirming ship-assisted displacement by this species during its migration route.

A vagrant Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) documented from Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago: Brazil’s first record

“…In addition, SPSPA is within the Intertropical Convergence Zone, an area where trade winds blow from east to west (Talley et al 2011). Human factors, such as ship-assistance, can also contribute to the dispersion of birds over long distances (Brum et al 2018); however, ship-assistance in gulls is unlikely.…”