Abstract

The Gray-hooded Gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus) is a seabird distributed in almost all South American countries. However, breeding information on the species in Brazil is scarce. In this study, literature review and search in online databases (WikiAves and eBird) were carried out to gather breeding information on the species in the country and nests of the Gray-hooded Gull were recorded on the northern coast of the Rio de Janeiro state. Literature review indicated breeding records in Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Norte states. On WikiAves, 19 records of the species with nests, eggs, chicks and breeding colonies were reported between 2009 and 2020, in Macau, Rio Grande do Norte and one adult hatching at Rio Grande do Sul. In August 2019, two nests were recorded at Ubatuba lagoon (22°09′S and 41°18′W) in the Restinga de Jurubatiba National Park, in the Quissamã municipality in Rio de Janeiro. The nests were described and monitored during five weeks. Each nest contained two eggs and was built with the grass Paspalum vaginatum. Over time, the eggs were degraded and disappeared from the nests, without signs of hatching and possible predation. This study compiles for the first time all the breeding information on the species in Brazil and contributes with data about the nests and egg biometry.

Highlights

  • Gulls are cosmopolitan seabirds of the Laridae family (Charadriiformes) and more than 50 species are distributed across all continents, with eight of them occurring in Brazil (Sibley & Monroe, 1990; Sick, 1997)

  • This study aims to review the literature and online databases (WikiAves and eBird) regarding the Gray-hooded Gull breeding information in Brazil and describe nests and eggs of the species from the northern of Rio de Janeiro state

  • The nests observed were in the Restinga de Jurubatiba National Park (RJNP), which has an area of 15 thousand hectares and 18 coastal lagoons in the north of Rio de Janeiro state

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Summary

Introduction

Gulls are cosmopolitan seabirds of the Laridae family (Charadriiformes) and more than 50 species are distributed across all continents, with eight of them occurring in Brazil (Sibley & Monroe, 1990; Sick, 1997). Some species are residents such as the Kelp Gull (Larus dominicanus) and Gray-hooded Gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus), while others are vagrants as the Frankiln’s Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan) from the Northern hemisphere (Canada and USA) and the Olrog’s Gull (Larus atlanticus) from southern South America (Sick, 1997; Piacentini et al, 2015; Yorio, 2020). The Gray-hooded Gull is found in South America and Africa and two subspecies are recognized (Grantsau, 2010; Clements et al, 2015; Burger et al, 2020). Despite its wide distribution on the Brazilian coast, breeding information about the species is scarce

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