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Uma boipeva (Xenodon merremii) é capturada pelo acauã e se enrola em torno do falcão, impedindo-o de alçar voo. Foto: H. A. Werneck.
Source publication
Although the diet of the laughing falcon (Herpetotheres cachinnans) is well known, consisting mainly on snakes, detailed reports of this raptor preying on positively-identified snakes are scarce. This communication documents an oportune observation where an individual of H. cachinnans attacks a boipeva snake (Xenodon merremii) in a pasture area in...
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The recovery of protected predators raises tensions and divisions within society when their prey are of socio-economic value. For instance, conflicts may arise when hunters perceive protected predators as a threat for declining game populations, and cull them. These conflicts can have a strong impact on the status of the affected predator species....
Citations
... Predator-prey relationships are fundamental ecological processes involving different individuals, expected to influence and reflect complex population dynamics (Cresswell 2008). Considering birds and snakes, previous studies suggest that snakes can often be the predator (Travaglia-Cardoso et al. 2016;Groen et al. 2020;Santos-Filho et al. 2021) but also the prey (DuVal et al. 2006;Costa et al. 2009Costa et al. , 2014Zocche et al. 2018;Medrano-Vizcaíno 2019). Records of snakes predated by birds have gradually increased in numbers over time, enhancing knowledge of the feeding habits of each species. ...
... The circumstances of predation events must be interpreted with caution, since many bird species, especially birds of prey, usually consume already dead snakes, which is considered scavenging rather than predatory instances (Sazima and Abe 1991). Confirmed predation-prey interactions between birds and snakes recorded in previous studies suggests that, to a large extent, avian predators of snakes are birds of prey, such as the burrowing owl, Athene cunicularia (Martins et al. 2003); the white-tailed hawk, Geranoaetus albicaudatus ; the laughing falcon, Herpetotheres cachinnans (DuVal et al. 2006;Costa et al. 2009Costa et al. , 2014Medrano-Vizcaíno 2019), the roadside hawk, Rupornis magnirostris (Zocche et al. 2018); and the barn owl, Tyto furcata (Travaglia-Cardoso and Almeida-Santos 2012). However, predation records also extend to other bird clades, such as passerines (Tozetti 2010;Sazima and D'Angelo 2011), cariamids (Travaglia-Cardoso and Almeida-Santos 2012), herons (Franz et al. 2007), and vultures (Almeida et al. 2010). ...
Citizen science is the interaction of the non-academic community in scientific studies, often extended to collaborative platforms. We analyzed 168 photographs shared in a Brazilian citizen science platform to understand the feeding interactions between birds and snakes in Brazil, comparing our findings to published data. We searched for patterns in bird taxa and behaviour correlated with ophiophagy, snake groups most vulnerable to predation, and biases resulting from citizen science data. Records were made mostly in southeastern and southern Brazil. Both birds and snakes recorded are primarily diurnal, terrestrial, and use open habitats. Predators represent especially birds of prey, but nine other families were observed, and most of the identified snakes belong to Dipsadidae and Colubridae. Venomous snakes were observed, suggesting that birds must deploy strategies to avoid injuries. Finally, we added a new vertebrate item to the diet of the white-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi). Data biases of citizen science platforms, which in this work include differences in the number of records between different geographic regions and periods of day, must be considered. However, this kind of data can be a powerful tool for understanding life history patterns and natural history of birds and other animals.
... Snakes can include in their diet of large variety of vertebrates (Voris and Murphy, 2002;Abegg et al., 2005;Costa et al., 2009), enabling the transmission of parasites through complex trophic networks (Marcogliese, 2004). Herons, such as Syrigma sibilatrix (Temminck, 1824) (Ardeidae) feed on Helicops infrataeniatus as observed by Franz et al. (2007) in Campo Belo do Sul in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. ...
Eustrongylides uses piscivorous birds as definitive hosts, oligoquets as intermediate hosts and fish as second intermediate hosts. However, amphibians and reptiles can act as secondary or paratenic hosts. The following work presents the first record of Eustrongylides larvae in snakes in the Neotropics. The coelomic cavity of 101 snakes belonging to Helicops infrataeniatus, Philodryas aestiva, Philodryas olfersii, Philodryas patagoniensis, Erythrolamprus poecilogyrus, Erythrolamprus jaegeri, Atractus reticulatus, Dipsas ventrimaculatus, Thamnodynastes strigatus, Phalotris lemniscatus and Bothrops alternatus from southern Brazil were examined. Six H. infrataeniatus were parasitized with larvae of Eustrongylides sp. The encounter of these larvae only in this specie can be related to the aquatic habit of the snake, which allows ecological interactions with the definitive and intermediate hosts of the Eustrongylides cycle. The occurrence of these parasites in a Neotropical snake is registered for the first time, contributing to the knowledge of the helminth diversity associated to Brazilian snakes.
... Snakes are consumed by several predators, including vertebrates (e.g. Costa et al., 2009) and invertebrates (e.g. Borges et al., 2016). ...
... The Laughing falcon (Herpetotheres cachinnans) is a raptor bird with a wide distribution from Mexico to Argentina, inhabiting forests edges and open areas with isolated trees (Thiollay 1994;Castroviejo and Ibañez 2005). Its diet comprises a variety of organisms like arthropods, anurans, lizards, birds, rabbits, rodents, bats, and fishes but they mainly feed on snakes, including large and poisonous ones (DuVal et al. 2006;Costa et al. 2010;Specht et al. 2013). A review conducted by Costa et al. (2014), analyzed literature references and author's records and found that 73% of prey records for H. cachinnans were snakes. ...
Aspects about the feeding behavior of the Laughing falcon (Herpetotheres cachinnans) remain poorly investigated with scarce reports of identified species ingested by this bird. Worse still, information describing how this bird ingests poisonous snakes is not known. Although this falcon eats snakes, there are no reports of feeding on Bothrops atrox. In this work, I describe this predation event and analyze how roads seem to be a potential hunting strategy that H. cachinnans exploit to prey on snakes.
... Spix 1824), short notes (e.g. Pough 1964, Laurencio 2005, Costa et al. 2009), or in "gray" literature (e.g. Skutch 1993). ...
Herpetotheres cachinnans is a Neotropical falcon species found in a variety of forested to semi-open habitats from Mexico to Argentina. Despite H. cachinnans being known to consume a variety of prey types, snakes comprise the majority of its diet in terms of taxonomic richness and frequency. Here, we present a detailed review about prey records of H. cachinnans. A total of 122 prey records were compiled from 73 literature references and authors' records. Snakes were the most common prey, with 94 records (77%). Analysis of 24 stomach contents (from literature and author's records) show that 71% contained remains of at least one snake, and 62.5% had snakes exclusively. A snake-based diet seems to be uncommon in raptors, and H. cachinnans is the only one presenting such degree of diet specialization in the Neotropics.
The peak of activity of Bothrops jararaca is in the rainy season. This pitviper feeds mainly on small mammals and is preyed upon by several avian and mammal predators. However, the association between jararaca's seasonal activity with that of their prey and predators remains unknown. The present study tested the hypothesis that the peak activity of B. jararaca coincides with that of their prey and predators, mainly due to favorable climatic conditions during this period. Snake activity was inferred from standardized searches and animals deposited in herpetological collections. Seasonal activity of prey was inferred from monthly sampling carried out over one year using pitfall and Sherman traps. Plasticine models were used to infer predation risk. Analyses of predator and prey abundance were performed, taking into account climatic variables, and models explaining this relationship were proposed. Activity of both B. jararaca and its prey was higher in the rainy season. Activity of the latter was positively correlated with temperature and rainfall. Predator activity, however, was higher in the dry season and negatively correlated with temperature and rainfall but positively correlated with humidity. The peak activity of B. jararaca in the rainy season might favor foraging activities, since this period coincides with greater prey abundance and decreased predation risk. During the dry season when resource availability is low, predators feed opportunistically, encountering dangerous prey such as B. jararaca. In summary, the activity pattern showed by the snake clearly increases its survival.
The Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture (Cathartes burrovianus) is known mainly for its necrophagic habits, typical of the Cathartidae. However, members of this family also hunt live prey, though this behavior is not well documented. We report here on a C. burrovianus preying on the non-venomous snake Xenodon merremii, at an anthropogenic site in southeastern Brazil.
