Miguel Angel Santillán

• Museo Provincial de Historia Natural, Secretaria de Cultura, Gobierno de La Pampa, Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina

The illegal trade of wild birds is a large threat to biodiversity and sellers often use social media to traffic wildlife. By monitoring and characterizing the trade of wild and domestic birds on Facebook, we show that this illegal e-commerce remains widespread throughout Argentina, despite a decrease in activity in 2023 compared to 2017, highlighti...

Forest loss and degradation, including woody encroachment as one of the most widespread habitat degradation processes, has been especially marked in South America. For habitat restoration, several management methods of woody encroachment removals have taken place to promote the landscape returns to its native state and benefit both livestock produc...

Supplementary Material

Animal populations that require tree cavities can be either limited or structured depending on the quality and availability of tree cavities in their ecosystems. Over the last century, the Cald´en forest of Argentina has experienced severe habitat degradation due to anthropogenic activities. Here, we report the density and characteristics of caviti...

The monogamous mating system, where a male and a female constitute the reproductive unit and share the parental care, predominates among bird reproductive strategies. However, there are also other mating systems with diverse parental care roles which may have implications for population breeding success and be relevant for their management and cons...

A major barrier to advancing ornithology is the systemic exclusion of professionals from the Global South. A recent special feature, Advances in Neotropical Ornithology, and a shortfalls analysis therein, unintentionally followed a long-standing pattern of highlighting individuals, knowledge, and views from the Global North, while largely omitting...

Este trabajo aporta evidencias empíricas para la toma de decisiones y posibilita delinear acciones futuras necesarias para a una conservación integral y efectiva del Cardenal amarillo (Gubernatrix cristata) en La Pampa, argentina.

En este trabajo se describe la biología reproductiva del Coludito Copetón (Leptasthenura platensis) enun bosque semiárido de La Pampa, Argentina. Durante las temporadas reproductivas de 2010-2011 a 2012-2013, se monitorearon 82-101 cajas nido por temporada, revisadas cada 1-3 días desde septiembre hasta febrero,registrando la fecha y cantidad de hu...

A major barrier to advancing ornithology is the systemic exclusion of professionals from the Global South. A recent special dossier, Advances in Neotropical Ornithology, and a shortfalls analysis therein, unintentionally followed a long-standing pattern of highlighting individuals, knowledge, and views from the Global North, while largely omitting...

Two new species of the feather mite genus Trouessartia (Analgoidea: Trouessartiidae) are described from tyrant flycatchers (Tyrannidae) in Argentina: Trouessartia salvadori sp. nov. from the White-crested Tyrannulet Serpophaga subcristata (Vieillot) and T. gonzalezacunai sp. nov. from the Vermilion Flycatcher Pyrocephalus rubinus (Boddaert). Troues...

ABSTRACT The Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica erythrogaster) is a migratory bird widely distributed in the American continent, breeding in the Northern Hemisphere and, since 1980, in the Southern Hemisphere as well. The average clutch size is between four and five eggs. In the present study we report unusual clutch sizes in nests of the species in cen...

In the Northern Hemisphere, several avian cavity excavators (e.g., woodpeckers) orient their cavities increasingly toward the equator as latitude increases (i.e. farther north), and it is proposed that they do so to take advantage of incident solar radiation at their nests. If latitude is a key driver of cavity orientations globally, this pattern s...

Bothrops ammodytoides is a medium-sized pitviper endemic to Argentina that inhabits arid and semiarid rocky and sandy areas from sea level to more than 3000 m (Carrasco et al. 2010. Amphibia-Reptilia 31:323–338). The diet of this species is known to include small vertebrates such as lizards and less commonly, rodents (Cei 1993. Reptiles del Noroest...

Several species of birds, including raptors, add man-made objects, stones, green plants, skins and dung of animals to build and decorate their nests. However, there is a compromise between the use of new nesting material and the increased risk of nestling mortality due to entanglement or ingestion of debris. Here, we observed the decoration in 74 o...

El estornino pinto Sturnus vulgaris es una de las especies de aves más invasoras del mundo, causante de pérdidas económicas y de biodiversidad. En Argentina posee poblaciones establecidas y en expansión, y ya se han registrado interacciones nega-tivas con especies nativas. Aquí se describe el estado actual de su distribución en la provincia de La P...

Athene cunicularia is a very common opportunistic raptor inhabiting diverse environments of South America. It has variable hunting behavior and diet habits, feeding mostly on arthropods and nocturnal and diurnal mi-cromammals. We evaluated taphonomically mammal bones accumulated in pellet samples produced by this raptor recovered from different are...

Identifying the ecological factors that shape parasite distributions remains a central goal in disease ecology. These factors include dispersal capability, environmental filters and geographic distance. Using 520 haemosporidian parasite genetic lineages recovered from 7,534 birds sampled across tropical and temperate South America, we tested (a) th...

A female calf, housed in a dairy intensive-system farm, suddenly died 25 days after birth. Routine necropsy revealed multiple variably sized white to yellowish nodules in the lungs. Histopathological diagnosis showed severe granulomatous pneumonia with acid-fast bacilli; Mycobacterium bovis was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction and culture iso...

The Burrowing Parrot Cyanoliseus patagonus is known to breed in burrows mostly on cliffs and ravines in arid or semi-arid regions of Argentina and Chile. However, during a tree cavity monitoring project we confirmed at least two active nests in tree cavities. Cavity entrances were located between 3.1 and 5.3 m above the ground in live caldén (Proso...

Globally, social networks grew linearly in recent years. These online technologies, because of their simplicity and accessibility, allow people to connect with each other, sharing information, content, ideas or products. Facebook is the most popular with more than 1650 million users. Internet commerce is growing in different areas, social networks...

The microclimate of avian nest and roost sites affects reproduction and survival; therefore, environmental placement of these structures is of adaptive significance. It has been hypothesized that, to optimize thermal properties, at higher latitudes avian excavators should orient their cavities more toward the equator. In support of this, a meta-ana...

Here we present data on the reproductive biology of the Saffron Finch (Sicalis flaveola) in nest boxes placed in the semiarid caldén (Prosopis caldenia) forest in La Pampa, Argentina, during two consecutive breeding seasons (101 nest boxes in 2011-2012 and 99 in 2012-2013). The breeding season began in early November and ended in mid-February. The...

Top predators play an important role to preserving healthy and functional ecosystems. Predatory interactions among generalist predators and native prey may be altered due to occurrence and availability of introduced prey species. These interactions seldom receive attention in biodiversity conservation, particularly when establishing protected area...

La condición física de un ave puede estar relacionada con múltiples aspectos, entre ellos diferentes parámetros reproductivos. Describimos la condición corporal de los pichones de coludito copetón (Leptasthenura platensis) nacidos en cajas nido colocadas en un bosque semiárido ubicado en el establecimiento privado "La tapera", en la provincia de La...

To distinguish whether the presence of osteoderms of armadillos (Xenarthra, Dasypodidae) in the zooarchaeological and paleontological record can be assigned to anthropic action or predators is an interesting topic. The Crowned solitary eagle (Buteogallus coronatus, Accipitriformes, Accipitridae) is among the predators that usually consume armadillo...

Este artículo no cuenta con un resumen.

The mite Ornithonyssus bursa (Berlese) (Mesostigmata: Macronyssidae) is considered a poultry pest causing important infestations in chickens and it is considered a potential vector of arbovirus. Despite being considered a common parasite in wild birds, there is scarce published information about its potential hosts and effects on them. Here we pres...

Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) breeding in North America traditionally wintered in South America. In the 1980s a small breeding population was found in coastal Argentina and since then the breeding range of Barn Swallows in the country has expanded. Our aims here were to examine the northwestern limits of the breeding range of Barn Swallows in Arg...

Las características de los sitios (microhábitat) y calidad de los territorios de nidificación (macrohábitat) influyen sobre el desempeño reproductivo de las aves rapaces. En este estudio analizamos las características del hábitat de nidificación, incluyendo la disponibilidad de presas, sobre los parámetros reproductivos del halcón plomizo (Falco fe...

Forty-two larvae of Argas keiransi (Acari: Argasidae) were collected from the Chimango Caracara, Milvago chimango (Falconiformes: Falconidae), at three localities in La Pampa Province, Argentina. Ticks were determined by a combination of palpal segment IV as long as or longer than the other palpal segments, absence of a trumpet-shaped sensillum ext...

The main objective of this study was to determine the taphonomic characteristics of ingested rodent prey remains recovered from White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus, Accipitriformes) pellets. Bones were analyzed in order to identify taphonomic features produced by this predator. Sampling was performed during the austral reproductive season of 2011 in...

Breeding populations of raptors are sometimes limited by nest-site availability and the use of nest boxes to bolster such populations is widespread. In the neotropical forest, little is known about the ecology of cavity-nesting raptors and their use of nest boxes. Here we examine occupancy patterns of nest boxes by five raptor species during eight...

Las cavidades son un recurso empleado por numerosos taxones, y si bien el uso de cajas nido ha sido muy útil para estudiar interacciones tales como competencia o depredación entre las aves que las usan, es escasa la información acerca de las relaciones otros vertebrados. La usurpación es una interacción que ocurre cuando una especie roba el nido ac...

La disponibilidad de cavidades en árboles puede limitar y estructurar las comunidades de animales que las usan para criar o refugiarse. Analizamos la disponibilidad y caracterizamos las cavidades susceptibles de ser usadas por aves para el bosque de Caldén (Prosopis caldenia) en el centro de Argentina. Durante 2012 y 2013 se relevaron ocho parcelas...

Este artículo no cuenta con un resumen.

La ratona común (Troglodytes aedon, 12 grs.) es un pequeño paseriforme que se distribuye en todo el continente americano. En Argentina se la registra a lo largo de todo el país en una gran variedad de ambientes. Si bien es una especie común, existen escasos estudios que describen la dieta alimenticia de manera cuali-cuantitativa. Con el objetivo de...

Acanthocrios furnarii (Cordero & Vogelsang, 1928) [Hemiptera: Cimicidae: Haematosiphoninae] is an ectoparasite on avian hosts from Argentina and Uruguay. It has been mostly found in mud nests of Furnarius rufus (Gmelin, 1788) [Aves: Furnariidae], but its true hosts are some of the inquiline birds that use F. rufus nests. These inquiline hosts belon...

RESUMEN.— Se analizó la dieta de Athene cunicularia y Tyto alba en un área de ecotono entre el Monte y el Espinal en la provincia de La Pampa, Argentina. Se identificaron 747 presas de Athene cunicularia y 563 de Tyto alba, pertenecientes a las clases Mammalia, Reptilia, Amphibia, Aves, Insecta y Arachnida. Los insectos dominaron la dieta de Athene...

We studied the diet of Athene cunicularia and Tyto alba in an ecotonal area between Monte and Espinal in La Pampa Province, Argentina. We identified 747 prey items for Athene cunicularia and 563 for Tyto alba, corresponding to classes Mammalia, Reptilia, Amphibia, Aves, Insecta and Arachnida. Insects represented the majority of the prey items of At...

We studied the Red-backed Hawk (Buteo polyosoma) diet by pellet analysis in two areas, the Monumento Natural Bosques Petrificados (MNBP) and Junín de los Andes, located in southern and northwestern Argentinean Patagonia respectively. These areas have different values of primary production mainly due to the differences in mean annual precipitation,...

There is evidence for the ecological extinction of the native prey of the puma Puma concolor in north-western Argentine Patagonia. In this study we examine whether this is also the case in southern Patagonia. From 2004 to 2007 we examined the puma’s diet in three protected areas and two sheep ranches in Santa Cruz province. A total of 282 puma scat...

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Se presenta un registro de la Lechuza de Campanario (Tyto alba) en el Golfo San Jorge (Mar Argentino). A pesar de estar ampliamente distribuida en Argentina, no hay evidencias previas de la presencia de esta especie en alta mar, así como tampoco de ninguna otra ave rapaz. Se discuten las posibles razones de su arribo al mar y sus consecuencias.

Efecto de la presencia de ectoparásitos en la condición de los pichones en la ratona común (Troglodytes aedon) Los ácaros son ectoparásitos que en las aves producen consecuencias adversas en las condiciones físicas (anemia, dermatitis y pérdida de peso), y son vectores de virus, bacterias y protozoos. De igual forma los parásitos sanguíneos afectan...

We described ectoparasitic species such as chewing lice, mites, and louse flies in free-ranging American Kestrels (Falco sparverius) in the semiarid forest of Argentina. From twenty-two adults and one juvenile American Kestrel captured (fourteen females and nine males) during four breeding seasons between 2005 and 2008, we found in seven birds (six...

La Comadrejita Pampeana (Thylamys fenestrae, 27,15 g) habita en la Ecorregión del Espinal abarcando los distritos del Caldén y del Algarrobo, como también el Distrito Pampeano Occidental y Austral. Esta especie fue convalidada como tal recientemente por lo cual se desconoce gran parte de su historia natural. Durante el monitoreo de cajas nidos para...

Background: Southern caracaras are medium-sized raptors with a large range stretching to the southern tip of South America. An aberrant, leucistic plumage is found commonly along the coast of Chubut Province (Patagonia, Argentina). Leucistic birds do not produce dark melanin in their feathers. However, they are not albinos because their eyes are no...

Ecología trófica del Halcón Plomizo (Falco femoralis) y su relación con la abundancia de presas en agroecosistemas pampeanos

Although the White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus) is widely distributed throughout the Americas, winter communal roosting has been recorded only in the Nearctic portion of its range. As a result, data on the food habits of the White-tailed Kite in South America during the nonbreeding season are scarce and, when available, limited to pellets from sol...

Raptors have been reported to prey on livestock, causing considerable conflicts between birds of prey and local human communities. Previous studies have documented that human persecution is the most important threat to the endangered crowned eagle Harpyhaliaetus coronatus in central Argentina, due to a local belief that crowned eagles heavily and c...

RESUMEN.-El halcón peregrino (Falco peregrinus) es una especie cosmopolita cuya ecología trófica es bien conocida en buena parte de su distribución. Describimos la dieta de una pareja reproductora en base a 82 presas identificadas de 32 egagrópilas y 32 restos recolectados en las cercanías del nido, durante noviembre y diciembre de 2008 (época de c...

Presentamos el primer análisis cuantitativo de la dieta de Falco sparverius en el sur de Argentina. Identificamos 1169 ítems de presas en un total de 272 egagrópilas y siete restos de presas de cuatro sitios de estudio en la Patagonia. En esta área, F. sparverius se alimentó principalmente de escorpiones (Bothruridae), escarabajos (Coleoptera), hor...

A mediados de la década de 1990 el Aguilucho Langostero (Buteo swainsoni) se convirtió en uno de los casos paradigmáticos de los efectos negativos que tienen las prácticas agrícolas sobre la fauna silvestre en la Región Pampeana de Argentina. Sus hábitos de agregación espacial, de selección de hábitat y de alimentación, sumados a condiciones ambien...

We studied the food habits of white‐tailed kites (Elanus leucurus, Accipitridae) in central Argentina during austral spring and summer (November to March) and compared prey captured in two different habitat types. Diet was determined by analysing pellets and prey remains collected under nests and roost sites. During the same period small mammals we...

ABSTRqCT.---The annual diet of the American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) was studied by analyzing 705 pellets and prey remains collected in a semiarid forest area of central Argentina. The diet composition fluctuated seasonally but was composed primarily of invertebrates, followed by small mammals, birds, and reptiles. Based on biomass, vertebrate pr...

The annual diet of the American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) was studied by analyzing 705 pellets and prey remains collected in a semiarid forest area of central Argentina. The diet composition fluctuated seasonally but was composed primarily of invertebrates, followed by small mammals, birds, and reptiles. Based on biomass, vertebrate prey was the m...