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First description of the nest of the black-and-white Hawk eagle (Spizaetus melanoleucus) in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest, Southeast Brazil

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Marcus Canuto at Instituto de Pesquisa Pro-Raptors
Marcus Canuto
  • Instituto de Pesquisa Pro-Raptors
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Primeira descrição do ninho do Gavião Pato (Spizaetus melanoleucus) na Floresta Atlântica Brasileira, sudeste do Brasil.
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SHORT COMMUNICATIONS
ORNITOLOGIA NEOTROPICAL 19: 607–610, 2008
© The Neotropical Ornithological Society
FIRST DESCRIPTION OF THE NEST OF THE BLACK-AND-WHITE
HAWK EAGLE (SPIZAETUS MELANOLEUCUS) IN THE
BRAZILIAN ATLANTIC RAINFOREST, SOUTHEAST BRAZIL
Marcus Canuto
S.O.S Falconiformes, Centro de Pesquisa para Conservação das Aves de
Rapina Neotropicais, Rua Odilon Braga N° 1370, Mangabeiras, Cep
30310-390, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil.
&
Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Programa de Pós-Graduação
em Ecologia de Biomas Tropicais, Rua Diogo de Vasconcelos,
122, CEP 35.400-000 Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brasil. E-mail: mcanuto@gmail.com
Primeira descrição do ninho do Gavião Pato (
Spizaetus melanoleucus) na Floresta Atlântica
Brasileira, sudeste do Brasil.
Key words: Black-and-white Hawk-eagle, Spizaetus melanoleucus, Brazilian Atlantic rain forest, nest,
behavior.
INTRODUCTION
The Black-and-white Hawk-eagle (Spizaetus
melanoleucus) is a Neotropical raptor with a
wide but patchy distribution. Although it can
be locally numerous, it is generally rare to
uncommon across its range (Fergusson-Lee
& Christie 2001). In Brazil, it is found chiefly
in Roraima, in north and south of Amazon,
Mato Grosso and southern Pará to, perhaps,
Santa Catarina (Fergusson-Lee & Christie
2001). Being found at the middle-oriental
portions of the country (Sick 1979), Mato
Grosso, it may frequent savannahs or gallery
forests (Brown & Amadon 1968).
Its breeding biology and nest have not yet
been described in Brazil. Strauch (1975) pub-
lished the only work describing some features
of a nest site, found in Panamá.
According to Machado et al. (1998), the
Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle is endangered
in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, having
suffered population declines due to habitat
fragmentation, persecution and poaching.
Historical records in Minas Gerais docu-
mented its occurrence in the north of the
state, in the Tejuco district (Andrade 1991), in
the reserve where this study was conducted
(Melo-Júnior 1996, Lins 2001, Zorzin et al.
2006), in the municipalities of Caratinga and
Ipanema (Vasconcelos & Veado 2001), in
Viçosa (Ribon et al. 2003), and in Viçosa,
Nanuque, São Jorge and Matozinhos munici-
palities (Zorzin et al. 2006). At this last loca-
608
CANUTO
tion, the species was seen in a fragmented
region of semi-deciduous forest and ranch-
lands within a limestone landscape. This spe-
cies was also recorded perched near a main
road in the southern portion of the state close
to the municipality of Barbacena, at “Colônia
Rodrigo Silva” (21°15’S, 43°48’W, 1084 m;
Canuto pers. observ.).
I present here a description of the nest
and nest site and information on the breeding
behavior and the fledgling.
RESULTS
On 21 September 2006, I found a medium to
large sticky nest (Fig. 1) being used by a
breeding pair of Black-and-white Hawk
Eagles. It was located in the Atlantic rainfor-
est reserve of Parque Estadual do Rio Doce
(19°44’S, 42°37’W) (Minas Gerais state, of
southeast Brazil). The park is located in the
Doce river basin, approx. 217 km E of Belo
Horizonte, the State capital, and is bounded
by ranchlands and by a secondary dirt road
along the border. Its vegetation is classified as
seasonal semi-deciduous forest (Lins 2001).
The nest was located in a dense forest on the
slope of a small ravine, 830 m from the park’s
western edge (secondary road). The area sur-
rounding the nest site is characterized by
ridges, small ravines, and valleys.
The tree was at the base of a 395-m hill;
with its crown almost reaching the crest, it
was possible to observe the nest from above.
According to Simon & Pacheco’s (2005) stan-
dardization of nest descriptions of Neotropi-
cal birds, the nest can be classified as a low
cup/fork type. The external axes of the nest
were 102 cm long, 85.5 cm wide, and 60 cm
deep. The chamber was 62 cm long, 50 cm
wide and 5 cm deep, and contained a few uni-
dentified dry and fresh leaves, down feathers,
and some prey remains caught by the hawks,
as bird bones and a rectrice of a Squirrel
FIG. 1. Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus melanoleucus) fledgling and nest at a Brazilian Atlantic rain-
forest reserve (Parque Estadual do Rio Doce, MG, Brasil). Photo taken on 5 October 2006 by Carlos
Eduardo A. de Carvalho.
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Cuckoo (Piaya cayana). The nest was located
37 m high amongst four tertiary tree
branches. It was at the upper half of the
crown of a conspicuous 40 m tall Jequitibá
rosa (Cariniana legalis), with a few bromeliads
and epiphytes at the crown. The tree’s diame-
ter and circumference at breast height was 86
cm and 2.91 m, respectively.
Before finding the nest, on 21 July 2006,
during the dry season, I observed a pair of
Black-and-white Hawk-Eagles soaring in a
thermal at low altitude with five Black Vul-
tures (Coragyps atratus) above a ridge parallel-
ing the western edge of the reserve, approx.
900 m from the then unknown nest location.
According to Howell & Webb’s (1995)
descriptions of the species vocalizations, I
heard one individual (of unknown sex) giving
three to five clear, fast whistles, ending with a
more emphatic and slightly bi-syllabic note.
This was repeated several times. After a few
minutes, one of the adults rapidly dived once
towards the other without making contact.
Both adults then glided towards the forest
interior (towards the nest tree). The same
behavior was also recorded on 23 July 2006,
from a second pair 14 km from the site of the
first observation. During the second encoun-
ter, both individuals were at a very high alti-
tude and made several dives towards each
other.
In the early wet season, at 09:00 h on 21
September 2006, I went up to the same ridge
and saw a distant, conspicuous tree with
two adult Black-and-white Hawk-Eagles
perched on it. Several hours later, I
approached this tree and found a nest con-
taining one chick. Both adults were present at
the nest vicinity.
On 29 September 2006, I climbed the tree
using rappel techniques to measure the nest
and band the nestling. At this stage the nest-
ling had a slightly brownish-black back, fully
feathered tarsi, dark orange feet, white shoul-
ders and white leading edges of the wing, a
strong molt pattern in the underwing coverts,
wing remiges more than half grown, a black
cere (dark orange around the nostril) and
mask, light gray iris and a inconspicuous crest
still with white down feathers and just a few
black feathers. The chick did not vocalize but
remained in a threat position with bill and
wings partially opened. Both adults were
present and gave several alarm calls while
perched. Also, the adults made some short
flights around the nest tree and by the sur-
rounding area while we were checking the
nest. When I climbed the tree to take mea-
surements of the nest, I could see that from it
the hawk-eagles had an unobstructed view of
the landscape, including a portion of the west-
ern edge of the reserve.
A second attempt was made on 5 October
2006 to band the chick, with no success. By
this time, the plumage of the chick had
changed considerably; the crest was more
prominent with a black pattern, the remiges
were almost fully grown, and the underwing
coverts were almost fully feathered. Just one
adult was seen in the area on this second day.
The adult bird made several alarm whistles
but kept itself distant from the observer.
On 6 October 2006, I observed the fledg-
ling near the nest, on a lateral branch of the
tree. After a few minutes the fledgling flew
away.
DISCUSSION
An adult Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle
attacked (dived on) the observer while he was
close to the nest on one occasion. Though we
climbed the nest twice, we tried to minimize
the time spent close to the nest. The three vis-
its to the nest tree were intended to avoid dis-
turbing the site, with just two observers each
time. We made no further attempts to record
the chick in the vicinity of the nest or to
return to the site after 6 October 2006. Noth-
ing was detected regarding the observers hav-
610
CANUTO
ing some influence on the chick leaving the
nest.
According to Brown & Amadon (1968),
egg-laying dates for the Black-and-white
Hawk-Eagle in Guyana are March and April
(dry season). In this study the observations
of courtship and chick-rearing occurred dur-
ing the dry season in southeast Brazil. The
chick fledged at the beginning of the rainy
season. No observations of breeding activities
were recorded in the following year. The nest
was inactive from September to November
2007.
This nesting record of the Black-and-
white Hawk-Eagle, an endangered species in
the state (Machado et al. 1998), documents the
suitability and importance of this region in
supporting a local nesting population. It is
concluded that the Parque Estadual do Rio
Doce provides an important breeding site for
the conservation of this species.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I thank Eduardo Pio Mendes Carvalho Filho
and Carlos Eduardo Alencar Carvalho for
helping me in gathering data and in taking
photos. I also thank all the staff of the Parque
Estadual do Rio Doce, MG, Brasil, especially
Geraldo dos Santos Adriano (“Canela”), who
helped me to navigate the trails and climb the
nest tree. I also thank the IEF (National Insti-
tute of Forests) and the Polícia Militar de
Minas Gerais. These data were obtained dur-
ing the “White-necked Hawk (Leucopternis la-
cernulatus) study” funded by the “Peregrine
Fund”, Boise, Idaho, USA.
REFERENCES
Andrade, M. A. 1991. Notas sobre aves ameaçadas
de extinção que ocorrem em Minas Gerais. Rev.
SOM. 39: 16–17.
Brown, L., & D, Amadon. 1968. Eagles, hawks and
falcons of the world. McGraw-Hill, New York.
Fergusson-Lee, J., & D. A, Christie, 2001. Raptors
of the world. Houghton Mifflin Company, Bos-
ton, Massachusetts.
Howell, S. N. G., & S, Webb. 1995. A guide to the
birds of Mexico and northern Central America.
Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, UK.
Lins, L. V. 2001. Diagnóstico da cobertura vegetal
do Parque Estadual do Rio Doce; contribuição
ao plano de manejo. Instituto Estadual de Flo-
restas, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Machado, A. B. M., G. A. B. Fonseca, R. B.
Machado, L. M. S. Aguiar, & L. V. Lins. 1998.
Livro vermelho das espécies ameaçadas de
extinção da fauna de Minas Gerais. Fundação
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Melo Junior, T. A. 1996. Registros de algumas aves
ameaçadas no estado de Minas Gerais. Atual.
Ornitol. 72: 13–14.
Ribon, R., J. E. Simon, & G. T. Mattos. 2003. Bird
extinctions in Atlantic forest fragments of the
Viçosa region, southeastern Brazil. Conserv.
Biol. 17: 1827–1839.
Sick, H. 1997. Ornitologia brasileira. Ed. Nova
Fronteira, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Simon, J. E., & S. Pacheco. 2005. On the standard-
ization of nest descriptions of Neotropical
birds. Ararajuba 13: 143–154.
Strauch, J. G. 1975. Observations at a nest of the
Black-and-white Hawk-eagle. Condor 77: 512.
Vasconselos, M. F., & M. V. Veado. 2001. Novas
ocorrências do Gavião-pato (Spizastur melanoleu-
cus) no estado de Minas Gerais. Atual. Ornitol.
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Zorzin, G., C. E. A., Carvalho, E. P. M., Carvalho-
Filho, & M., Canuto. 2006. Novos registros de
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Accepted 22 August 2008.
... Chebez 1995; Alvarez et al. 1996;Alvarez-Cordero 1996;de Lucca 1996;Galetti & Carvalho 2000;Ibáñez et al. 2002;Piana 2002;Rettig 2002;Sanaiotti 2002;Peterson et al. 2003;Suárez et al. 2004;Luz 2005;Muñiz-López 2005;Silveira et al. 2005;Olmos et al. 2006;Pereira & Salzo 2006;Vargas-González et al. 2006a;Giudice et al. 2007;Pacheco et al. 2007;Piana 2007;Anfuso et al. 2008;Trinca et al. 2008;Pinheiro & Dornas 2009;May 2010;Seymour et al. 2010;Sánchez-Lalinde et al. 2011;Ubaid et al. 2011;Vargas-González & Vargas 2011;Aguiar-Silva et al. 2012;Muñiz-López et al. 2012;O'Shea & Ramcharan 2012;Rotemberg et al. 2012;Aguiar-Silva et al. 2014;Vargas-González et al. 2014;Aguiar-Silva et al. 2015;Kuniy et al. 2015;Sanaiotti et al. 2015;Sousa et al. 2015;Watson et al. 2016. Spizaetus tyrannus Sick 1997Olmos et al. 2006;Lopes & Braz 2007;Canuto 2008;Jones & Komar 2008a;Phillips 2009;Pimentel & Olmos 2011;Canuto et al. 2012;Meyer 2016. Spizaetus melanoleucus Andrade et al. 1996Anderson et al. 2004;Canuto 2008;Canuto 2009;Phillips 2009;Phillips & Seminario 2009;Canuto et al. 2012;Kohler & Rezini 2013. ...
... Spizaetus tyrannus Sick 1997Olmos et al. 2006;Lopes & Braz 2007;Canuto 2008;Jones & Komar 2008a;Phillips 2009;Pimentel & Olmos 2011;Canuto et al. 2012;Meyer 2016. Spizaetus melanoleucus Andrade et al. 1996Anderson et al. 2004;Canuto 2008;Canuto 2009;Phillips 2009;Phillips & Seminario 2009;Canuto et al. 2012;Kohler & Rezini 2013. Spizaetus ornatus Sick 1997Thorstrom 1997;Andrade & Andrade 1998;Naveda- Rodríguez 2002;Greeney et al. 2004;Naveda-Rodríguez 2004;Mendonça-Lima et al. 2006;Giudice 2007;Canuto 2008;Canuto 2009;Kirwan 2009;Phillips 2009;Joenck et al. 2011;Canuto et al. 2012;Joenck et al. 2013;Kjeldsen 2013;Phillips & Hatten 2013;Harvey et al. 2014. ...
... Spizaetus melanoleucus Andrade et al. 1996Anderson et al. 2004;Canuto 2008;Canuto 2009;Phillips 2009;Phillips & Seminario 2009;Canuto et al. 2012;Kohler & Rezini 2013. Spizaetus ornatus Sick 1997Thorstrom 1997;Andrade & Andrade 1998;Naveda- Rodríguez 2002;Greeney et al. 2004;Naveda-Rodríguez 2004;Mendonça-Lima et al. 2006;Giudice 2007;Canuto 2008;Canuto 2009;Kirwan 2009;Phillips 2009;Joenck et al. 2011;Canuto et al. 2012;Joenck et al. 2013;Kjeldsen 2013;Phillips & Hatten 2013;Harvey et al. 2014. Spizaetus isidori Valdez & Osborn 2002;Strewe & Navarro 2003;Valdez & Osborn 2004;Roesler et al. 2008;Greeney et al. 2011;Castañeda 2012;Araóz & Alvedaño 2013;Zuluaga & Echeverry-Galvis 2016. ...
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... Diet and hunting tactics are poorly described, but it is known to feed manly upon reptiles and birds caught in the canopy by long flights from perches or by stooping from the sky (Willis, 1988;Robinson, 1994). Its breeding behavior is known only by observation of few nests (Brown & Amadon, 1968;Strauch, 1975;Anderson et al., 2004;Canuto, 2008b;Phillips, 2009;Canuto et al., 2012). ...
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On the standardization of nest descriptions of neotropical birds
Article
  • Dec 2005
Different authors have used different methods and nomenclatures to describe bird nests of the Neotropical region, leading to muddled terminology which makes comparisons among published data difficult. The present study suggests a standardization and a hierarchy of criteria which make easier to understand nest structures and allow direct comparisons among data from different authors in reports on bird evolution, conservation, phylogeny, etc. For that, the nest has been defined as any place where the eggs are laid. Four elementary nest standards are proposed: simple (when eggs rest on an unlined or roughly lined floor), cup (any basket or bowl-like form), closed (when the walls completely cover the incubatory chamber), and cavity (when they are placed inside natural or artificial cavities). The simple standard has two variants: unlined and platform. The cup standard has two variants: high cup and low cup; the closed standard has six variants: long, globular, furnace, irregular, ovoid and retort. The cavity standard presents simple, cup, or closed nests inside, each one with or without an access tunnel to its interior. When hierarchically ordered, these four elementary standards, their variants and the four main ways by which nests are attached to substrate (by their bases, by their laterals, by a branch fork, or pensile) proved to be efficient for the description of neotropical nests, as shown by the examples given in the text including 97 species, 88 genera, and 33 families from more than 9 countries. These combinations, totaling 30 basic nest types, allow easy evaluation of important inter- and intra-specific differences and of the evolutionary processes which are relevant to taxonomy and conservation. In addition, suggestions for making and keeping scientific nest collections are presented.
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