Abstract
We report the sighting of a specimen of Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) in Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago (SPSPA), Brazil, in the mid-Atlantic Ocean. Chroicocephalus ridibundus is a Palearctic species that breeds throughout Europe. Part of the population spends winters in the Mediterranean and coasts of Africa, and a small breeding population remains in the northeast coast of North America. The specimen was on the island for 27 days, between 09 February and 06 March 2020. The gull was identified as a first-winter bird based on its plumage. We conclude that the vagrancy of yet another Old World species at the oceanic SPSPA in the western equatorial Atlantic Ocean was caused by the southwesterly trade winds of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. To our knowledge, this is the first documented record of C. ridibundus in the Brazilian territory.
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Change history
25 May 2021
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43388-021-00051-4
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the Programa Arquipélago de São Pedro e São Paulo (PROARQUIPELAGO) and the Brazilian Navy for logistical support; the ornithologist Glayson Ariel Bencke, for confirming the Black-headed Gull identification; the biologist Carlos Eduardo Agne and Dr. Claudio Dias Timm, for helping with the identification; all members of the Birdwatchers Club of Rio Grande do Sul, for the enthusiastic discussion and about the identification; Mr. Andrew Whittaker, for revising the manuscript for language and helpful comments; Júlia V.G. Finger, for translating the manuscript; and Marlon Ferraz, for helping us with the map.
Funding
This research was funded by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, CNPq (442858/2015-9). A.C.B. was awarded with a master’s scholarship from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) (process number 27935); R.B., a scientific initiation scholarship from CNPq (process number 121386/2019-8).
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The original online version of this article was revised due to a retrospective Open Access cancellation.
Communicated by Marcos P. Santos
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de Brum, A.C., Brentano, R., Montone, R.C. et al. A vagrant Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) documented from Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago: Brazil’s first record. Ornithol. Res. 28, 263–266 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43388-021-00036-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43388-021-00036-3