Diet of Chunga burmeisteri (Cariamidae) and the potential role as a seed disperser in the dry Chaco from Salta, Argentina

ZELAYA, J; BARICCO, M; MATIAS, E; LIZARDO, G; GORDILLO, F; MONTERO, A; LIZARRAGA, S; VARELA, O

Puerto Iguazú, Misiones

Congreso; Ornithological Congress of the Americas, Puerto Iguazú, Misiones; 2017

Association of Field Ornithologists, Sociedade Brasileira de Ornitologia and Aves Argentinas

The Black-legged Seriema, Chunga burmeisteri (Hartl.) (Cariamidae) is a neotropical, terrestrial bird, endemic to the Great Chaco, and their diet is little known. The aim of this study was to characterize the seasonal diet of Chunga burmeisteri and the potential as a seed disperser. A total of 220 feces were collected monthly (20 / month) during 1995. The diet was omnivorous and was composed of fruits (71%), arthropods (28%) and vertebrates (1%). Fleshy fruits dominated the diet during the wet and dry seasons, and contributed 62%, 74% and 79% of the frequency, volume and total weight, respectively. Most of the fruit diet was provided by Prosopis (P. nigra, P. elata) (Fabaceae), Sarcomphalus mistol (Rhamnaceae), Prosopis torquata (Fabaceae), Celtis chichape (Celtidaceae), Capsicum chacoense (Solanaceae). The most commonly consumed animal prey were arthropods of the order Coleoptera. Other animal groups which represent a smaller fraction in the diet were: Orthoptera, Hymenoptera (Formicidae), Scorpiones, Scolopendromorpha, Arachnida, micromammals, birds and reptiles. There were no significant seasonal variation in the frequency of the main food groups, but there was marked seasonality in the frequency of fleshy-fruited species. The breadth of the diet was similar between wet and dry seasons. There were 15,861 seeds (9,392/Wet season, 6,469/Dry season), 95% of which were intact and potentially viable. The most numerous seeds corresponded to C. chacoense, C. chichape, Prosopis sp., P. torquata, S. mistol and Lycium boerhaviaefolium (Solanaceae).