Brazilian Cleaner Birds: Update And Brief Reappraisal [aves Limpadoras Brasileiras: Atualiza Cao E Breve Reavaliacao]

Some bird species feed on external parasites, such as ticks and flies, on the body of mammals (hosts or clients). So called cleaner birds that occur in Brazil were reviewed recently, but gathering of significant new data indicates the need for an update and a brief reappraisal of such association. New records raise the number of known clients for some cleaning birds. The Southern Caracara (Caracara plancus) picks ticks on cattle, and the Black Caracara (Daptrius ater) picks ticks on capybaras. The Wattled Jacana (Jacana jacana) picks ticks, horseflies, arthropods and organic debris on capybaras, and tick-picking on capybaras by the Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis) is substantiated by photographs. The Cattle Tyrant (Machetornis rixosa) deftly catches horseflies on capybaras, and these latter clients are recorded posing for the Giant Cowbird (Molothrus oryzivorus), which also pick parasites from the marsh deer. The Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) definitely picks ticks directly on cattle. With the new records, some poorly documented or controversial issues in the literature are here confirmed, a hypothesis is validated, and a suggestion is invalidated.101327331Baber, D.W., Morris, J.G., Florida scrub jays foraging from feral hogs (1980) Auk, 97 (2), p. 202Bella, S.D., Biologia reprodutiva e alimentar de Bubulcus ibis (Linnaeus, 1758) (Ciconiiforme, Ardeidae) e sua ocorrência em Pernambuco, Brasil (2003) Dissertação De Mestrado, p. 145. , Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, RecifeEmmons, L.H., (1990) Neotropical Rainforest Mammals: A Field Guide, p. 281. , University of Chicago Press, ChicagoGasset, J.W., Folk, T.H., Alexy, K.J., Miller, K.V., Chapman, B.R., Boyd, F.L., Hall, D.I., Food habits of Cattle Egrets on St. Croix, U.S (2000) Virgin Islands. Wilson Bull, 112 (2), pp. 268-271Gonzales, J.C., (1995) O Controle Do Carrapato Do Boi, p. 79. , Edição do Autor, Porto AlegreIsenhart, F.R., de Sante, D.F., Observations of scrub jays cleaning ectoparasites from black-tailed deer (1985) Condor, 87 (1), pp. 145-147Jaramillo, A., Burke, P., (1999) New World Blackbirds: The Icterids, p. 432. , Princeton University Press, PrincetonMacdonaldacdonald, A.D.W., Feeding associations between capybaras Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris and some bird species (1981) Ibis, 123 (3), pp. 364-366Marcus, M.J., Feeding associations between capybaras and jacanas: A case of interspecific grooming and possibly mutualism (1985) Ibis, 127 (2), pp. 240-243Martin, P., Bateson, P., (1986) Measuring Behaviour, An Introductory Guide, p. 200. , Cambridge University Press, CambridgeMassei, G., Genow, E.P.V., Observations of black-billed magpie (Pica pica) and carrion crow (Corvus corone cornix) grooming wild boars (Sus scrofa) (1995) J. Zool, 236 (2), pp. 338-341Peres, C.A., Ungulate ectoparasite removal by Black Caracaras and Pale-winged Trumpeters in Amazonian forests (1996) Wilson Bull, 108 (1), pp. 170-175Sazima, I., Unexpected cleaners: Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus) remove debris, ticks, and peck at sores of capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), with an overview of tick-removing birds in Brazil (2007) Rev. Bras. Ornitol, 15 (3), pp. 417-426Sazima, I., The jack-of-all-trades raptor: Versatile foraging and wide trophic role of the Southern Caracara (Caracara plancus) in Brazil, with comments on feeding habits of the Caracarini (2007) Rev. Bras. Ornitol, 15 (4), pp. 592-597Sazima, I., Validated cleaner: The cuculid bird Crotophaga ani picks ticks and pecks at sores of capybaras in southeastern Brazil (2008) Biota Neotrop, 8 (1), pp. 213-216. , http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v8n1/pt/abstract?article+bn00308012008Sick, H., (1997) Ornitologia Brasileira, p. 862. , Editora Nova Fronteira, Rio de JaneiroSucucksdorff, S.A., Pantanal, um paraíso perdido? Editora Rio Gráfica (1985) Rio De Janeiro, p. 160Telfair II, R.C., Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) (2006) Cornell Lab of Ornithology, , http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/113, In The birds of North America (A. Poole, ed.), Ithaca, last access on 23/10/2009Tomazzoni, A.C., Pedó, E., Hartz, A.S.M., Feeding associations between capybaras Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris (Linnaeus) (Mammalia, Hydrochaeridae) and birds in the Lami Biological Reserve, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul (2005) Brazil. Rev. Bras. Zool, 22 (3), pp. 713-716Weeks, P., Red-billed oxpeckers: Vampires or tickbirds? Behav (2000) Ecol, 11 (2), pp. 154-16