Sternidae, Vigors, 1825

Somenzari, Marina, Amaral, Priscilla Prudente do, Cueto, Víctor R., Guaraldo, André de Camargo, Jahn, Alex E., Lima, Diego Mendes, Lima, Pedro Cerqueira, Lugarini, Camile, Machado, Caio Graco, Martinez, Jaime, Nascimento, João Luiz Xavier do, Pacheco, José Fernando, Paludo, Danielle, Prestes, Nêmora Pauletti, Serafini, Patrícia Pereira, Silveira, Luís Fábio, Sousa, Antônio Emanuel Barreto Alves de, Sousa, Nathália Alves de, Souza, Manuella Andrade de, Telino-Júnior, Wallace Rodrigues & Whitney, Bret Myers, 2018, An overview of migratory birds in Brazil, Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 58, pp. 1-66 : 15-16

Sternidae

Onychoprion fuscatus (MGT) : occurs on tropical and subtropical seas and is widely distributed on all oceans. As soon as chicks fly, all birds depart from the colony; adults return after 2-3 months at sea and use the colony as a roost before beginning a new breeding cycle ( Gochfeld et al., 2016a). The subspecies O. f. fuscatus is the only one that occurs in Brazil and it breeds in the USA, in islands in the Gulf of Guinea and in the South Atlantic ( Gochfeld & Burger, 1996). In Brazil, it breeds between September and March in Fernando de Noronha/PE,Trindade/ES,Atol das Rocas/RN, Abrolhos/BA, Ilha Guarita/BA and Martin Vaz/ES ( Sick,1997; Alves et al., 2004; Fonseca-Neto,2004). Specimens were collected at BA in March and July ( Lima, 2006; MZUSP) and at ES in January, April and December (MZUSP).

Chlidonias niger (MGT) : breeds in continental regions in Europe, Asia and North America, and it migrates through the coast of both the Pacific and Atlantic to overwinter on the coast of Africa and of Central and South America ( Burger & Gochfeld, 1996). In Brazil, there are records of one individual recovered in Macau /RN in September 1986 that had been banded in Berlin ( Germany), one individual in nuptial plumage in RS in June ( Belton, 1994), and records for CE in October ( Albano & Girão, 2011). Several records for CE, MA and RS centered in the period between September and February (WikiAves, 2016) suggest that Brazil is an important wintering destination for this species.

Sterna hirundo (MGT) : breeds in North America, Eurasia and the southern Caribbean from April to August. It migrates from late August to October to Santa Cruz Province in Argentina through the Atlantic Ocean, and to Peru through the Pacific Ocean. It returns in mid-March and April ( Cordeiro et al., 1996; Gochfeld et al., 2016b). The population that overwinters in Brazil originates from breeding colonies on the east coast of the USA and Canada, as well as from the Great Lakes in North America. Adults reach the northern coast of Brazil around late September and fly over the Caribbean and Guianas before the young. There are population peaks between October and November, and it is in November that this species flies south through the inland northeastern region of Brazil, as far as RS, along the Atlantic coast ( Hays et al., 1997), as found through statistical analyses ( Mestre, 2007). Breeding adults return in March/April ( Hays et al., 1997), but immature individuals or those that cannot breed may remain ( Antas, 1987). Individuals banded on the Portuguese islands of Azores and in southern Spain between April and July were recovered mainly on the coast of BA, but also in CE and PE, between December and May ( Lima et al., 2005; Mestre et al., 2010).The largest gatherings of individuals of this species in Brazil are in BA and RS (within which Lagoa do Peixe is an important site for resting, molting and weight gain) ( Nascimento & Santos, 2010), with peaks of up to 14,000 individuals recorded in January and February ( Belton, 1994). Individuals banded in Argentina and in southern Brazil were recovered on the coast of BA, which suggests that there are stopover grounds on the coast of Brazil used during the migration north ( Lima et al., 2005). Although there are records from the entire Brazilian coast throughout the year, they are centered in the period of September to April (Wikiaves, 2016; MZUSP; MPEG; MNRJ).

Sterna dougallii (MGT) : breeds in areas in the Northern Hemisphere – North and Central America, Azores, Great Britain, Sri Lanka and islands in the North Pacific – and migrates south during winter. It is resident on oceanic islands and small regions in the northern coast of South America, Africa, Arabia, Asia and Oceania ( Gochfeld & Burger, 1996). The population that overwinters in Brazil originates mainly from breeding colonies on the east coast of the USA and Canada, as well as on the Great Lakes in North America ( Antas, 1987). Individuals band- ed in North and Central America in June and July were recovered in Brazil in 11 states from the coast of AP to northern ES,especially between December and February ( Mestre et al., 2010). Tavares et al. (2013) suggest that this species is a regular migrant in northern RJ. It also seems to use a transatlantic flyway, as shown by an individual banded in Mangue Seco/BA that was recovered in a breeding colony in Azores and another one banded in England recovered in Mangue Seco ( Lima et al., 2001a). Museum records are restricted to BA in August, February and March (MZUSP).

Sterna paradisaea (MGT) : breeds from May to July in septentrional zones of the Holarctic and flies along the Brazilian coast when migrating to Antarctica to overwinter. When migrating south, the North American population follows the Gulf Stream as far as Europe and then flies south along the African coast, crossing once again the Atlantic at the level of the current of Guinea ( Antas, 1987). Recent geolocation studies showed that this species is able to travel more than 80,000 km in one year. Eleven individuals were attached with geolocators in Greenland, seven of which used flyways that were parallel to the African coast and four that went along the east coast of Brazil ( Gochfeld et al., 2016c). All birds remained in the Atlantic sector of the Antarctic Ocean at latitude 58°S from December to March ( Gochfeld et al., 2016c). Individuals banded in the USA were recovered in Brazil in BA in July and August, RJ in March, SC in November and RS in December ( Belton, 1994; Sick, 1997; Lima et al., 2004c; Girão et al., 2008). Photographic records suggest the scarce presence of the species on the entire Brazilian coast from Marajó Island/PA to RS, especially from September to April (WikiAves, 2016).