Diomedeidae, Gray, 1840

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 : 3-4

Diomedeidae

Thalassarche chlororhynchos (MGT) : breeds on the group of islands of Tristan da Cunha ( Tristan da Cunha, Inaccessible, Nightingale, Middle and Stoltenhoff) and Gough Island ( Olmos et al., 2006). In Brazilian waters it occurs more frequently from RS to RJ (MZUSP; MNRJ). However, there are records from northeastern Brazil ( Olmos et al., 2006), for Sergipe (SE) in June, Alagoas (AL) in May and June ( Sousa et al., 2005; MNRJ 36008 [AL, 1988, May]), Pernambuco (PE) in May ( Carlos et al., 2005a), MA in October ( Carvalho et al., 2010) and even in PA, in Muaná, in July (WikiAves, 2016). During winter, the number of individuals in oceanic Brazilian waters rises considerably ( Neves et al., 2006). Individuals banded at breeding sites were recovered in the states of SP in September, SC in June ( Olmos, 2002a) and RS in November ( Soto & Riva, 2001).

Thalassarche melanophris (MGT) : occurs on Southern seas from Cape Horn east to Antipodes Islands and from Campbell Islands south to New Zealand ( Carboneras, 1992b). Its breeding season extends from September to April in the Malvinas / Falkland Islands, where the largest breeding colonies of this species are located ( Neves et al., 2006) and where most individuals that visit Brazil originate from (ACAP, 2009). Nestlings (n = 52) banded on the Malvinas / Falkland Islands were recovered between May and September along the Brazilian coast, most of them south of Arraial do Cabo/RJ ( Olmos, 1997), which suggests that the species is more common – though not exclusive – during winter in latitudes superior to 21°S ( Olmos, 2002a). These recoveries, alongside sightings in open sea, suggest that records of this species in the southern coast of Brazil are mainly of juveniles ( Olmos, 1997) that use the waters over the Brazilian continental shelf as feeding areas ( Piacentini et al., 2005). Museum records also confirm the species’ presence on the Brazilian coast mainly between May and September at RJ, SP,SC e RS (MZUSP; MNRJ).

Thalassarche cauta (MGT) : occurs in Tasmania and Auckland Islands, Crozet, Snares, Bounty and Chatham ( Carboneras, 1992b) and breeds only on three islands south of Australia: Albatross, Pedra Branca and Mewstone (ACAP, 2009).They also occur in the western South Atlantic, where they are bycatch in pelagic longline fishing in Brazil and Uruguay ( Gianuca et al., 2011). It occurs regularly in Brazilian waters, on the continental slope region along RS and SC, since juveniles were recorded in open sea between May and September from 2005 to 2011, one adult in August 2011 ( Gianuca et al., 2011) and one photographic record in October for RS (WikiAves, 2016). There is also one record in PR, although the month is not mentioned ( Scherer-Neto et al., 2011). Besides these, two other Brazilian specimens remain to be identified ( Dénes et al., 2007): one from RS collected in April ( Petry et al., 1991) and another from Bahia (BA) in September ( Lima et al., 2004a). In this paper we follow CBRO ( Piacentini et al., 2015). However, recent data reveals that there is no confirmed record of Thalassarche cauta in the Southwestern Atlantic, but of Thalassarche steadi instead, suggesting review of these seabirds identification as necessary ( Gianuca et al., 2011; Seco-Pon & Tamini, 2013; Jiménez et al., 2015).

Diomedea epomophora (MGT) : occurs in southern seas and breeds in New Zealand, in the Auckland Islands (99% of the population) and Campbell (ACAP, 2009) from November to March ( Neves et al., 2006). After breeding, it migrates across the Pacific and Cape Horn to feed on the continental shelf of Argentina (including the Malvinas /Falklands) and southern Brazil, where it remains for months before migrating back across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans ( Olmos, 2002a; Neves et al., 2006). One chick banded in New Zealand in October 1976 was found dead almost one year later in RS, in August ( Sick, 1997). Two specimens captured in RS in July and August were band- ed in Campbell ( Olmos, 2002a) and there are records in April, August, September and November for Rio Grande/ RS (WikiAves, 2016).

Diomedea sanfordi (MGT) : breeds in New Zealand, only in the Chatham Islands and the Otago Peninsula (Taiaroa Head) ( Olmos et al., 2006) from September to April. After breeding, it migrates east to the coast of Chile and Peru, where it molts. It then goes around Cape Horn to reach the continental shelf of Argentina (including the Malvinas /Falklands) and southern Brazil before crossing the Atlantic Ocean via the South African coast and migrating through the Austral Ocean to its breeding site ( Neves et al., 2006). For RS there are photographic records in the months of May, August ( Bencke et al., 2010) and October (WikiAves, 2016) and also as bycatch in the longline fishing fleet of Brazil in August ( Carlos et al., 2004a). For SC there is only one record in July 2001 away from the continental shelf ( Olmos, 2002b).

Diomedea exulans (MGT) : occurs across most of the Austral Ocean, from the Antarctic Circle (68°S) to the Tropic of Capricorn (23°S). It breeds in the South Georgia Islands on the Atlantic Ocean, mainly on Bird Island. It also breeds on Prince Edward and Marion Islands, Crozet and Kerguelen Islands, and Macquarie Island, which belongs to South Africa, France and Australia respectively. This species has a long reproductive period (55 weeks) and individuals that nest in the Atlantic migrate east reaching the south coast of Australia and the Pacific Ocean ( Neves et al., 2006). Individuals (n = 12), mostly nestlings, band- ed on Bird Island/ South Georgia in October were recovered in Brazil mainly in July and September, on the coast of RS or in open sea in RS and SP ( Mestre et al., 2010).

Diomedea dabbenena (MGT) : occurs in the central South Atlantic Ocean and it currently breeds only on Gough and Inaccessible Islands, since it is extinct in Tristan da Cunha ( Olmos, 2008). Geolocation data suggests that 14 non-breeding adults used the southwestern Atlantic during the austral summer and migrated to the southeastern Atlantic and Indian Ocean to the east as far as Australia during the austral winter ( Reid et al., 2013).Two male specimens banded on Gough Island in January and October were bycatch in longline fishing in Brazil in RS in October and November, respectively ( Neves & Olmos, 2001). Records in Brazilian waters for SP (August),SC (November) and RS (October, November) suggest that the species is more frequent in waters under the influence of the Subtropical Convergence away from the coast of RS ( Neves & Olmos, 2001). Museum records date for SC in September and RS in June, September and October (MZUSP specimens).