SPIZAETUS NEOTROPICAL RAPTOR NETWORK NEWSLETTER ISSUE 30 DECEMBER 2020 AN IMPROVED DEFINITION OF WHAT MAKES A RAPTOR A RAPTOR PULSATRIX MELANOTA & MEGASCOPS INGENS IN COLOMBIA LEPTODON CAYANENSIS IN BRAZIL ASIO FLAMMEUS IN MEXICO PANDION HALIAETUS IN EL SALVADOR SPECIAL SPIZAETUS ORNATUS IN ARGENTINA 30TH SPIZAETUS ISIDORI IN COLOMBIA EDITION SpizaetusNRN Newsletter Issue 30 © December 2020 English Edition, ISSN 2157-8958 Cover Photo Red-legged Seriema (Cariama cristata) photographed in Parque Nacional Serra da Canastra, Minas Gerais, Brazil © Luis Florit http://luis.impa.br/photo, [email protected] Editors/Translators Laura Andréa Lindenmeyer de Sousa, Angel Muela, José de Jesús Vargas, Amy Seidenstrang Erin Katzner, and Marta Curti Graphic Design Marta Curti Spizaetus: Neotropical Raptor Network Newsletter © December 2020 www.neotropicalraptors.org This newsletter may be reproduced, downloaded, and distributed for non-profit, non-commercial purposes. To republish any articles contained herein, please contact the corresponding authors directly. @neotropicalraptors.org neotropicalraptor Dear NRN Members, The idea for the Neotropical Raptor Network was born during the 2002 Neotropical Raptor Conference and Harpy Eagle Symposium in Panama. Attendees of the conference be- lieved that raptor conservation and research in the Neotropics could benefit significantly from better communication and collaboration among the diverse community of biologists, ornithologists, falconers, raptor enthusiasts, and other con- servationists working in this region. In 2003, The Peregrine Fund developed the Neotropical Foto © Angel Muela Raptor Network. In 2004 the Listserve was created with a little over 150 members. Today we are 455 members strong and counting. Over the years, we have helped each other identify raptors, recover transmitters, dis- seminate publications and findings. We have freely shared our expertise, collaborated on projects, made friends, and celebrated each other's successes. The NRN Newsletter was first published in 2005, in English and Spanish. It was edited by then NRN Coordinator Cameron Ellis and, later by Magaly Linares. In 2009, we started publishing the newsletter in Portuguese, making it perhaps the only tri-lingual journal focused on Neotropical rap- tors. This, the 30th edition of Spizaetus, represents the 15th year highlighting raptor conservation in the Neotropics. We have published stories – your stories – from 17 countries in North, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. This newsletter and the NRN wouldn’t exist without your support and the support of our Advisory Board members. Thank you for being part of the family. Sincerely, Marta Curti Table of Contents An improved definition of what makes a raptor a raptor results in welcom- ing a new species to the flock Erin Katzner .................................................................................................................................3 Distribution and new locations for two species of owl in eastern colombia: Band-bellied Owl (PULSATRIX MELANOTA) and Rufescent Screech Owl (MEGASCOPS INGENS) Elvis Felipe Quintero Quintero, Nathalia Otero, Edilson Torres, Fabián Álvarez López & Sergio Cha- parro-Herrera ...............................................................................................................6 Notes on the natural history of Strigiformes from the city of Mérida, Ven- ezuela Luis A. Saavedra, María E. Escalona-Cruz, Mauricio Ramirez & Carla I. Aranguren ........................12 New sites of occurrence of short-eared owl (ASIO FLAMMEUS) in Central Mexico Jesús Oswaldo Gómez-Garduño, Rogelio Bautista-Trejo, José Clemente Vázquez Sánchez & Jorge E . Ramírez-Albores...................................................................................................................21 Predatory behavior by Gray-headed Kite (LEPTODON CAYANENSIS) in wasp nests of the Polistini tribe in the Pantanal wetland, Brazil Breno Dias Vitorino, Angélica Vilas Boas da Frota & Josué Ribeiro da Silva Nunes........................26 Overwintering Osprey (PANDION HALIAETUS) in El Salvador Mario Roberto Trejo Alemán, José Manuel Flores Gámez, Gerson Rodríguez & Néstor Herrera........31 Predation of Roadside Hawk (RUPO RNIS MAGNI ROSTRIS) by Ornate Hawk-Eagle (SPIZAETUS O RNATUS) in the Puerto Península Natural Military Reserve, Iguazú Department, Provincia de Misiones, República Argentina Nicolás Lodeiro Ocampo, Norberto Angel Nigro, Natalia Daiana Peralta, Marcelo Javier Wioneczak, & Luis Seko Pradier .......................................................................................................36 My experience in monitoring the Black-and-Chestnut Eagle (SPIZAETUS ISIDORI) in western Antioquia, Colombia Juan Diego Quiróz Quiróz ..............................................................................................42 Where tundra meets desert: a journey with Peregrine Falcons wintering on the coast of Peru Oscar Beingolea, contado a Nico Arcilla ..............................................................................46 Conversatons from the field: interview with Melissa Murillo and Hana Weav- er, biologists on the Puerto Rican Sharp-Shinned Hawk (ACCIPITER STRIATUS VE- NATOR) Conservation Project Markus Jais.....................................................................................................................50 Global Raptor Information Network: a new tool for raptor researchers Matthew Danihel .................... .......................................................................................57 Of Interest.............................................................................................................59 The NRN is a membership-based organization. Its goal is to aid the research and conservation of Neotropical raptors by promoting communication and collaboration among biologists, raptor enthusiasts, and other conserva- tionists working in the Neotropics. To join please e-mail the NRN coordinator, Marta Curti, at mcurti@ peregrinefund.org, stating your interest in Neotropical raptor research and conservation. AN IMPROVED DEFINITION OF WHAT MAKES A RAPTOR A RAPTOR RESULTS IN WELCOMING A NEW SPECIES TO THE FLOCK By Erin Katzner¹ 1Director of Global Engagement. The Peregrine Fund. 5668 West Flying Hawk Lane. Boise, Idaho, 83709 email: [email protected] S ometimes old concepts require fresh scru- and we wanted to establish a common definition tiny, especially when such concepts may have im- to help improve consistency across studies as well portant implications for preventing extinction. as lessen the ambiguity of research and manage- Recently,S a team of scientists from The Peregrine ment recommendations.” Typically, more tradi- Fund, University of North Texas, Ornithologi, tional groups including falcons, hawks, and eagles EDM International, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, are universally agreed upon to be birds of prey by and HawkWatch International revisited the con- researchers, but groups like owls and vultures are cept of what exactly defines the group of birds not always included as raptors depending on the referred to as ‘raptors’ or ‘birds of prey’. In the person. process, they realized that two South American When scientists make these determinations, they species, the seriemas, probably deserve member- typically look at physical characteristics such as ship as raptors. sharp talons or ecological traits such as capturing When Dr. Chris McClure, Director of Global prey with their feet, we often assume that those Conservation Science at The Peregrine Fund, and species also share important features that tell us his colleagues set out to provide a more formal about their evolution and help prioritize our con- definition of raptors, they were not looking to servation efforts. That may not always be the case identify new raptors, but they found some any- because traits, particularly those with strong asso- way. McClure recalls, “Our primary goal with ciations with survival, can evolve independently this study was to better define what a raptor is among groups limiting our ability to inform con- using science-based methods. No standard defini- servation effectively. tion for the terms ‘raptor’ or ‘bird of prey’ existed, www.neotropicalraptors.org Page - 3 Figure 1. Red-legged Seriema (Cariama cristata). Photo © Steve Martin, Natural Encounters, Inc. This study narrowed the criteria to focus on evo- groups that share common ancestry with rapto- lutionary history to demonstrate that birds such rial land birds are more likely to have maintained as hawks, eagles, falcons, owls, and vultures all raptorial lifestyles. In short, raptors are land birds shared a common ancestry and evolved from in the groups that evolved from vertebrate-eaters “raptorial land birds,” or birds that live on land in which most species of the group maintained and feed on vertebrate animals. Additionally, that vertebrate-eating lifestyle. the majority of the species within the identified Page - 4 issue 30 • December 2020 It may sound a bit complex, but Dr. Jeff Johnson, McClure adds, “This new definition will help to a professor at the University of North Texas, as- influence research priorities, funding decisions, sures us, “It actually clarifies a lot of the issues and conservation actions. If we were not already previous definitions have had for the term rap- challenging older ideas that vultures were not tra- tor. By eliminating the uncertainty that results ditional raptors, The Peregrine Fund would not from relying