92 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS EDMAN, J. D., L. A. WEBBER, AND A. A. SCHMID. 1974. MEYERRIECKS, A. J. 1960. Comparative breedingbehav- Effect of host defenseson the feedingpattern of Culex ior of four speciesof North American herons. Publ. nigripalpuswhen offered a choice of blood sources.J. Nuttall Omithol. Club 2. Parasitol. 60:874-888. WEBBER, L. A., AND J. D. EDMAN. 1972. Anti-mosquito KALE, H. W., II, J. D. EDMAN, AND L. A. WEBBER. 1972. behaviourof ciconiiform birds. Anim. Behav. 20:228- Effect of behavior and age of individual ciconiiform 232. birds on mosquitofeeding success. J. Am. Mosq. Con- trol Assoc. 32:343-350. Department of Entomology, Universityof Massachusetts, MAXWELL, G. R., II, AND H. W. KALE, II. 1977. Main- Amherst,Massachusetts 01003. Received 23 March 1983. tenance and anti-insect behavior of six speciesof ci- Final acceptance22 July 1983. coniiform birds in South Florida. Condor 79:s l-55. The Condor 86192-93 TABLE 1. Birds attending the morning raids of a colony 0 The CooperOrnithological Society 1984 of the army ant Eciton burchelli,near Ixtapa, Mexico. OBSERVATIONS OF BIRDS AT AN ARMY ANT SWARM IN GUERRERO, MEXICO Lesser Ground Cuckoo R 1 0 ERICK GREENE (Morococcyxerythropygus) DAVID WILCOVE Dusky-capped Flycatcher RorM 0 2 (Myiarchus tuberculifer) AND Bright-rumped Attila R 1 0 (Attila spadiceus) MEG MCFARLAND Swainson’s Thrush M 3 2 (Catharus ustulatus) Hermit Thrush M 2 0 Birds of various speciesfollow army ant raids to prey upon (Catharusguttatus) organismsflushed by the ants (studiesreviewed in Willis Wilson’s Warbler M 1 0 and Oniki, Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 9:243-263, 1978). Here ( Wilsonia pusilla) we report on birds seen at the raids of one colony of the Fan-tailed Warbler R 1 0 army ant Eciton burchellinear Ixtapa, Guerrero, Mexico (Euthlypis lachrymosa) (17”40’N, 10l”4O ’W). Our observationsare of interest be- causeno ant-following specialistsoccur this far northwest, il R = residentthroughout the year, M = migrant. and ant-following birds have seldom been studied in Mex- ico (Sutton, Condor 53:16-18, 1951 from Tamaulipas; Hardy, Condor 76:102-103, 1974 from Nayarit; Willis [pers. comm.] from Nayarit and Sinaloa). We observed the ant colony and attendant birds from fewer flushed prey and tends to be occupiedby speciesof 08:OOto 17:OOon 24-25 January 1983. The study site was intermediate weight and dominance;a peripheral zone (C) a semideciduousforest with a poorly developed under- is occupiedby small or ground species.Although we saw story on karst topography (elevation 250 m). The army no overt conflicts among speciesattending the ant raid, ants conductedactive raids from dawn until mid-day, and the positions and the foragingtactics of the birds differed. resumed from mid-afternoon until dark. No raiding ac- The Bright-rumped Attila occupied zone A, where it tivity took place during a mid-day “siesta” (seeSchneirla, perched on twigs l-3 m high and dropped to the ground Proc. Am. Philos. Sot. 87:438-457, 1944), when the ants to captureanimals fleeing from the ants. Its prey included returned to their bivouac. To minimize disturbanceof the a gecko(approximately 10 cm in length), a large scorpion, birds, we stayedwell behind or to the side ofthe ant swarm. and many spiders. The Lesser Ground Cuckoo and the The birds were foraging vigorously, and our presencedid Swainson’s and Hermit thrushesremained on the ground not seem to disturb them. in zones B and C. The Fan-tailed and Wilson’s warblers A total of seven specieswere observed feeding at the perched low (less than 1 m) or hopped on the ground in swarm over two consecutivedays (see Table 1). On neither zone C. Dusky-cappedFlycatchers occupied zone A, where day were birds presentat the swarm during the afternoon they sallied from low perchesafter insectsand spiderson raids. Five of the six speciesseen one day were not present the ground. A Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra) perched the next day, which suggeststhat the birds were oppor- in zone C but we did not see it take prey at the swarm. tunistic in their use of the ant swarms as food resources; Willis (Living Bird 5: 187-23 1, 1966) reported that mi- ant-following specialistswill follow a single ant swarm grant birds are subordinate to resident ant-followers, as throughout an entire day, and over the course of many inferred from their foragingposition at an ant swarm and days (Willis and Oniki 1978). To the best of our knowl- aggressivesupplantings by other birds. Over a period of edge, three of these specieshave not been previously re- four years,he documentedthe percentagesof migrant birds ported at ant swarms: Lesser Ground Cuckoo, Hermit at swarms of Eciton burchellion Barro Colorado Island, Thrush, and Wilson’s Warbler. Other speciesof cuckoos, Panama; the average percentagesranged from a high of thrushes,and wood warblers,however have been observed 30% in October to near 0% in May. He suggestedthat at army ant swarms (Willis and Oniki 1978). further north, in the absenceof specializedant-followers, Willis and Oniki (1978) describedthe division of avian more migrants might occur at swarms of Eciton burchelli. foraging zones around army ant swarms in Panama: a The percentageof migrants at the ant raid we observed central zone (A) is richest in flushed prey and is occupied (both days combined) was indeed higher than those re- by a large dominant species;the surroundingzone (B) has corded on Barro Colorado Island by Willis (1966). Con- SHORT COMMUNICATIONS 93 sideringthe Dusky-cappedFlycatchers as residents(a con- John Terborgh, Diane Wiernasz, and Edwin Willis for servativebias, since they couldbe either residentor migrant) their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this manu- the percentageof migrantswas 62%, roughly twice as high script. Princeton University provided partial funding for asWillis ’s highestaverage migrant percentageof migrants. our travel. We thank members of John Terborgh’s 1982 Tropical Ecology Field Course for their assistancein the field. We Department of Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544. Received 14 April 1983. Final accep- are indebted to William Brown for identifying the army tance 19 August 1983. ants. We are grateful to David Pearson, Scott Robinson, The Condor 86:93 Fulica gigantea. Giant Coot. On 17 July 1983, B. Wyper 0 The Cooper Ornithological Soclety 1984 and I watched a Giant Coot at Mejia as it fed among a crowd of Moorhens (Gallinula chloropus) and other coots FURTHER NOTES ON PUNA (Fulica americana and F. ardesiaca), appearingthree times the size of the former and twice the size of the latter. This BIRD SPECIES ON THE coot has been previously recorded only once at sea level, COAST OF PERU also at Mejia, where one was presentbetween 8 December 1979 and 4 January 1980 (Hughes 1980). The vagrancy of this apparently flightlessspecies (FjeldsB 1981) seems R. A. HUGHES particularly noteworthy. Charadrius alticola. Puna Plover. Seenevery year since 1979 at Mejia, with up to six individuals at a time. The Twelve speciesof birds from the puna zone (high altitude) recordsare largelyfrom July through October. This plover of the Andes have been reported on the coast of Peru has been recorded several times for the coast region of (Pearsonand Plenge 1974, Hughes 1980). (The extent and Deptos. Lima and Ica (Pearsonand Plenge 1974) and the characterof the puna zone were describedbriefly by Pear- speciesis apparently a regularvisitor in small numbers to son and Plenge.) I here report two additional species,nei- coastalArequipa as well. ther ofwhich has previouslybeen recordedfrom the coast. Cinclodes atacamensis. White-winged Cinclodes.On 3 1 Phoenicoparrus jamesi. Puna Flamingo. On 27 March October 1981, I saw an individual on the banks of the 1982, Elizabeth Forster and I saw a sinale bird at Meiia river Tambo at Puente Fiscal, near Cocachacra,Depto. Lagoons on the coast of Depto. Arequipa. Its uniformly Arequipa, at an altitude of 160 m above sea level. The dark red legswere its most striking field mark but we also only previous coastalobservation of this specieswas of a noted its relatively short bill and pale coloration. The bird single bird at Mollendo. Depto. Arequipa. in Januarv- remained at the lagoonsat least until 27 July. The Puna February 1980 (Hughes 1980). _ _ Flamingo has a restrictedrange in the high Andes between The Andean Gull (Laws serranusl and the Chilean Fla- southwesternPeru and the northern extremities of Chile mingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis) have been shown to visit and Argentina, frequenting saline lakes above 4,000 m. the coastregularly from the puna zone, the gull widespread The only previous report from a relatively low latitude and the flamingo at certain favored locations, suchas Par- appearsto be that of three birds found at less than 1,000 acasBay, Depto. Ica, and Mejia, Depto. Arequipa (Pearson m at Oran, province of Salta, Argentina, during July 1966 and Plenge1974). The Puna Ibis (Plegadis ridgwayz] should (Johnson 1972). now be added to the list: it occurs annually at Mejia, Recurvirostra andina. Andean Avocet. This specieshas occasionallyin flocks of 20 or more (July 1982) but more now appeared for three consecutive years at the Mejia often singlyor in groupsof 3-6. Although I have additional Lagoons.I sawa singlebird from 29 Augustto 8 September Mejia recordsfor the Puna Teal (Anas puna) and Andean 1981 and another was found on 11 June 1982. remaining Lapwing (Vanellus resplendens), these two speciescannot until 3 July. Yet another was located on 1 March 1985 be regarded as more than casual visitors to the coast of and it was still presenton 17 July; this last individual was Peru. seen by several observers,including B. Wyper, B. Wylie, J. P. Myers, T. Schulenberg,S. Allen and E. Ortiz. In all LITERATURE CITED instancesthe avocets associatedwith the resident Black- wingedStilts (Himantopus himantopus) and frequentlybe- FJELDSA,J.