Home ranges and aspects of the natural history of the Black-masked Finch Coryphaspiza melanotis (Gray, 1840) (Aves, Thraupidae) in central Cerrado, Brazil

ABSTRACT

In the Cerrado, native grasslands have been dramatically lost, leading to an alarming decline in populations of bird species that require these vegetation physiognomies. Species such as the Black-masked Finch Coryphaspiza melanotis (Gray, 1840) are vulnerable to extinction and remain poorly studied. The objective of this study was to examine home ranges of the Black-masked Finch at the Parque Nacional da Chapada dos Veadeiros, central Brazil. Ten males were studied in a patch of shrubby grassland (campo sujo) between February and December 2008. The mean sizes of home ranges were 4.47 ± 1.49 ha (Minimum Convex Polygon) and 3.48 ± 1.44 ha (Kernel 95%), and this varied significantly between seasons. Home ranges were significantly larger in the non-breeding dry season than during other periods, and significantly smaller in the breeding season than during other periods. Core areas (Kernel 50%) had a mean of 0.46 ± 0.26 ha. A large overlap of home ranges was observed. The home ranges of all banded males overlapped those of at least three co-specifics, and most had an area overlap of more than 50%. A nest containing an egg and a nestling was found in November. Small and largely overlapped home ranges can be considered as positive for the conservation of the Black-masked Finch. This is because both small grassland fragments and conservation units can substantially contribute to the conservation of its populations through the Cerrado extension.

KEYWORDS:

• Grassland
• Neotropical Region
• reproduction
• savannah
• territory

Acknowledgements

We thank ICMBio for providing a license to study birds at Parque Nacional da Chapada dos Veadeiros. José Fernando Rebello, Daniel Borges and Simone Fonseca helped with logistics. Aline Simone, Guilherme Freitas, Angélica Gabas, Leonardo Borges and Luz Marina helped with data obtention and analyses. This work was supported by FAPESP under grant 05/00773-3, CNPq under grant 471360/2006-6 and Idea Wild. We also thank Elivânia Reis, Leonardo Lopes, José Carlos Motta-Junior, Natasha Macedo, Vivian Braz and two anonymous reviewers for giving numerous suggestions and reviewing an earlier version of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) [05/00773-3]; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) [471360/2006-6]; Idea Wild.