Curlew Sandpipers Calidris ferruginea in the western Atlantic: the first, second, and third Brazilian records from Ceará and Maranhão

Abstract

Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) is a rare spring migrant along the east coast of North America and a casual visitor to Central American and the Caribbean. Here we present documentation for the first, second, and third Brazilian records of C. ferruginea from Icapuí, Ceará, and Coroa dos Ovos, Maranhão. In addition, we provide insight into this species’ current status and distribution in the western Atlantic in the context of these new records. The appearance of C. ferruginea on the Atlantic coast of North America, the Caribbean, Central America, and now, Brazil, suggests that individuals may be displaced from their regular southbound migration along the Palearctic-Afrotropical flyway by northeastern trade winds. Given that C. ferruginea is regularly detected on northbound migration throughout the United States, and in light of these three new records for South America, it seems likely that small numbers of this species may be wintering annually undetected in the Atlantic coast of South America.