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Collared Forest-Falcon (Micrastur semitorquatus) preying on a squirrel in a fragment of Atlantic Forest with a revision of the predation events for the species

Alessandro Rocha, Sérgio Henrique Borges, Juan Miguel Ruiz Ovalle, Adrian Ashton Barnett

Abstract


We recorded predation on the squirrel Guerlinguetus ingrami by a Collared Forest-Falcon (Micrastur semitorquatus) through camera trapping in a forest fragment of Atlantic Forest in the interior of São Paulo state, Brazil. The squirrel was captured while it moved across the forest floor. A compilation from bibliographic and other sources resulted in 68 vertebrate and 03 invertebratw species as prey of the Collared Forest-Falcon, with birds more commonly reported in the diet of the species. The majority of prey (66% of species) did not exceed 300 g, but some prey species (12%) such as guans (Penelope spp.) were heavier than the falcon. The
Collared Forest-Falcon could affect the population dynamics of smaller vertebrates in forest fragments of Atlantic Forest due to its flexibility in diet and habitat use, an aspect that deserve a more thorough investigation.


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