Beak deformity in three bird species from the southwest of the Brazilian Amazon / Deformidad del pico en tres especies de aves del sudoeste de la Amazonia brasileña

Abstract Beak deformity have a frequency of 0.5% in wild bird populations. In addition to being rare, beak deformities are also poorly reported in the Brazilian scientific literature. Here we report beak deformities in the species: Dendrocincla merula, Amazona ochrocephala and Pheugopedius genibarbis, all of which occurred in southwestern Brazilian Amazon. Dendrocolaptids make intensive use of their beaks in the search for insects and small vertebrates, where they explore in cracks in wood with lateral blows. In the case presented here, this behaviour may have been the cause of the breakage of the tip of this individual's maxilla. In Brazilian territory, few species of parrots were recorded with deformity in the beak and in the individual in this work, everything indicates that Amazona ochrocephala was a captive animal, as it was excessively thin and its diet probably had a low content of vitamins and calcium, where their deficiency even when the animal was a puppy may have contributed to the deformity of the maxilla. Cases of beak deformities in species of the Troglodytidae family are rare, but the individual in this work presented an unusual curvature in the maxilla not observed in other individuals in museum collections. Only with more reports will we be able to better understand the occurrence and causes of these beak deformities in wild birds.

Resumen La deformidad del pico es una característica rara y tiene una frecuencia baja, con 0.5% de casos en poblaciones de aves silvestres. Además de ser raras, las deformidades del pico también son escasamente reportadas en la literatura científica brasileña. Reportamos aquí deformidades en los picos de aves de las especies: Dendrocincla merula, Amazona ochrocephala y Pheugopedius genibarbis, en los cuales todos los registros ocurrieron en el sudoeste de la Amazonia brasileña. Los dendrocoláptidos hacen uso intensivo del pico en la búsqueda de insectos y pequeños vertebrados, explorando en grietas de la madera con golpes laterales. En el caso aquí presentado, este comportamiento de exploración pudo haber sido la causa de la rotura de la punta del maxilar de este individuo. En el territorio brasileño, pocas especies de loros fueron registradas con deformidad en el pico y en el individuo de este trabajo, todo indica que Amazona ochrocephala era un animal de cautiverio, ya que estaba excesivamente delgado y su dieta probablemente tenía un bajo contenido de vitaminas y calcio, donde su deficiencia incluso cuando el animal era un joven puede haber contribuido a la deformidad del maxilar. Los casos de deformidades del pico en especies de la familia Troglodytidae son raros, pero el individuo de este trabajo presentaba una curvatura inusual en el maxilar no observada en otros individuos de esta especie depositados en la colección científica. Sólo con más informes podremos entender mejor la ocurrencia y las causas de estas deformidades del pico en aves silvestres.

Detection of Rickettsia tamurae-like and other spotted fever group rickettsiae in ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) associated with wild birds in the Western Amazon, Brazil.

Ticks are vectors for several pathogens, including bacteria belonging to the Rickettsia genus, such as Rickettsia rickettsii and Rickettsia parkeri, the causative agents of spotted fever. The aim of the present study was to investigate the tick species richness and rickettsial agents associated with wild birds captured in the Humaita Forest Reserve, Acre, in the Western Amazon region. Wild birds were captured with ornithological nets for visual inspection with the purpose of collecting ticks, which were identified through morphological analyses and molecular tests for several genes (12S rDNA, 16S rDNA, gltA, ompA, and sca4). A total of 607 wild birds were captured, 12% of which were parasitized by 268 ticks of the Amblyomma genus, with new host-parasite associations reported for Amblyomma calcaratum, Amblyomma geayi, Amblyomma longirostre, Amblyomma naponense, Amblyomma nodosum, and Amblyomma varium. Of the total ticks collected, 113 were tested for the presence of rickettsial DNA fragments, with 19 testing positive for R. parkeri in A. geayi, Rickettsia tamurae-like in Amblyomma sp., and Rickettsia amblyommatis in A. geayi, A. longirostre, and Amblyomma sp. We detected R. tamurae-like in Amblyomma larvae for the first time in the Western Brazilian Amazon biome, and registered spotted fever group rickettsiae, although the relevance of the detected species in a public health context should be further explored in South America, as well as new host-parasite interactions in this underexplored region.