Bromeliad water-drinking birds in Brazil: outline based on a citizen science platform

Bromeliads are ubiquitous and species-rich plants in the Atlantic Forest in Brazil, which hold water available for bird-drinking. Herein, we list and illustrate bromeliad water-drinking birds recorded by Brazilian citizen scientists and available at the public platform Wiki Aves. We found photographic records of 36 bird species in the platform. The records indicate that bromeliads as water source for birds originate entirely from the Atlantic Forest, as previously found in the scientific literature. Records of bromeliad water-drinking birds in north-western Brazil are absent from the platform, but there are records from north-eastern and southern Brazil, regions undetected in the scientific literature search. Literature and the present records of bromeliad-drinking birds in Brazil comprise 42 species in 15 families to date, of which 10 are non-passerines and the remaining ones are passerines. Based on previous research, expected bird species were in Ramphastidae, Picidae, Cotingidae, Tyrannidae, Turdidae, and Thraupidae, whereas unforeseen bird species include Psittacidae, Tytiridae, Rhynchocyclidae, Vireonidae, Mimidae, Fringillidae, and Icteridae. Amazonian bromeliad-drinking birds are still lacking, despite bromeliad richness in this biome. However, it should be noted that Amazon Forest harbour lower bromeliad species-richness than the Atlantic Forest. Additional search in citizen science databases and fieldwork are needed to fill this gap.

Automated summary

This study identifies and documents the diversity and distribution of bromeliad water-drinking birds in the Atlantic Forest in Brazil through records collected by Brazilian citizen scientists on the public platform Wiki Aves. The findings support previous scientific literature that bromeliads serve as a water source for birds exclusively in the Atlantic Forest, with limited records in other regions such as north-western Brazil. Unexpected bird species were found to utilize bromeliads as a water source, warranting further research and exploration in the Amazon Forest, which has lower bromeliad species richness compared to the Atlantic Forest.