A 10-year collection of roadkilled avifauna in a stretch of the BR-040 highway in southeastern Brazil

In Brazil, the number of animals killed by vehicle collision surpasses 475 millions/year, but the actual number may be even higher since roadkill data in the country is scarce and punctual. Using a standard protocol, the project Caminhos da Fauna monitored since 2006 the avifauna roadkill in the BR-040 (RJ/MG) highway, southeastern Brazil. Here, we present a checklist of the avifauna registered during the 10-year monitoring program, including the list of roadkills, indicating threatening status at regional, national, and global levels, and the number of records/species. We registered 1,317 individuals belonging to 180 species, 21 orders, and 48 families. Another 247 individuals could not be identified. For seven families roadkills were higher than 50 individuals: Thraupidae, Cuculidae, Strigidae, Tyrannidae, Psittacidae, Columbidae, and Turdidae. The most collected species were Crotophaga ani (n = 106; Cuculidae), followed by Psittacara leucophthalmus (n = 61; Psittacidae), Piaya cayana (n = 56; Cuculidae), and Asio clamator (n = 44; Strigidae). Five species were under threat: Penelope obscura, Primolius maracana, Pteroglossus bailloni, Ramphastos vitellinus, and Sicalis flaveola. Most species were geographically widespread, while other 13 (7.2%) were endemic. Given the considerable amount of data obtained, further efforts of the same motivation in other Brazilian roads and express transportation systems should be encouraged.

Automated summary

In Brazil, more than 475 million animals are killed by vehicle collision each year, with the actual number potentially even higher due to limited roadkill data. The Caminhos da Fauna project has monitored avifauna roadkill on the BR-040 (RJ/MG) highway in southeastern Brazil since 2006. The project presents a checklist of the avifauna recorded during the 10-year monitoring program, highlighting the species at risk and the number of roadkill records. The data collected showed a significant number of roadkills in seven bird families, with five species being under threat. Further efforts to monitor roadkill on other Brazilian roads and transportation systems are encouraged.