Record of ship-assisted displacement of Chionis albus (Gmelin, 1789) (Aves: Chionidae) from antarctica to south America

Abstract

Seabirds can use merchant, research and/or fishery vessels as a refuge to avoid extreme environmental conditions at sea during their migration seasons. Here we report the visualization of six individuals of the Snowy Sheathbill (Chionis albus; Charadriiformes, Chionidae) landed on a ship for about twenty-three hours in the Drake Passage, during its displacement from the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, to Tierra del Fuego, confirming ship-assisted displacement by this species during its migration route.