Ardeola ralloides (Scopoli, 1769)

Lima, Rafael Dantas, Silveira, Luís Fábio, Lemos, Renata Constant de Amorim, Lobo-Araújo, Lahert William, Andrade, Arthur Barbosa de, Francisco, Mercival Roberto & Efe, Márcio Amorim, 2022, An annotated avian inventory of the Brazilian state of Alagoas, one of the world’s most threatened avifauna, Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 62, pp. 1-36 : 15

Ardeola ralloides

One individual observed at Barra de Santo Antônio on 17 October 2017 (MAE pers. obs.) is the only state record. This record adds to the growing number of records of this Old World heron in mainland northeastern Brazil and suggests that it is colonizing the New World, as predicted by Davis (2010) and Whittaker et al. (2019). The species was first reported in South America on Fernando de Noronha Island in June 1986, when a single adult was seen ( Teixeira et al., 1987). Between November and December 2004, several birds were recorded again on the island (Silva e Silva & Olmos, 2006) and now a self-sustaining population seems to have become established therein ( Davis, 2010; Whittaker et al., 2019). Recently, it has also been recorded in several sites in mainland northeastern Brazil: Fortaleza in March 2018 (WA 2915623; J. Amaya) and Caucaia in August 2019 (WA 3479117; L. Soares), Ceará; Gurinhém in March 2020 (WA 3711727; G. Luz) and João Pessoa in January 2021 (WA 4182921. J. Abraão), Paraíba; Ipojuca in October 2021 (WA 4535114; S. Almeida) and February and March 2022 (e.g., WA 4777127; A. Wittmann), Pernambuco; and the abovementioned Alagoas record. These records suggest that we are witnessing a rapid and successful transatlantic colonization event.