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The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 123(1): 171-173, 2011 
Greater Anis (Crotophaga major) Commensal Foraging with Freshwater Fish 
in the Pantanal Floodplain, Brazil 
Flavio Kulaif Ubaid 1 
ABSTRACT.—Foraging associations between birds 
and other groups of animals have been widely reported 
in the literature. I report the first observation of a 
foraging tactic involving a flock of Greater Ani 
(Crotophaga major), which deliberately followed fish 
along an artificial ditch in the Pantanal wetlands, 
feeding on animals flushed by the movement of the 
vegetation on the ditch banks. Further observations of 
the feeding behavior and foraging tactics of Greater 
Anis are necessary to ascertain if this type of behavior is 
a frequent event or merely sporadic. Received 22 June 
2010. Accepted 11 October 20/0. 
Commensal foraging associations, where indi¬ 
vidual foraging opportunities are enhanced by 
actions of other unaffected individuals, are well 
known in nature and there are a relatively large 
number of reports in the scientific literature (King 
and Cowlishaw 2009). Birds are one of the groups 
most frequently studied as many species have the 
capacity to forage by catching prey flushed from a 
variety of substrates by other terrestrial animals 
(Willis and Oniki 1978, Dean and MacDonald 
1981, Roberts et al. 2000). Among the best known 
associations of commensal foraging are those 
between birds and army ants (Oniki and Willis 
1972, Willis and Oniki 1978, Willis 1983). During 
their sorties, ants moving in large numbers disturb 
a variety of insects and other small animals, which 
1 Programa de Pos-gradua^ao em Zoologia, Instituto de 
Biociencias, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rubiao Junior, 
18618-100 Botucatu, Sao Paulo, Brasil; 
e-mail: flavioubaid@yahoo.com.br 
become potential prey for birds (Willis and Oniki 
1988). Similarly, birds have been observed 
catching prey flushed by a wide variety of animals 
including primates (Fontaine 1980, Boinski and 
Scott 1988, Siegel et al. 1989, Ferrari 1990, 
Warkentin 1993), white-nosed coatis (Nasuci 
narica) (Booth-Binczik et al. 2004), nine-banded 
armadillos ( Dasypus novemcinctus ) (Komar and 
Hanks 2002), maned wolves ( Chrysocyon bra- 
chyurus) (Silveira et al. 1997), ungulates (Heat- 
wole 1965, Dean and MacDonald 1981, Kallander 
1993), and other birds (Baker 1980, Robbins 
1981). 
Reports also exist that involve birds in foraging 
associations with aquatic animals. These accounts 
come from observations in marine environments 
where birds were observed foraging in association 
with cetaceans (Au and Pitman 1986, Camphuy¬ 
sen et al. 1995, Camphuysen and Webb 1999, 
Santos et al. 2010), pinnipeds (Rijder 1957), tuna 
(Au and Pitman 1986), and stingrays (Kajiura et 
al. 2009). These marine animals, during their 
hunting forays, frequently confine their prey close 
to the surface to facilitate capture; these aggrega¬ 
tions attract seabirds that dive to feed (Martin 
1986, Camphuysen and Webb 1999, Clua and 
Grosvalet 2001). However, I found no reports of 
foraging associations involving birds and fresh¬ 
water animals. 
The Greater Ani ( Crotophaga major) ranges 
from northern Argentina to Panama in South 
America; it typically occurs along riverbanks with 
vegetation and in gallery forests, flooded areas, 
