Opportunistic predation on birds trapped in mist nets in two areas in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil

ABSTRACTMist netting is the most popular method for capturing birds, but it can increase the predationrates of individuals trapped in the nets. From 2008 to 2017, we recorded eight instances of opportunistic bird predationfrom mist nets(MNs) in a matrix mixing restored forest and fragments of semideciduous seasonal forest in southeastern Brazil, three times (37.5%) by exotic primates and five times (62.5%) by birdsof prey. Overall predationrates (1.17–1.20%) at these two sites were considered high but were lower than in other Brazilian studies. Placing MNs near the edges of forest fragmentsmay have allowed attacks by either forest predatorsor marmosets, which are exotic edge species. Some previously described precautions may decrease the predationrates of birds in MNs, such as shorter observation intervals, greater attention to given site selectionand maintaining a safe distance between the MNs and the ground.