Revista Biotemas, 22 (3), setembro de 2009 243 Predation on Polychrus acutirostris by Cyanocorax cristatellus Predation on the lizard Polychrus acutirostris (Squamata, Polychrotidae) by the curl-crested jay Cyanocorax cristatellus (Aves, Corvidae) in the Cerrado of Central Brazil Frederico Gustavo Rodrigues França* Vívian da Silva Braz Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade de Brasília CEP 70910-900, Brasília – DF, Brazil *Author for correspondence fgrf@unb.br Submitted in 24/10/2008 Accepted for publication in 29/04/2009 Resumo Predação do lagarto Polychrus acutirostris (Squamata, Polychrotidae) pela gralha-do-campo Cyanocorax cristatellus (Aves, Corvidae) no Cerrado do Brasil Central. Eventos de predação em lagartos são difíceis de observar na natureza. Aqui é apresentado o primeiro evento de predação do lagarto Polychrus acutirostris pela gralha-do-campo Cyanocorax cristatellus em uma área de cerrado do Parque Nacional da Chapada dos Veadeiros – GO, aumentando o conhecimento dos hábitos alimentares desta espécie de ave. Unitermos: Cyanocorax cristatellus, Polychrus acutirostris, predação Abstract Predation on lizards is difficult to observe in nature. Here, we report for the first time an act of predation on the lizard Polychrus acutirostris by the Curl-crested Jay Cyanocorax cristatellus in a Cerrado area of the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, central Brazil, thus increasing knowledge of the diet of this bird species. Key words: Cyanocorax cristatellus, Polychrus acutirostris, predation Short Communication Lizards are recognized as bird prey in Neotropical habitats (Rocha and Vrcibradic, 1998; Pianka and Vitt, 2003). Generally, birds that eat lizards are large non- passerine species such as raptors, owls, seriemas and motmots, but such predation by Passeriforme species is very infrequent (del Hoyo et al., 1994; 1999; Sick, 1997). The Curl-crested Jay (Cyanocorax cristatellus) is a large Oscine passerine (mean adult size = 34.5cm) distributed in open areas of Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia, and it is considered to be endemic to the Cerrado biome (Ridgely and Tudor, 1989; Sick, 1997). The diet of this species includes insects (termites, orthopterans and wasp nests), fruits and nectar (Henriques and Palma, 1998; Amaral and Macedo, 2003). Here, we report the first observation of a Curl-crested Jay preying on the lizard Polycrus acutirostris (Polychrotidae) in the Cerrado of central Brazil. Biotemas, 22 (3): 243-245, setembro de 2009 ISSN 0103 – 1643