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Despite their wide use in ornithological surveys, point counts and mist nets follow protocols developed in temperate regions, with little attention to possible modifications for tropical systems. Using these methods on a 3-month basis from December 2009-January 2011 in two forest fragments in southeastern Brazil, we wished to evaluate how long these locations needed to be surveyed with point counts for a relatively complete avifaunal inventory (at least 90% of all species and contacts), and if mist net hourly captures can equally detect numbers of species and individuals. Daily counting with four 20-min points during five consecutive days in a rain forest (MC) detected 90% of the estimated species richness after 20 h (60 20-min point counts), while 17 h (51 20-min point counts) did not detect 90% of the estimated species richness in a semideciduous forest (IT). The first 5 min of point counting in MC (63% of all species) and in IT (65%) detected significantly more species than the remaining minutes, but it took 15 min to accumulate 86% of all contacts in both forests. Consecutive 5-day mist netting (~ 9 h/day) resulted in 70.5 net-h/m² (MC) and 74.8 net-h/m² (IT) of sample effort, but 80-85% of the estimated number of species was obtained. Although accumulation curves showed no tendency towards stabilization of the number of observed species, the estimated number of species began to stabilize after the first 20 h in both forests. There was no significant difference in capture rates for both species richness and abundance among hourly net checks, but a trend in which these parameters were highest between the second and fourth checks of the day was observed. A 3-day (43.8 and 63.3 net-h/m²) mist netting section was enough to record 90% of the species captured during five days in MC and IT, respectively, while precise enough not to jeopardize species richness estimation. The number of individuals, however, decreased order 34% in MC and 38% in IT under the same conditions. Considering the number of net checks, 90% of the estimated species richness was captured until the 1100 h check in both remnants, while 67% of all individuals were captured until this same hour. Our results demonstrate that surveying the avifauna in these locations will require unique approaches, which must be tested before the beginning of point counting or net opening.

A anatomia craniana de oito espécies de martins-pescadores da subfamília Cerylinae (Megaceryle torquata, M. lugubris, M. alcyon, Ceryle rudis, Chloroceryle amazona, C. americana, C. inda e C. aenea) foi comparada com a de outros Alcedinidae e com representantes da maioria das famílias de Coraciiformes (Coraciidae, Leptosomidae, Bucerotidae, Upupidae, Todidae, Momotidae e Meropidae), a fim de verificar o padrão da região temporal e da barra jugal. Esses dados foram comparados também com os disponíveis na literatura referentes aos Ramphastidae, Picidae, Galbulidae, Capitonidae e Cuculidae. A região temporal com duas fossas bem delimitadas, a barra jugal expandida rostrolateralmente e o processo ótico do quadrado com três saliências articulares, entre outros, são caracteres comuns para Cerylinae. Quatro características permitiram separar os gêneros de Cerylinae: expansão dorsal do processo orbital do lacrimal (ausente em Chloroceryle [danificado em Ceryle rudis], presente em Megaceryle); côndilo caudal do quadrado (forma cotilar em Chloroceryle e Ceryle rudis, forma condilar em Megaceryle); cótila lateral e caudal da mandíbula (indistintas em Chloroceryle e Ceryle rudis, distintas em Megaceryle); e parede dorsal da fossa caudal da mandíbula (ausente em Chloroceryle e Ceryle rudis, ausente Megaceryle).

Skull osteology of eight species of Cerylinae Kingfishers (Megaceryle torquata, M. lugubris, M. Alcyon, Ceryle rudis, Chloroceryle amazona, C. americana, C. inda and C. aenea) were compared with other Alcedinidae and representatives of most families of Coraciiformes (Coraciidae, Leptosomidae, Bucerotidae, Upupidae, Todidae, Momotidae and Meropidae) with the purpose of verifying the pattern of the temporal region and the jugal arch. These data were also compared with the information on the bibliography about the Ramphastidae, Picidae, Galbulidae, Capitonidae and Cuculidae. The temporal region with two well delimited fossas, the jugal arch expanded rostrolaterally and quadrate with three saliences on the otical process, are common characters on the Cerylinae kingfishers. Four characters were diagnostic to separate the genera of Cerylinae studied: the dorsal expansion of the orbital process of the lacrimal (absent in Chloroceryle [unavailable in Ceryle rudis], present in Megaceryle); caudal condyle of quadrate (cotylar-shaped in Chloroceryle and Ceryle rudis, condylar-shape in Megaceryle); lateral and caudal cotyles of mandible (non distinct in Chloroceryle and Ceryle rudis, distinct in Megaceryle) and dorsal wall of the caudal fossa of jaw (absent in Chloroceryle and Ceryle rudis, present in Megaceryle).