Abstract

The Magellanic Flightless Steamer Duck (Tachyeres pteneres) is the only marine anatid founded along the coastline of Chile and Argentina, from Valdivia to Tierra del Fuego. There is little published information about the quantitative diet of this species. Previously, a single study of its breeding diet was reported for Guapiquilán Island, Chiloé, southern Chile. We studied T. pteneres' winter diet during 2011 and 2012 in Bahía Caulín, Chiloé, southern Chile. We found that statistically Cancridae crabs (100 and 100%, respectively) and Majidae (96.0-71.4%, respectively) were the most common items in the diet of this species.