Flowers, fruits, and the abundance of the yellow-chevroned parakeet (Brotogeris chiriri) at a gallery forest in the South Pantanal (Brazil)

Abstract

Parakeets usually forage for massive and ephemeral plant resources at forest canopies. Fruit pulp is widely cited as a major food resource for these birds, which often eat seeds and nectar. In this study, I assessed flower and fruit production at a gallery forest in the Pantanal flood plain (Brazil) in order to evaluate the relationship between food resource production and abundance of a common parakeet, Brotogeris chiriri. Also, I evaluated the relationship between food resource production and foraging activity. Parakeet abundance varied markedly along the year, coinciding with massive episodes of flower and fleshy fruit availability. Inga vera nectar, intensely used during the latter part of dry season, was by far the most exploited food item by parakeets when they were very abundant. The nectar comprised 34% of the parakeets' diet (N = 131 feeding records) at the gallery forest, while fleshy fruits made up the rest. Parakeets principally exploited fruits of Cecropia pachystachya and Ficus luschnathiana, besides palm fruits and Inga vera arils. The consistent relationship between foraging activity and parakeet abundance, as well as the coincidence between fluctuations of these parameters and availability of major food resources, suggests that food availability mostly influenced B. chiriri occurrence in the gallery forest. Furthermore, I found no evidence for gallery forest use for roosting and/or breeding, in spite of the fact that such factors usually influence local parakeet abundance.

The parakeet Brotogeris tirica feeds on and disperses the fruits of the palm Syagrus romanzoffiana in Southeastern Brazil

“…Parrots, parakeets, and macaws -family Psittacidae -feed mostly on seeds, fruits, and flowers including petals and nectar (e.g., Forshaw 1989, Pizo et al 1995, Collar 1997, Sick 1997, Ragusa-Neto 2004. Nevertheless, parrots and their kin are primarily seed-predators, as they feed on the embryo of the fruits they forage on (Collar 1997,Sick 1997 and thus rarely act as primary fruit dispersers.…”

“…The Neotropical parakeets grouped in the genus Brotogeris form an assemblage of small psittacids (16-25 cm, 52-80 g, see Collar 1997) that feed on fruits, flowers, nectar, algae, insects, and snails (Collar 1997, Ragusa-Neto 2004, Paranhos et al 2007). In Southeastern Brazil, Brotogeris chiriri and B. tirica are recorded to feed on palm fruits, of which they eat the pulp (Galletti 1997, Ragusa-Neto 2004, Paranhos et al 2007).…”

“…In Southeastern Brazil, Brotogeris chiriri and B. tirica are recorded to feed on palm fruits, of which they eat the pulp (Galletti 1997, Ragusa-Neto 2004, Paranhos et al 2007). None of the latter authors mention the possibility that Brotogeris parakeets might disperse palm fruits, especially the larger ones.…”

Plant food resources and the diet of a parrot community in a gallery forest of the southern Pantanal (Brazil)

“…Recently, some parrot species have been identified as possible tree-species pollinators, however few studies have focused on parrotflower relationships (but see Vicentini & Fischer, 1999;Cotton, 2001;Ragusa-Netto, 2002). Also, studies have also shown that these parrots exhibit low reproductive rates, usually nest in tree holes, are long-lived, have no all-purpose territories, and forage over large areas of various types so as to exploit food resources that are both plentiful and ephemeral (Renton, 2001;Ragusa-Netto, 2004;2005). Due to their mobility and dietary flexibility, parrots can adjust to the marked seasonality of food resource production in forest canopies (Renton, 2001).…”

“…Due to their mobility and dietary flexibility, parrots can adjust to the marked seasonality of food resource production in forest canopies (Renton, 2001). For example, even though Neotropical parrots customarily forage on fruits and seeds, flower consumption may be vital when fruit production declines, mainly during the dry season (Galetti, 1993;Ragusa-Netto, 2004, 2005. Unlike some other species, Neotropical parrots seldom forage on arthropods (del Hoyo et al, 1997;Renton, 2001).…”