2005
DOI: 10.1590/s1676-06032005000300023
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Abstract: Geophagy, or soil ingestion, is known from a wide range of animal taxa but is particularly common among macaws and parrots in the family Psittacidae. Current theory suggests that Neotropical parrots ingest soil to neutralize toxins in food such as seeds and unripe fruit and as a mineral supplement. Here, we document the occurrence of geophagy at a site in lowland forest in Bolivia. We recorded six species of parrot with a maximum of 1,044 birds on any one day. Aratinga weddellii, Pionus menstruus and Ara sever… Show more

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Cited by 13 publications
(11 citation statements)
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References 5 publications
(4 reference statements)
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“…The temporal patterns and behaviors of parrots we documented at the palms are similar to those of parrots at these nearby river‐edge clay licks (Burger & Gochfeld , Brightsmith , Mee et al . , Brightsmith & Villalobos ). At both types of sites, birds come together shortly after sunrise, form large noisy multispecies groups, then move slowly and deliberately to the sodium‐rich resource (Brightsmith & Villalobos ).…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The temporal patterns and behaviors of parrots we documented at the palms are similar to those of parrots at these nearby river‐edge clay licks (Burger & Gochfeld , Brightsmith , Mee et al . , Brightsmith & Villalobos ). At both types of sites, birds come together shortly after sunrise, form large noisy multispecies groups, then move slowly and deliberately to the sodium‐rich resource (Brightsmith & Villalobos ).…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Johns (1986) showed that rural populations in Peru and Bolivia eat clay along with potentially toxic wild potatoes to detoxify the tubers. Mee et al (2005) also showed that parrots in Bolivia ingest soils to neutralize toxins in seeds and unripe fruits that they eat. Clay fraction may also adsorb some ingested organic plant toxins such as tannins, alkaloids, and oxalates, resulting in their removal or inactivation (Johns 1986;Johns and Duquette 1991;Houston et al 2001).…”
Section: Mineralogical Characteristics Of Geophagic Soilsmentioning
confidence: 97%
“…Geophagy is defined as the deliberate and regular consumption of earthy materials such as soils, clays or sediments by animals and humans (Abrahams and Parsons 1996) and may function to supplement dietary mineral deficiencies (Kreulen and Jager 1984;Heyman and Hartman 1991;Moe 1993;Holdø et al 2002;Mills and Milewski 2007), alleviate gastrointestinal disorders (Kreulen 1985;Krishnamani and Mahaney 2000;Houston et al 2001) or detoxify unpalatable foods (Johns 1986;Gilardi et al 1999;Johns and Duquette 1991;Houston et al 2001;Mee et al 2005). Geophagic behavior of mammalian herbivores has been reported by many authors (e.g., Bowell et al 1996;Houston et al 2001;Abrahams 1999), but cattle and elephants are among the large herbivore mammals most extensively studied for their geophagic habits Abrahams 1999;Mahaney et al 1996).…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…A recent study reports that even if parrots try to avoid toxic plants, they are able to cope with it (Gilardi and Toft, ). Geophagy–ingestion of clay or charcoal for example–is one of the defence mechanism against secondary toxic plant compounds (Burger and Gochfeld, ; Mee et al., ) adsorbing potential dietary toxins and possibly conferring cytoprotection of the gastrointestinal lining (Collar, ; Gilardi et al., ).…”
Section: Veterinarian Perspectivesmentioning
confidence: 99%