Exploration of food resources by psittacids (Aves: Psittaciformes) in the urban area of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Marques, Carolina Prudente
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Outros Autores: Amaral, Diogo Ferreira do, Guerra, Vinicius, Franchin, Alexandre Gabriel, Júnior, Oswaldo Marçal
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Biotemas (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/biotemas/article/view/2175-7925.2018v31n2p33

Parrots living in cities can use urban parks for breeding, refuge or feeding. However, there is little knowledge about the diet of parrots in these environments. We identified food resources exploited by parrots in urban public parks and examined the foraging strategies employed. The study was conducted in 10 parks in the city of Uberlândia, MG, Brazil, from May to December 2011. The psittacids were investigated by focal animal and ad libitum methods. Observations were carried out in the morning and late afternoon, totaling 480 hours of sampling effort. A total of 278 feeding events were recorded. The parrot species for which foraging records were obtained were Eupsittula aurea, Psittacara leucophthalmus, Brotogeris chiriri and Diopsittaca nobilis. The parrots consumed food resources from 33 plant species, including fruit (pulp only, pulp with seed or seed only), flowers, nectar and leaves. The most exploited plant families were Fabaceae, Bignoniaceae and Arecaceae. The diet of the psittacids was quite diverse, where they exploited a wide range of plants, especially exotic species. These results demonstrated the importance of green areas for the feeding, refuge and conservation of some parrot species in urban centers.