Keeping wild birds as pets in a semiarid region of Rio Grande do Norte State, northeastern Brazil

Abstract

There is a wide variety of wild birds in the semiarid region of Brazil. Some of these birds are frequently used by local populations in various ways, and the habit of keeping wild birds in cages as pets is very common. The objective of this study was to survey the birds kept as pets in a semiarid region of Rio Grande do Norte state in northeastern Brazil. Field study was conducted from September 2009 to March 2010 in the districts of Caicó, São João do Sabugi, Serra Negra do Norte, and Timbaúba dos Batistas. A total of 101 individuals were interviewed, including 91 male respondents, with ages ranging 10–75 years. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews of local residents who kept wild birds as pets. Twenty-five species of wild birds kept as pets, belonging to seven families, were mentioned by the respondents. The family Thraupidae was the most represented, with 10 bird species. Sporophila albogularis, Paroaria dominicana and Icterus jamacaii had the highest use values, all of them species endemic to the Caatinga and Brazil. Capturing wild birds for caged keeping is an activity still practiced in the study area by local human populations, who prefer species endemic to Brazil.