Plant food resources exploited by Blue-and-Yellow Macaws (Ara ararauna, Linnaeus 1758) at an urban area in Central Brazil.

Abstract

In this study, we described the food plants available to Blue-and-Yellow Macaws (Ara ararauna), its feeding habits and the relationship between these parameters with feeding niche breadth. We established four transects, each one 12 km long, to sample fruiting plants and the feeding habits of this macaw (monthly 40 h, of observations), at the urban areas of Três Lagoas (Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil). During all studied months, macaws foraged for palm fruits, mainly Syagrus oleracea and Acrocomia aculeata fruit pulp, both available all year, as well as Caryocar brasiliense and Anacardium occidentale seeds, in the wet season. The year-round feeding activity of macaws suggests Três Lagoas city as an adequate feeding area. The permanent availability of plant food resources, potentially, resulted from the diverse fruiting patterns of exotic and, mainly, native plant species, which provided a variety of suitable fruit patches.