Rainforest Expeditions (est. 1989) operates three award winning Amazon lodges: Posada Amazonas, Refugio Amazonas, and Tambopata Research Center. Each Amazon lodge provides access to a unique set of ecotourism experiences in the jungle of southeastern Peru.
Our packages include activities comprised of aspects of nature and culture of the Amazon rainforest. We offer a variety of special interest activities, tours and expeditions like Soft Adventure, Birdwatching expeditions, Family and more...
Foraging parrots of Costa Rica
A recent study of the diet and foraging ecology of a community of six parrots in western Costa Rica has shown that all had a varied diet with clear seasonal changes in preferred food items, mostly due to changes in plant fruiting and flowering patterns. Larger-bodied parrots consumed more seeds and smaller-bodied parakeets consumed more fruit pulp. Leaves, bark, and lichen were also consumed. Most parrots consumed more plant species in the dry season when food availability was at its peak. Scarlet Macaws under study were captive raised and released which may have contributed to their narrow diet breadth as they may have lacked the knowledge or experience to exploit additional food sources. Non-native and cultivated species comprised 76% of the diet of Scarlet Macaws, and averaged 28% for all other species. This means that Scarlet macaws could come into conflict with people by attacking crops.
Original article:
Foraging ecology of parrots in a modified Landscape: seasonal trends and introduced species
Greg D. Matuzak, Bernadette Bezy and Donald J. Brightsmith
The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 120(2):353–365, 2008
