Ardea
Official journal of the Netherlands Ornithologists' Union

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Martens J., Hoppe D. & Woog F. (2013) Diet and feeding behaviour of naturalised Amazon Parrots in a European city. ARDEA 101 (1): 71-76
Observations on the diet and feeding behaviour of naturalised Yellow-headed Amazona oratrix and Blue-fronted Amazon Parrots Amazona aestiva xanthopteryx were carried out in the city of Stuttgart, southwest Germany, the only European city known to host an established population. Food items taken ranged from bark, young shoots, flower and leaf buds, flowers, seeds to fruit. Since their introduction in 1984, a total of 64 food plant taxa from 23 plant families were identified, amongst them 37 native taxa, and 27 non-native trees and shrubs. Food resources seem widely available for this naturalised population and therefore appear not to be a limiting factor for population growth. Containing bitter and poisonous compounds, some food items are used exclusively by Amazon Parrots, reducing food competition with native birds.


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