Diet and Foraging

The diet of the Golden Parakeet is varied and comprises several items on primary or secondary forests, including whole fruit (Melastomatacea: Miconia sp,), seeds (Byrsonima sp,), pulp (spp,), bud and flowers (Symphonia sp,), nectar (Leguminoseae), and peel (Anacardiaceae: Tapirira gujanensis) (Oren and Noveas 1986, Sick 1997, Laranjeiras 2008a). Also, the species feeds on cultivated plants (e.g. Mangifera indica). Golden Parakeet is not a food specialist parrot.

There have been no systematic studies of the feeding preferences of the Golden Parakeet, but previous observers noted that parakeets prefer açai pulp (Arecaceae: Euterpe sp.; Sick 1997), a fruit of a Euphorbiaceae species (Croton matourensis; Reynolds 2003), and murici (Byrsonima sp.; Kyle 2005, Laranjeiras 2008a,b). In western Pará, the Golden Parakeets remain keep in the same foraging areas throughout the most part of the year, changing their diet seasonally (Laranjeiras 2008a). In other areas, seasonal movements are suspected to occur in relation to foraging (Oren and Novaes 1986, BirdLife International 2011). In the igapó forest of Caxiaunã National Forest the Golden Parakeet’s presence has been related to foraging on flowers of S. globulifera. The diet seems to vary throughout the year and also across its distribution.