Notes on the diet of the critically endangered orange–fronted parakeet ( Cyanoramphus malherbi ) on Maud Island
Year: 2009
Type: article
Abstract: We conducted opportunistic observations on the diet of translocated orange‐fronted parakeets ( Cyanoramphus malherbi ) on Maud Island to provide a first account of the diversity of food types ingested in the wild by this critically endangered species. Orange‐fronted parakeets consumed fruits and leaves of 14 plant species as well as non–dietary items such as bark sticks and grit. Of dietary items, 96% were on plant species and 4% invertebrates. Of the plant species ingested 10% were non‐natives. A major dietary component consisted of fruits and leaves of mahoe ( Melicytus ramiflorus ). In contrast to the only other published account of the diet of orange‐fronted parakeets, invertebrates constituted a minor part of identified ingested items. This may be related to the different composition of vegetation at the study sites, the low parakeet population density during the time of our study and methodological restrictions during our survey. Our observations on undocumented food items add information about the biology of New Zealands’ rarest parakeet species and indicate dietary flexibility of the species highlighting the potential of other regenerating islands as release sites to expand the geographic distribution of orange–fronted parakeets.
Source: New Zealand Journal of Zoology
Authors: Luis Ortiz–Catedral, Dianne H. Brunton
Institution: Massey University
Language: English
Topic: Avian ecology and behavior
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDGs: Life on land, Zero hunger
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2045359140