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Thirteen species of anurans belonging to three families forage diurnally for arthropods in the leaf litter of the lowland rainforest at the Río Llullapichis in Amazonian Perú. This paper investigates the diets and patterns of coexistence in this group of ecologically similar species. All thirteen species use the forest floor habitat without apparent differentiation. Most species take prey in proportions significantly different from those occurring in the leaf litter and comprise two specialist guilds: dendrobatids and bufonids that eat hard-bodied, slow-moving arthropods such as ants and mites; and leptodactylids that eat soft-bodied, mobile arthropods, primarily orthopterans and large spiders. Dendrobates femoralis (Boulenger) is a generalist, taking prey in proportions not significantly different from those in the leaf litter. Within specialist guilds, body sizes of species vary and are correlated with the size of prey taken. Foraging behavior and predator defense also correlate with the type and sizes of prey taken. Ant specialists tend to be poisonous and active searchers, taking many small prey per day. Non-ant specialists are cryptic, sit-and-wait foragers that take few large prey per day. Similarity in diet within guilds tends tobe lowest in the dry season when food is less abundant, suggesting that food is in short supply in the dry season.

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Although the poaching of nestlings for the pet trade is thought to contribute to the decline of many species of parrots, its effects have been poorly demonstrated. We calculated rates of mortality due to nest poaching in 23 studies of Neotropical parrots, representing 4024 nesting attempts in 21 species and 14 countries. We also examined how poaching rates vary with geographic region, presence of active protection programs, conservation status and economic value of a species, and passage of the U.S. Wild Bird Conservation Act. The average poaching rate across all studies was 30% of all nests observed. Thirteen studies reported poaching rates of ≥20%, and four reported rates openface> 70%. Only six studies documented no nest poaching. Of these, four were conducted on islands in the Caribbean region, which had significantly lower poaching rates than the mainland Neotropics. The other two studies that showed no poaching were conducted on the two species with the lowest economic value in our sample ( U.S. retail price). In four studies that allowed direct comparison between poaching at sites with active nest protection versus that at unprotected sites, poaching rates were significantly lower at protected sites, suggesting that active protection efforts can be effective in reducing nest poaching. In those studies conducted both before and after the passage of the U.S. Wild Bird Conservation Act, poaching rates were found to be significantly lower following its enactment than in the period before. This result supports the hypothesis that the legal and illegal parrot trades are positively related, rather than inversely related as has been suggested by avicultural interests. Overall, our study indicates that poaching of parrot nestlings for economic gain is a widespread and biologically significant source of nest mortality in Neotropical parrots.