Revealing new insights into Red‐bellied Macaw foraging ecology through citizen photography

Abstract

Social media platforms focused on wildlife photography have become valuable ecological data sources through citizen science. In this study, we utilized photos shared by citizens on iNaturalist and WikiAves to analyse the interactions of the Red‐bellied Macaw (Orthopsittaca manilatus Boddaert, 1783) with its food plants. Despite being recognized as specialists in Mauritia flexuosa L.f. palm fruits, our findings suggest some flexibility in the foraging behaviour of the macaws. The photos indicate that palm fruits are an essential food source (20 taxa; highlight the native species M. flexuosa, Euterpe spp., Elaeis oleifera, and Syagrus spp.) in the Cerrado and Amazon biomes. It also confirms the predominance of M. flexuosa ripe pulp fruits in their diet, encompassing 45.2% of the 414 analysed photographs. The results highlight the potential role of the Red‐bellied Macaw in seed dispersal (stomatochory) for various palm species and reveal the consumption of new food sources such as flowers (present in 8% of photos) and alien plants, including the fruits of cultivated Livistona chinensis (Jacq.) R. Br. Ex Mart. palm (10.9%). Our photo analysis provided a comprehensive overview of Red‐bellied Macaws feeding in diverse localities (141 municipalities in 15 Brazilian states) and at different times. As a result, there is a consistent seasonal variation in foraging in the strongly seasonal Cerrado biome, for example, feeding on alien‐cultivated palm fruits in urban areas during the driest period, particularly L. chinensis. Through this photographic approach, we expanded knowledge of the macaw's food plants by 85.7%, now encompassing 26 species compared to the initial 14 documented species. This study underscores the relevance of citizen science in obtaining novel dietary data and deepening our understanding of ecological patterns in specialized species, emphasizing the significance of considerate plant‐bird relationships to support conservation efforts.