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THE WILSON JOLJRNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY • Vol 123, No. 1, March 2011 
common in the diet of some Australian parrots, 
including Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo (. Lopho - 
chroa leadbeateri) (Rowley and Chapman 
1991), Western Corella ( Cacatua pastinator) 
(Smith and Moore 1991), and New Zealand Kaka 
(Nestor meridionalis septentrionalis ) (Moorhouse 
1997), as well as RiippeH’s Parrot ( Poicephalus 
rueppellii ) (Selman et al. 2002), but only when 
other food is scarce. 
The consumption of arthropods by neotropical 
parrots may be more common and widespread 
than previously thought. Seasonal variations in 
diet with occasional ingestion of adult insects and 
spiders have been noted for some species (Galetti 
1993, Wermundsen 1997). Diptera larvae have 
been found in stomach contents of Blaze-winged 
Parakeet ( Pyrrhura clevillei) (Moojen et al. 1941) 
and Peach-fronted Parakeet ( Aratinga aurea) 
(Schubart et al. 1965). The Painted Parakeet 
(Pyrrhua picta) has been reported extracting and 
eating arboreal termites from their nests (de Faira 
2007). Cockle et al. (2007) reported Vinaceous- 
breasted Amazons ( Amazona vinacea) presum¬ 
ably foraging on caterpillar larvae during a severe 
drought. Aramburu and Corbalan (2000) detected 
several arthropod species in the stomach contents 
of nestling Monk Parakeets ( Myiopsitta mona- 
chus), presumably from preening ectoparasites. It 
seems less common for psittacids to consume 
larvae from leaf galls, although such larvae 
constituted 6.6% of the diet of Lilac-crowned 
Amazons (Amazonci finschi) (Renton 2001) and 
were consumed daily for at least 2 weeks by a 
group of Maroon-bellied Parakeets ( Pyrrhura 
frontalis) (Martuscelli 1994). 
Our results suggest the Austral Parakeet is more 
insectivorous than previously thought. They 
inhabit temperate forests with marked seasonal 
shortages of food which may have led them to 
occupy a broader dietary niche than other parrots 
by supplementing their intake of high-quality 
ood, such as pollen (Diaz and Kitzberger 2006), 
uring the pre- and post-reproductive season with 
novel items such as insect larvae. 
AC KNOWLEDGMENTS 
The authors thank Cameron Naficy for his support Jot 
Blake, Kristina Cockle and Nigel Collar for theifconstm 
ve comment 5 that helped to improve this manuscript, ar 
of T m qUeS Nacionales and especially the sta 
of Lanin National Park. Financial support was from 
« M fi 7 J£Ct CGL2 °04-0I716-Feder. and 
CONICET doctoral grant to S.D. This research is part < 
the Doctoral studies of the senior author. 
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