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.

中文翻译：

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通过公民摄影揭示红腹金刚鹦鹉觅食生态的新见解

专注于野生动物摄影的社交媒体平台已通过公民科学成为有价值的生态数据来源。在这项研究中，我们利用公民在 iNaturalist 和 WikiAves 上分享的照片来分析红腹金刚鹦鹉（Orthopsittaca manilatus Boddaert，1783）与其食用植物的相互作用。尽管金刚鹦鹉被认为是毛里求斯弯曲棕榈果的专家，但我们的研究结果表明金刚鹦鹉的觅食行为具有一定的灵活性。这些照片表明，棕榈果是塞拉多和亚马逊生物群落中的重要食物来源（20 个分类群；突出显示本地物种M. flexuosa、Euterpe spp. 、Elaeis oleifera和Syagrus spp. ）。它还证实了M. flexuosa成熟果肉水果在其饮食中的主导地位，占 414 张分析照片的 45.2%。结果强调了红腹金刚鹦鹉在各种棕榈树种子传播（口孔）中的潜在作用，并揭示了对新食物来源的消费，例如鲜花（出现在 8% 的照片中）和外来植物，包括栽培果实Livistona chinensis (Jacq.) R. Br. 埃克斯玛特。棕榈 (10.9%)。我们的照片分析全面概述了红腹金刚鹦鹉在不同地点（巴西 15 个州的 141 个市镇）和不同时间的进食情况。因此，在强烈季节性的塞拉多生物群落中，觅食存在一致的季节性变化，例如，在最干旱的时期，以城市地区外来种植的棕榈果为食，特别是中华乳杆菌。通过这种摄影方法，我们对金刚鹦鹉食用植物的了解扩大了 85.7%，与最初记录的 14 个物种相比，现在涵盖了 26 个物种。这项研究强调了公民科学在获取新的饮食数据和加深我们对特殊物种生态模式的理解方面的相关性，强调了体贴的植物与鸟类关系对支持保护工作的重要性。