Genome size (haploid nuclear DNA content) has been found to correlate positively with cell size and negatively with cell division rate in a variety of taxa. These cytological relationships manifest in various ways at the organism level, for example, in terms of body size, metabolic rate, or developmental rate, depending on the biology of the organisms. In birds, it has been suggested that high ...

Parrots (Psittaciformes) are a well-studied, diverse group of birds distributed mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. Today, one-third their species face extinction, due to anthropogenic threats. Emerging tools genetics have made major contributions understanding basic applied aspects parrot biology the wild captivity. In this review, we show how genetic methods transformed study parrots ...

West Nile virus (WNV) infection was diagnosed in 38 psittacine birds based on histology, immunohistochemistry, and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Rosellas (Platycercus spp, n = 13), conures (Enicognathus, Aratinga, and Nandayus spp, n = 6), and lorikeets (Trichoglossus spp, n = 6) represented the most commonly affected species. Clinical signs ranged from lethargy, ruf...

From 1993 to 1997, we observed Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) feeding behavior in Central Pacific Costa Rica. Feeding data acquired in this study were not collected systematically, but opportunistically whenever macaws were observed feeding. To supplement feeding observations, we conducted interviews with local residents. Scarlet Macaws fed on seeds, fruits, leaves, flowers and/or bark of 43 plant s...

Most species of macaws, which represent the largest species of Neotropical Psittacidae, characterized by their long tails and exuberant colours, are endangered, mainly because of hunting, illegal trade and habitat destruction. Long tailed species seem to represent a monophyletic group within Psittacidae, supported by cytogenetic data. Hence, these species show karyotypes with predominance of bi...

Gut microbial communities play a fundamental role in health and disease, but little is known about the gut microbiota of pet bird species. This important to better understand impact microbes on birds’ may also be relevant context zoonoses. Total genomic DNA samples from pooled fecal 30 flocks (4–7 birds per flock) representing over 150 six different species (two Passeriformes: Northern Mockingb...

The order Psittaciformes is one of the most prevalent groups in illegal wildlife trade. Efforts to understand this threat have focused on describing elements trade itself: actors, extraction rates, and routes. However, development policy-oriented interventions also requires an understanding how research aims actions are distributed across chain, regions, species. We used action-based approach r...

Cross-amplification was tested and variability in microsatellite primers (designed for Neotropical parrots) compared, in five macaw species, viz., three endangered blue macaws (Cyanopsitta spixii [extinct in the wild], Anodorhynchus leari [endangered] and Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus [vulnerable]), and two unthreatened red macaws (Ara chloropterus and Ara macao). Among the primers tested, 84.6% s...

Animal coloration is a poorly-understood aspect of phenotypic variability. Here I expand initial studies of the colour gamut of birds by providing the first quantitative description of the colour variation of an entire avifauna: Australian landbirds (555 species). The colour of Australian birds occupies a small fraction (19%) of the entire possible colour space and colour variation is extremely...