Alimentary habits of free-living Psittaciformes vary significantly among different species. Amazona pretrei is under risk of extinction and has very specific free-living dietary habits, which are based on Paraná pine seeds. Hemosiderosis is a pathologic process characterized by intracellular accumulation of iron without other evident lesions. It is associated with increased prevalence of infect...

Faecal samples were individually collected from pet (n = 63) and zoo (n = 83) birds representing 14 orders and 63 species. All the samples were examined by faecal flotation technique. In a subgroup of samples (n = 75), molecular assays were also used to detect Cryptosporidium oocysts and Giardia duodenalis cysts. Overall, 35.6% of the birds harboured parasites (42.2% of zoo birds and 27% of pet...

Avian bornavirus (ABV) is the presumed causative agent of proventricular dilatation disease (PDD), a major fatal disease in psittacines. However, the influencing factors and pathogenesis of PDD are not known and natural ABV infection exhibits remarkable variability. We investigated the course of infection in 18 cockatiels that were intracerebrally and intravenously inoculated with ABV. A persis...

be a potential hazard for invading species. Avian malaria should therefore be considered a threat for exotic parrots in Europe until results of further epidemiologic and experimental studies are available. Because many European bird species have been introduced to the native range of the psittacines studied here, a concern has been expressed that these parasites already have become established ...

Mutually enhancing organisms can become reciprocal determinants of their distribution, abundance, and demography and thus influence ecosystem structure and dynamics. In addition to the prevailing view of parrots (Psittaciformes) as plant antagonists, we assessed whether they can act as plant mutualists in the dry tropical forest of the Bolivian inter-Andean valleys, an ecosystem particularly po...