Blue-fronted Amazon Project

Category: Pantanal | Date: Dec 03 2007 | By: admin

Vandir and Jackson are currently on a field expedition investigating the available cavities in trees, at different environments. These environments include the ciliary forest, dry forest, floodplain and man-made pasture. On each environment, the trees that have more than 20 cm of DBH (diameter at breast height) are closely analyzed.

Jackson is marking a tree.

Those that have cavities are marked; later Vandir and Jackson climb them to measure the cavity and verify if the blue fronted parrot or another bird species previously used it. We have a total of 160 marked trees, which are checked on each field trip.

Here he is measuring the cavity.

Sometimes is not so simple to reach the cavity. Often rapel is necessary.

Vandir measuring a cavity.

During these check ups, new residents are found and the most frequent this year was the toco toucan (Ramphastos toco). So far, we have found 6 nests of toco toucan, which use the same cavities of the blue fronted parrot to reproduce.

Nestlings of toco toucan (Ramphastos toco).

The toco toucan occurs at Pantanal, Savannah and Amazon. It is also the biggest toucan species and its reproductive season begin in late October, a little bit before the end of the blue fronted parrot’s reproductive season, at the same area. Often the toco toucan dislodges the blue fronted parrot from to start the posture on its nest cavity.

Can you see the adult on the top of the tree?!

The nests that we have found have between 2 and 4 nestlings, and the parents are always around while we investigate the cavities. This is the law of nature!