G'day all
Re Ringneck eating habits....
On several occasions I've seen our local Cloncurry Parrots eating old/dry
"Xanthium pungens" (Noogoora burr) which is a declared plant introduced from
Nth America.
Jenny Milson's "Plant Identification in the Arid Zone" says "A complex
poison which is concentrated in the young plant"
I have not noticed any other bird eating this weed.
The birds utilise great skill extracting the seed from the pod which they
always picked up with their right claw.
Our Sulphur-crested Parrots eat the dried seeds of the Paddy Melon Citrullus
lanatus (introduced from Africa) but always use their left claw.
Could Richard Johnson advise if these seeds pass thru the system and get
propogated ?
Regards, Bob Forsyth, Mount Isa, NW Qld.
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