Dried peanut kernels have a protein content of 26%, similar to that of pine seeds already mentioned and of Acrocomia palm nuts. The percentage of protein in a food, however is not the relevant factor. Proteins are comprised of various amino acids. Ten of these are termed essential. That means that they cannot be produced in the body. If a protein has a low proportion of an essential amino acid, when this is used up, it restricts the use of all the other amino acids, and protein synthesis ceases. Feathers consist of 82% protein, so if the diet is deficient in essential amino acids, abnormal feathers will be produced. It is not unusual to see a green parrot with yellow feathers in its plumage. This is probably caused by a deficiency of lysine, one of the essential amino acids. Most of us have seen parrots, including young ones, with stress marks on the feathers. These are dark lines that represent a period of stress or malnutrition when the feathers are developing, often due to decreased amino acid availability, particularly methionine. We can therefore see how important good quality protein, ie that containing essential amino acids, is in the diet.

Companion parrots do not normally need a protein boost, but most breeders know that this can be achieved by feeding pulses that have been soaked, then cooked.

One of the best fruits we can feed to our parrots is papaya. It contains enzymes that aid digestion, such as papain, that breaks down proteins and makes the amino acids available. Papaya is especially valuable when added to the food of parrot chicks being hand-reared. Studies at the University of Nigeria revealed that extracts of ripe and unripe papaya, and of its seeds, are active against gram negative bacteria. Fresh crushed seeds yield bactericidal and fungicidal agents.

Two of the most important amino acids are lysine and methionine which are found in most seeds, especially oil seeds, also in peas and fish and meat. Do parrots eat animal protein in the wild? Hyacinth Macaws are also known to go down to shallow pools and take out snails. They then take them to a tree and remove the snail from the shell. In Africa, a study was carried out by Steve Boyes on Meyer’s Parrots. It showed that four out of five items eaten by breeding males contained larval tree parasites, also that non-breeding males ate different foods, so clearly animal protein is extremely important to breeding birds. Do captive parrots eat protein? Yes, they do, especially chicken and chop bones, mealworms and waxworms, and even greenfly.

Now let us look at fruits whose pulp is eaten by parrots. In nature, the most favoured fruit of many species of parrots and other fruit-eaters is the fig. This is partly because they fruit all year round and might be the only fruiting trees at a given time. Also, a single tree will produce thousands of fruits. Of course there are many kinds of fig trees and most produce fruits that are smaller than the commercially available figs. Analysis of some figs shows that they are low in protein; however, many figs contain small insects and these may be more important to parrots rearing young than the seeds or the pulp of the fig. These fruits have a high content of calcium and of water. For some small parrots, such as members of the genus Brotogeris, figs are a very important part of the diet. According to one report, one Orange-chinned Parakeet killed by so-called scientists, had 4,815 fig seeds in its crop after a morning’s feed. This was the equivalent of 510 figs. I found this rather difficult to believe, yet another report stated that in Costa Rica one parakeet of this species had just over 3,000 broken seeds and almost 350 intact seeds in its crop, also macerated fruit pulp. In its gizzard were 171 intact seeds, and seed coats from more than 1,500 seeds (Janzen, D., 1983 in Costa Rica Natural History, University of Chicago Press).

The Pyrrhura Conures, such as the Green-cheeked (P.molinae), also feed extensively on fig seeds and pulp. In one study (RAGUSA-Netto, J., 2007, Feeding ecology of the Green-cheeked parakeet in dry forests in western Brazil, Braz. J.Biol, 67 (2) 243-249) it was found that figs comprised 70% of the diet of Green-cheeked Conures at one site, and were the only item available throughout the year. We can feed figs that have been soaked overnight until soft or, for those species that prefer the seed to the flesh, they can be fed dry.

Mango is a favourite of parrots throughout the tropics. Some captive parrots relish the ripe mangos we can buy, but, in fact, in the wild they are just as likely to eat them in the green stage.

Many parrots also feeds on crops of maize and sunflower, cereal crops – such as rice – and others on sorghum. Most of us could set aside a small area on our properties to grow oats, sorghum or spinach, so that our birds have really fresh foods and seeds in the green stage — or even grow then in planters.

Parrots from arid habitats feed on the fruits of cacti, including Red-fronted Macaws, Yellow-shouldered Amazons on Bonaire and various species of Aratinga conures, including Blue-crowned, Brown-throated, Sun and Cactus Conures. The cultivated fruits of Opuntia cactus are available, and enjoyed by many parrots. I recall when I was curator at Palmitos Parque in Gran Canaria, which is quite an arid island, a Greater Vasa Parrot escaped. When it was recaptured many weeks later, it had cactus spines in its mouth and discoloured skin, indicating that it had existed on the fruits of Opuntia cactus that is widespread on the island.

Some seed mixtures contain dried fruits. There is usually no benefit in giving fruit in this form, as the sugar content is very high. The only exception might be in giving dried apricots that have been soaked in water to make them succulent. Apricots retain their high Vitamin A content however they are prepared, but unfortunately most parrots do not like them. Many parrots enjoy banana which should be offered cut into small pieces, with the skin retained. Banana has a wider range of nutrients than most commercially available fruits.

In the wild, parrots learn from their parents and flock members which items they can consume, such as the nuts of the monkey-pod tree (Lecythis) eaten by the Buffon’s or Great Green Macaw, which most parrots cannot open, because the shell is so hard. The birds in our care can consume a wide variety of items only if we give them the opportunity, present them in different ways if they are rejected, and persevere in offering healthy foods. Many items might be rejected if placed in the food container in their cage or aviary, but if the same food was presented in a more imaginative way, it is more likely to be eaten, for example, by making a kebab on a steel fruit holder, attaching it to a branch in an aviary or just throwing it on to the aviary roof.

Finally, I should mention human foods that can be fatal if eaten by parrots. These include avocado. When I lived in Tenerife, I noticed that the feral flocks of Quaker Parakeets never went near avocado trees. Also to be avoided is chocolate. The confectionary type chocolate used to cover inexpensive biscuits, for example, is not lethal, but neither can it be recommended. On the other hand, good quality chocolate with a high cocoa content is harmful. I was interested to see an item in a newspaper about the death of a Kea in New Zealand. Keas are mischievous birds that investigate and often destroy anything they find. But we will never really know how much chocolate the Kea had eaten.