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In the Amazon basin, parrots congregated at "clay licks" to eat the clay of river bank cliffs. Exactly why the parrots eat this clay is not known, although two hypotheses have been suggested. Some researchers claim that the clay is rich in minerals, especially sodium, that is deficient in the parrots' diet. Others have presented evidence that the clay adsorbs harmful alkaloids present in the parrots' diet and prevents them from getting absorbed by the parrots' gut. Perhaps both of these suggestions are operative.
At a location on the Napo River in Ecuador, parrots visit a pool of water that seeps through a cliff and then flows out of a cave. The assumption is that they are drinking the water from the pool at the cave opening for the same reason that they eat clay.
These two photos show 3 species of parrots at this seep. The first shows a pair of Scarlet Macaws drinking the water from a perch on a rock in the pool with the cave opening in the background. The second shows an Orange-cheeked Parrot looking a bit nonplussed as it stands in a chaotic flurry of Cobalt-winged Parakeets drinking the water, again with the cave opening in the background.
Photo 1: Scarlet Macaws, Nikon D850, Nikon AF-S 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR at 500mm, 1/100 second at f/8.0, ISO 1600.
Photo 2: Orange-cheeked Parrot and Cobalt-winged Parakeets, Nikon D850, Nikon AF-S 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR at 500mm, 1/80 second at f/5.6, ISO 800.
At a location on the Napo River in Ecuador, parrots visit a pool of water that seeps through a cliff and then flows out of a cave. The assumption is that they are drinking the water from the pool at the cave opening for the same reason that they eat clay.
These two photos show 3 species of parrots at this seep. The first shows a pair of Scarlet Macaws drinking the water from a perch on a rock in the pool with the cave opening in the background. The second shows an Orange-cheeked Parrot looking a bit nonplussed as it stands in a chaotic flurry of Cobalt-winged Parakeets drinking the water, again with the cave opening in the background.
Photo 1: Scarlet Macaws, Nikon D850, Nikon AF-S 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR at 500mm, 1/100 second at f/8.0, ISO 1600.
Photo 2: Orange-cheeked Parrot and Cobalt-winged Parakeets, Nikon D850, Nikon AF-S 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR at 500mm, 1/80 second at f/5.6, ISO 800.
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