{"id":3636,"date":"2026-01-15T22:11:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T22:11:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mckinneyarts.com\/blog\/?p=3636"},"modified":"2026-07-01T22:12:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T22:12:10","slug":"brown-throated-parakeet-a-cactus-eating-bird-in-bonaire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mckinneyarts.com\/blog\/brown-throated-parakeet-a-cactus-eating-bird-in-bonaire\/","title":{"rendered":"Brown-throated Parakeet: a cactus eating bird in Bonaire"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was exploring a beach in Bonaire when I noticed a bird atop a cactus, eating something. It was unexpected, since one would think the prickles on a cactus would discourage any animal from resting on it, let alone eat it. What is this bird? The colors and markings indicate that it’s a brown-throated parakeet, which is a widespread inhabitant of the Neotropics, which includes tropical Central and South America, the Caribbean, and parts of Mexico and southern North America.<\/p>\n

Here’s the original view from a distance which first grabbed my attention (below):<\/p>\n

\"parakeet
A brown-throated parakeet sitting on top of a tall cactus near the beach in Bonaire.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I zoomed in with my camera to get the top shot, along with these pictures below. So, what exactly is this brown-throated parakeet eating? It is eating the fruit of a Stenocereus cactus (likely “Stenocereus griseus,” commonly known as a Yatu cactus). The parakeet is picking at a ripe cactus fruit (sometimes called a “cactus apple” or “cactus tuna”). These fruits are a vital source of hydration and sugar for desert-dwelling birds, especially in arid Caribbean climates.<\/p>\n

\"a
a parakeet eating cactus fruit in Bonaire<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s interesting to note that the parakeet is not just getting a meal – he or she is also playing a crucial role as a seed disperser. By eating the cactus fruit and later passing the seeds, it helps ensure that new cacti grow across Bonaire’s scrubland.<\/p>\n

Let’s get one more look – close-up – of this activity by the brown-throated parakeet. If you look closely, he or she has navigated the cactus spikes very well – he or she is perched on the edge, and even position the “toes” to go around the spikes, with a few visible spikes going up right in-between and just under the belly.<\/p>\n

\"A
A brown-throated parakeet in the act of eating from a cactus in Bonaire.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was exploring a beach in Bonaire when I noticed a bird atop a cactus, eating something. It was unexpected, since one would think the prickles on a cactus would discourage any animal from resting on it, let alone eat it. What is this bird? The colors and markings indicate that it’s a brown-throated parakeet, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3640,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,36,50],"tags":[869,865,867,870],"class_list":["post-3636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nature-photography","category-photo-of-the-day","category-travel-explore","tag-birds","tag-bonaire","tag-cactus","tag-parakeet"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyarts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyarts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyarts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyarts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyarts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3636"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyarts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3645,"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyarts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3636\/revisions\/3645"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyarts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyarts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyarts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyarts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}