Species that are morphologically similar to the broad-billed parrot, such as the hyacinth macaw and the palm cockatoo, may provide insight into its ecology. "Anodorhynchus" macaws, which are habitual ground dwellers, eat very hard palm nuts. Many types of palms and palm-like plants on Mauritius produce hard seeds that the broad-billed parrot may have eaten, including "Latania loddigesii", "Mimusops maxima", "Sideroxylon grandiflorum", "Diospyros egrettorium", and "Pandanus utilis". The broad-billed parrot and other extinct Mascarene birds, such as the dodo and the Rodrigues solitaire could only reach seeds at low heights, and were therefore probably important seed-dispeersers, able to destroy the largest seeds among the Mascarene flora.