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https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/back-to-the-skies-the-unlikely-comeback-of-one-of-brazils-rarest-parrots/>
"Parrots numbered 44460 and 44461 don’t know it yet, but they’re about to meet
the human species — with all the trauma that entails. It’s late afternoon,
yesterday’s rain has left a swamp on the ground and Leco has already dug his
boots into the young guanandi tree, whose trunk he will climb to a height of 15
meters (50 feet). Right where, 55 days ago, the two winged siblings came into
the world.
They’ve survived possums, hawks and snakes, but they won’t escape the skillful
hands of Alescar Cassilha, or Leco: just a few seconds and the two chicks, one
at a time, will end up in a bag that descends to the ground, where other human
hands await them.
They could be Elenise’s or Deise’s, it doesn’t matter: the trauma is the same,
and the parrots respond to it with cries and flapping wings. Number 44460 is
the most agitated; 44461 seems more docile. “It must be a female,” says Deise.
We can’t tell: red-tailed amazons don’t have sexual dimorphism; only genetic
testing can find out.
But for now, what matters is checking that the birds are healthy, including a
thorough assessment where the body, beak, tail, wings and everything else are
measured, along with feather collection and parasite research. The two siblings
don’t know it yet, but at the end of this unpleasant experience they will
receive a gift: a bird band each, ensuring that if they are caught in the
illegal trade, they can be properly identified.
Although the band resembles an ankle monitor and their numbers seem like
prisoner tags, these parrots will remain free birds. And, according to Elenise,
“they’re already ready to fly.” Traumas aside, there’s no better way to get to
know a human being."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
