4 February 2021

Scarlet macaws (Ara macao) are large colorful parrots native to Central and South America whose population is locally endangered due to habitat loss and the illegal pet trade.

To stem the tide of macaw decline projects such as the Macaw Recovery Network in Costa Rica and The Macaw Society in Peru raise abandoned scarlet macaw chicks for release in the wild.

Where do the abandoned chicks come from?

Every nest has at least one because macaw parents insist on raising an only child. Read more about this unusual behavior in this vintage article: Prefers To Raise An Only Child.

(photos from Wikimedia Commons and by Allan Hopkins via Flickr Creative Commons license; click on the caption to see the original)