Lonely wild macaw drops in at zoo to see birds of a feather

A pair of macaws perch on the top of a passageway as people visit the aviary at BioParque, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Refauna, which reintroduces species into protected areas with an eye on rebuilding ecosystems is participating with BioParque to breed blue-and-yellow macaws. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A pair of macaws perch on the top of a passageway as people visit the aviary at BioParque, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Refauna, which reintroduces species into protected areas with an eye on rebuilding ecosystems is participating with BioParque to breed blue-and-yellow macaws. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Some have claimed she's indulging in a forbidden romance. More likely, loneliness compels her to seek company at Rio de Janeiro's zoo.

Either way, a blue-and-yellow macaw who zookeepers named Juliet is believed to be the only wild bird of its kind left in the Brazilian city where the birds once flew far and wide.

Almost every morning for the past two decades, Juliet has appeared. She swoops onto the zoo enclosure where macaws are kept and, through its fence, engages in grooming behavior that looks like conjugal canoodling. Sometimes she just sits, relishing the presence of others. She is quieter than her squawking chums.

Blue-and-yellow macaws live to be about 35 years old, and Juliet -- no spring chicken -- should have found a lifelong mate years ago, said Neiva Guedes, president of the Hyacinth Macaw Institute, an environmental group. But Juliet hasn't coupled, built a nest or had chicks, so at most she's "still just dating."

"They're social birds, and that means they don't like to live alone, whether in nature or captivity. They need company," said Guedes, who also coordinates a project that researches macaws in urban settings. Juliet "very probably feels lonely, and for that reason goes to the enclosure to communicate and interact."

Aside from Juliet, the last sighting of a blue-and-yellow macaw flying free in Rio was in 1818 by an Austrian naturalist, said Marcelo Rheingantz, a biologist at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, and there are no other types of macaws in the city. The lovebirds featured in the 2011 film "Rio″ are Spix's macaws, which are native to a different region of Brazil and are possibly extinct in the wild.

Being boisterous with brilliant plumage helps macaws find one another in a dense forest, but also makes them easy targets for hunters and animal traffickers. They're often seen in other Brazilian states and across the Amazon, and it is suspected that Juliet escaped from captivity.

Biologists at BioParque aren't sure if Juliet's nuzzling is limited to one caged Romeo, or a few of them. They're not even certain Juliet is female, Macaw gender is nearly impossible to determine by sight, and requires either genetic testing of feathers or blood, or up-close examination.

Doing either would be interference merely to satisfy human curiosity with no scientific purpose, biologist Angelita Capobianco said. And biologists say they would not consider confining Juliet, who often soars overhead and appears well-nourished.

"We don't want to project human feelings. I look at the animal and see an animal at ease," Capobianco said, noting that Juliet has never exhibited behavior to indicate disturbance, such as insistently pecking at the fence.

"Who am I to decide it should only stay here? I won't. It comes and goes, and its feathers are beautiful."

A macaw flies inside an enclosure at BioParque, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Macaws are used to flying great distances, more than 30 kilometers or about 18 miles a day.  (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A macaw flies inside an enclosure at BioParque, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Macaws are used to flying great distances, more than 30 kilometers or about 18 miles a day. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A blue-and-yellow macaw grooms a red-and-green macaw, inside an enclosure at BioParque, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Last year, BioParque gave its macaws more space: a new 1,000-square-meter (10,700-square-foot) aviary. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A blue-and-yellow macaw grooms a red-and-green macaw, inside an enclosure at BioParque, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Last year, BioParque gave its macaws more space: a new 1,000-square-meter (10,700-square-foot) aviary. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A pair of macaws perch on a rope inside an enclosure at BioParque, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Macaw gender is near impossible to determine by sight, and requires either genetic testing of feathers or blood, or laparoscopy of the gonads. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A pair of macaws perch on a rope inside an enclosure at BioParque, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Macaw gender is near impossible to determine by sight, and requires either genetic testing of feathers or blood, or laparoscopy of the gonads. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A blue-and-yellow macaw that zookeepers have named Juliet, left, grooms with a captive macaw at BioParque, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Every morning for the last two decades, Juliet swoops onto the enclosure and through its fence, engages in grooming behavior that looks like conjugal canoodling. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A blue-and-yellow macaw that zookeepers have named Juliet, left, grooms with a captive macaw at BioParque, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Every morning for the last two decades, Juliet swoops onto the enclosure and through its fence, engages in grooming behavior that looks like conjugal canoodling. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A blue-and-yellow macaw that zookeepers have named Juliet perches on the outside of an enclosure where captive macaws are kept at BioParque, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Every morning for the last two decades, Juliet has appeared where macaws are kept. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A blue-and-yellow macaw that zookeepers have named Juliet perches on the outside of an enclosure where captive macaws are kept at BioParque, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Every morning for the last two decades, Juliet has appeared where macaws are kept. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
Children visit the aviary at BioParque, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. BioParque reopened to the public in March, after privatization of Rio's dilapidated zoo and almost 17 months of renovations. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
Children visit the aviary at BioParque, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. BioParque reopened to the public in March, after privatization of Rio's dilapidated zoo and almost 17 months of renovations. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A blue-and-yellow macaw that zookeepers named Juliet perches on a branch outside the enclosure where captive macaws are kept, at BioParque in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Juliet is believed to be the only wild specimen left in the Brazilian city where the birds once flew far and wide. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A blue-and-yellow macaw that zookeepers named Juliet perches on a branch outside the enclosure where captive macaws are kept, at BioParque in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Juliet is believed to be the only wild specimen left in the Brazilian city where the birds once flew far and wide. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A blue-and-yellow macaw that zookeepers named Juliet flies outside the enclosure where macaws are kept at BioParque, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Juliet is believed to be the only wild specimen left in the Brazilian city where the birds once flew far and wide. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A blue-and-yellow macaw that zookeepers named Juliet flies outside the enclosure where macaws are kept at BioParque, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Juliet is believed to be the only wild specimen left in the Brazilian city where the birds once flew far and wide. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

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