Photo Contest Round 267 // A very unusual macaw

18 days ago (Edited)

Greetings to the entire Feathered Friends community! I’m so happy and excited to be here and to participate for the first time (I hope there will be many more) in one of your fun contests. I signed up a few weeks ago and have been reading about the initiatives, but I wasn’t able to take the bird photos required for the weekly challenge. This time, for Feathered Friends - Photo Contest, Round 267, I’ll be submitting my entry with the first photo (the cover photo).

Last month I visited a community called Guaranache in Sucre State, Venezuela. I went there with a group of coworkers to evaluate a drinking water project for a school. Since it’s a rural area, it’s very common to see birds and other animals; however, I was struck by a large macaw perched on the wall of one of the houses. Its blue and yellow plumage makes it very striking, so I couldn’t help but take a few pictures of it.

I took the photos with my cell phone camera using the zoom feature, because when I tried to get closer, the bird seemed a bit annoyed and even adopted a posture as if it were about to attack me. One of its owners warned me that it might bite me and that the bite could be serious. This bird stands out for its colorful plumage; yellow predominates on its chest and belly, while blue covers its entire upper plumage. However, it has other colors as well: green on its head, white on its face with some black lines that match its beak, which is also black.

My boss is very observant; he immediately noticed that one of its legs isn’t straight—it’s turned backward. The owner mentioned that it was born that way; they had even considered putting it down because of that defect, but, as you can see, that didn’t happen. For several years now, it has been the family’s favorite. This species is known as the blue-and-yellow macaw or canindé macaw, and can grow up to 86 cm long. I asked his name, but I don’t remember it now. I managed to catch him off guard; sometimes his face was so sweet, when he had no idea he was being watched.

I didn't plan on using these photos for a contest, so I apologize for the background. I just wanted to get some pictures of this macaw, which looks really beautiful, even though it's very unfriendly, ha ha ha. As I watched it, its expression changed completely—judge for yourself.