Is M a Harlequin or Catalina?

[K.C.]

I'd like to know what M is. He looks like Harlequin pictures and Catalina pictures. His tail is pretty long. I haven't measured him, but he's about 28-30 from head to tail when standing normally.

M's backstory is in Welcome New Members under "New Unplanned Macaw Caretaker." The outside picture is the first time I met him last spring after he'd lived at K's dad's for about 1 month. He had clipped wings then. There are only 2 feathers still unclipped (1 each wing), and M can now fly again. I'm certainly not brave enough to handle him, so I've told K no more outings to soothe my mind that he won't fly off and die.

 

[chris-md]

What a handsome bird!

Hard one, but harlequins i think tend to have a bit more swooping, elongated upper beaks, taking after the green wing parent. This one is a bit intermediate, and hard to judge but taken in combination with the yellow definition across the shoulders/upper back, my money is scarlett as a parent, so I’m betting catalina.

 

[Laurasea]

I have zero idea. But a beautiful boy!!!!

Even with wing clipped birds can fly well enough to escape!!@ many escaped birds with clipped wings that are lucky enough to recovered have been found miles away!!@

Also I mention this a lot for big and medium parrots, perch size is so important. Often its hard to find bug enough perches thst fully support these guys feet. Over time this will cause arthritis. A vet common problem fir older big parrots. To prevent this have a few extra large perches. For this size burd make a big open C with your hand, you want some perches to be this size. You can use crepe myrtle branches from pesticide free trees. I scrub them with dilute bleach and water, then let dry till no bleach smell. There are other safe trees to use, but that's what I have in my yard.

I don't remember if you talked diet and foraging? Today I gave mine artichoke with spines cut off, probably they are enjoying tearing it up, more than eating but that's fine. You can give a pumpkin fir yours to destroy..
There are lots if foraging ideas you can find.

 

[K.C.]

We've found a natural wood large perch and a large irregular sand perch so far at Petco. He likes the big sand one ok, and ignores the large natural one. He also has a large wooden rod, and a long curving branch. He ignores both so far and prefers to sit on and make the door swing in and out, but hopefully soon will try them out. I also wrapped one of the top rails in bird sandpaper until it is large and round, but he hasn't decided he likes it yet. He views anything different near his space with great suspicion.

 

[riddick07]

I’d lean Catalina too. He’s missing the blocky giant greenwing head. If the tail is ridiculously long & thick compared to body size then scarlet in there is pretty much a guarantee. Scarlets have stupidly long tails & it tends to always come thru even in second & third generation hybrids. I’d guess dad was the blue & gold with the breeding since he doesn’t display as many of the scarlet traits.

 

[saxguy64]

I couldn't begin to guess, but I'm not a mac guy. Not that I wouldn't love one, just never had the option. M is absolutely gorgeous, whichever hybrid he may be. Sounds like he knows a good thing when he sees it, and is undoubtedly happier in your home than with bio-dad.

After all these years, I finally met a harlequin in person just last week at our nearest refuge. He was stunning, but a little standoffish, so I didn't push him. Sure tugged at my heart strings though! Told my wife about him when I got home, and she immediately looked at me sideways. Had to assure her that two is most definitely my limit, so no new birds.

 

[Moxie]

What you have is a beautiful Catalina! Your daughter is lovely as well!!

I use to have a Catalina, he was stolen out of our hotel room about 25 years ago. I think I still have a few of his tail feathers. I can see if I can dig up a pic for comparison. It won't be a good pic it would have been taken with an old camera and film not digital.

 

[K.C.]

I have some questions and concerns about M's beak as shown in the last pic, but I'm not sure whether to address them here or to create a new thread. I've searched for "beak care" and read some threads where people mentioned concerns with drimels (sp?). I'm going to ask the question here because pictures of M's beak are here for reference. If it shouldn't be here, I'm sorry--please move it if so. I hated to start a new thread if I had already started 2 and was pestering with too many questions in too many places.

In the first 2 pictures M's beak is shorter and more solid. In the last picture from yesterday where he's playing on the door, his beak is longer and thinner. I wrapped a perch in bird sandpaper to let him rub his beak, and he has a large rough perch from Petco. One of the people helping me with suggestions (sorry, Laura, I cant figure out if I can tag you) has mentioned concern with sandpaper. I'm not sure if M's beak needs anything, but his beak looks like there have been changes since last spring. My theory was he'd be able to file his beak with a rough surface.

 

[chris-md]

Good morning! You can post questions wherever you want! it’s just that on your introductory thread you had so many questions on so many different topics flying around, with so many people wanting to chime in, it’s hard for you to keep answers straight, or even remember answers your given. Often chunking out a bigger thread into smaller threads is the way to go.

I’d remove the sandpaper, that can damage their feet. Replace it with a cement perch and lots of shreddable toys. Foraging toys too’

The beak look ok to me. If there were a problem it’s likely diet related (feeding nothing but pizza crusts, for example...we’ve heard it all here). I wouldn’t worry about it.

That said, have you taken him to a certified avian vet for a check up, including blood work? If not, please do so. It’s a vital step for new birds, especially those who came from horrible living situations previously. For example, birds who weren’t fed proper diets can develop fatty liver disease, deadly if untreated.

 

[K.C.]

I’d remove the sandpaper, that can damage their feet.[/QUOTE]

I didn't know about damaging his feet, but fortunately it's on a rung he only used for rubbing, not standing. However, he absolutely hates it and won't touch it with his beak. I will probably just remove it from his "rubbing post."

Replace it with a cement perch and lots of shreddable toys. Foraging toys too’[/QUOTE]

We put some foraging-type food things in/around, but so far he is avoiding them like the plague. K is encouraging by "messing" with them regularly, but so far he's unconvinced.

The beak look ok to me. If there were a problem it’s likely diet related[/QUOTE]

That's a relief!

That said, have you taken him to a certified avian vet for a check up, including blood work? [/QUOTE]

We have not. It feels slightly risky when he's not mine legally, but I'll look into what kind of vets are in our area. I will also admit dread at the idea of traumatizing him like that. Yes, I see the benefit--it just feels like 1 step forward, 2 steps back in alleviating his trust issues. I was always taught that birds are so highly strung that their hearts can stop from stress--hence why wild birds shouldn't be handled if it can be avoided. The idea of strangers wrapping him up, drawing blood, etc., seems like a heart attack waiting to happen. If he died in my care, there would be hell to pay with the bio-dad. Maybe birds are tougher than my mom thought, but that's where I got the idea and aversion to full-blown handling that a vet would have to do.

 

[noodles123]

You can use a pumice perch or something as an alternative to sand-paper (it's safe) but you don't want it to be the primary perch (just an option)--although, in the picture above, I do not see a sandpaper perch. A sandpaper perch is literally a perch wrapped in sandpaper.

 

[noodles123]

In terms of the vet, I'd probably just consult with the other side of the family (if you can) and say that you have a friend who came over and saw the bird, or saw a picture (whatever) and that he/she recommended it...I mean, it's not the bird's fault that it is in the middle of this mess, so I'd try and see if you can approach it in a semi diplomatic way, without getting the bird removed (as obviously, you need to be part of this).

 

[Moxie]

Here is a picture of the Catalina that we had. He was a BIG bird! He wasn't as big as our biggest Hyacinth but he was above average in size. Crappy film pic that was scanned and while you can't tell he was quite beautiful his colors were vibrant, he was so smart and he was a great talker.

Healthy birds are quite durable, honestly. Ours have gone through house fire, gas leak, living in a moldy home, wildfire smoke, lots of moves, long airplane flights, and right now they are living through a major house renovation.

 

[K.C.]

Moxie, he was gorgeous!!!