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Neighbors Try To Rescue Stranded Macaw

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Macaws don't know how to fly down, so getting it out of the tree is proving to be a problem.

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TBO.com

Published: December 6, 2008

TAMPA - Residents of a Tampa neighborhood are flocking together to try and rescue a macaw that has flown the coop.

Tania Regidor says she heard loud squawks around 6 a.m. today and saw the gold and blue bird named Chiquita in a tree in the 2800 block of Lorraine Avenue. The bird had escaped from its owner Friday while it was being fed.

"Unfortunately, these birds don't know how to fly down," Regidor says. "Their natural instinct is to fly up."

Chiquita has flown from tree to tree, a little higher each time.

Chiquita's owner, who has cancer and just finished chemotherapy, is upset, Regidor says. The owner only speaks Spanish.

Regidor was planning to go Christmas shopping today, but "I spoke to this poor lady and it just broke my heart and I knew I had to do something to help her ... so I thought what better Christmas gift than to give to this poor woman."

Neighbors called several animal wildlife rescuers, but everyone was either closed on a Saturday or said they couldn't help.

They also tried to get Chiquita's brother Papito to coax Chiquita down, but to no avail.

The owner has hand-fed the birds since they were babies, so Chiquita doesn't know how to live in the wild. The bird hasn't eaten since Friday.

Regidor says she hopes somebody can help —maybe a tree company with a boom or a bird expert — can help her neighbor get her "baby" back for Christmas.

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