Click on the photo, or on the links above to see pix of the various hybrid macaws

Since I am frequently asked, above are some of my hybrid macaws. I have taken more than a little flack from the traditional aviculture community for keeping hybrids, so I will share my position on the subject below. The breeding age hybrids that I presently have, were all individually acquired from a variety of sources. I did not breed them, although several of them are presently paired & bonded.

I do not breed first generation hybrid macaws, & have my own views regarding the pairing of preexisting species for the purpose of creating new hybrids. I don't believe in jeopardizing the pure species, especially the ones that are rare, or endangered. For instance, I would never intentionally interbreed a Hyacinth, a Buffon's, a Caninde, or a Red-fronted macaw with another species of large macaw. My long range goal is to selectively color breed hybrid to hybrid, but only with parents that sit & feed their offspring. In my opinion, it is unethical & irresponsible to intentionally breed first generation hybrid macaws from the endangered species, or breed certain hybrids back to pure species, when you run the risk of producing offspring that look like the original species, but are not.

If the purists really want to stop the endangerment of the original macaw species, I suggest they focus on their lands of origin, South America, Central America & parts of Mexico, and see if they can make a difference by imposing regulations on the indigenous people that steal & eat macaw eggs & kill the birds for their meat & feathers, and on the developing countries that are destroying their natural habitat with the invasion of human "civilization." Macaws do not occur naturally outside of these locations, and in general wouldn't survive without our husbandry in most parts of the world.

Hybrid macaws are predominantly a domestic phenomena created from taking the original species from their natural habitat and keeping them with other species in a limited community setting. Hybridization does occur naturally in the wild, however, it is more difficult to document. One could say that hybrid macaws, as we know them, are primarily the product of civilization & globalization. At this time there is not enough recorded data for comparison to make general conclusions regarding the hybrid offspring, health, life span, temperament, coloring & genetic viability for future breeding.

Breeding macaws in aviculture is still a relatively new arena, and if we approach it responsibly, we should be able to effectively preserve all of the preexisting species in a domestic setting, as well as enjoy the offspring of both random & selective breeding.

That's my speech for now. You are, of course, entitled to your own opinion.

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