Saving A Wild King Parrot | Rescue, Rehabilitation & Release

We saved a young wild king parrot who couldn't fly. We named him Sprite. We noticed him struggling on the ground in our backyard. He tried to fly but couldn't, which is unusual considering there were other young king parrots flying around with no problem. Sprite would have initially flown to arrive at our house in the first place, so he must have hurt himself. Even though he was young, he should have still been able to fly.

This was not one of those situations where a young bird is learning to fly and mistaken for an injured bird - because he was definitely injured. His right wing was drooping quite obviously so we thought his wing was broken. We immediately contacted our local wildlife rescue who took him in for a couple of days. She took him to the vet, but wasn't able to identify what exactly was wrong. She thought we could attempt to release him again as she couldn't identify the problem - but upon this attempt, he failed to fly and his wing slowly drooped again. We let him outside for a good few hours but still no progress, so we had to take him in.

The wildlife rescue thought he may have some sort of hairline fracture or muscular injury, but due to lack of avian vets in our area she did not want to let the vet x-ray his wing in case it was displaced even more.

The wildlife rescue provided him with a cage, food and water - but left all that here to do what's called a "soft release". A soft release is used when the rehab time will be longer. It was very likely to take a few months for him to heal and become strong enough for release. A soft release involves keeping the wild animal in an enclosure at the site of release, to help the animal get used to its surroundings. This makes the process of release much smoother for the animal as it has already become familiar with the release site. A soft release can also involve providing food for the animal post-release, and providing a "safe space" for them to return to if needed.

So, just like that - we became "foster carers" for this little bird. He warmed up to us very quickly - as king parrots usually do after they are fed. Some people might be concerned about getting "too close" or handling the bird too much - but his behaviour was not unusual for his species. King parrots are very friendly birds and quite easily tamed when food is provided (you can watch any of my other king parrot videos to see this in action). This does not hinder their ability to survive in the wild. They respond differently to different people, as they can recognise the people they trust. They will always flee from any danger just as wild birds should. Providing food for these birds will not hinder their ability to forage for food. They come here for a snack and have no problems if I'm not around - they are first and foremost wild birds, and no amount of human interaction will change that.

Sprite became very energetic - so we got him a "flight cage" and let him out to interact with the other birds through the window. He was bandaged for a week and a half to immobilise his wing so that his unknown injury could heal. This seemed to be a success, as shortly after his bandage was removed he started showing signs that he wanted to fly.

We started his flight training after he proved to us that he could fly. He still had slight wing drooping after physical exertion, but he was still able to "pick up" his wing afterwards - or even fly - suggesting his injury was more of a muscular one (possible sprain). We slowly increased his flights in the house - starting from 15/day to 20/day - then 15 flights twice a day - then 20 flights twice a day - increasing to 25 flights twice a day with increasing intensity. He also started flying to other rooms in response to predators outside. He improved more and more each time, and soon after was finally ready for release!

Since his release he has been doing amazing and visits us every day! I see him foraging, flying and interacting with other birds just the way a wild bird should.
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