Escape patterns of companion parrots kept in Brazilian Households

Abstract

Uncontrolled escapes of pet psittacine birds present significant risks to individual welfare, public health, and local ecosystems. In Brazil, a country with a strong cultural tradition of parrot keeping, such events are frequent and often poorly managed. This study aimed to describe the dynamics of escape, assess preventive strategies, and evaluate recovery efforts following escape events. An online questionnaire collected data from 865 respondents, yielding 1053 individual bird records. A high escape incidence was reported (63.6 %), with most events occurring indoors, often due to open or unscreened windows. Although 67.4 % of birds had undergone wing clipping at some point, 70.6 % of those that escaped had fully regrown feathers at the time of the event. Birds with clipped wings exhibited a significantly higher escape probability (OR = 7.60, 95 % CI [3.33, 18.37]), possibly due to reduced caregiver vigilance. None of the prevention strategies such as window netting or enclosure confinement were fully effective, and escape rates remained high even in households that reported combined efforts. A total of 57.2 % of escaped birds were recovered, most within 12 h. Recovery was more likely when owners engaged in active search methods, while wing clipping and low effort were associated with delayed retrieval. Thirteen percent of recovered birds were found ill, injured, or died shortly after,reinforcing the need to replace restrictive practices with ethical, behaviorally sound alternatives. These findings highlight the urgency of improving husbandry standards, promoting caregiver education, and adopting science-based, welfare-centered strategies for the management of companion psittacines.