PHOTOS: Macaws offer feathered 'therapy' to suffering Venezuelans

A macaw stands on a rooftop of a building in Caracas, Venezuela. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
A macaw stands on a rooftop of a building in Caracas, Venezuela, June 6, 2019. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)

CARACAS, Venezuela — Looking for an escape from the daily realities of crisis-ridden Venezuela, Carmen Gomez finds solace receiving visitors on the roof of her Caracas apartment building every morning: groups of blue and gold macaws that arrive at daybreak.

Gomez, a 49-year-old alternative medicine therapist, sat one bright morning in May on top of her 11-story building with a can of sunflower seeds and a tray of bananas to await their arrival.

After nearly an hour, two macaws landed on the roof. A third swooped out of the sky and casually perched on her head — releasing two of the typical squawks that often resonate across the city.

"This one decided that she's mine — or rather that I'm hers," said Gomez, who noted she recognizes the bird because of a mark on its beak. "I think they've turned into the therapists of Caracas," she said, unfazed by the bird impatiently pecking her forehead as she peeled a banana.

Long described as a bright spot in a city that has been in decline for years, Caracas's macaws have become a mechanism of escape from the daily grind of finding potable water, struggling with collapsing internet and avoiding crime-ridden streets. (Reuters)

Read full story by Brian Ellsworth and Vivian Sequera

Photography by Manaure Quintero/Reuters

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Macaws fly near Vittorio Poggi'­s house outside Caracas, Venezuela, June 18, 2019. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
Macaws fly near Vittorio Poggi'­s house outside Caracas. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
A macaw lands in Carmen Borges' hand while she stays at a rooftop of a building in Caracas, Venezuela, June 12, 2019. Picture taken June 12, 2019. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
A macaw lands in Carmen Borges's hand on the rooftop of a building in Caracas. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
A macaw takes off from Carmen Borges' head at a rooftop of a building in Caracas, Venezuela, June 12, 2019. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
A macaw takes off from Carmen Borges's head. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
The feathers of a macaw are seen as it stands on a rooftop of a building in Caracas, Venezuela, June 6, 2019. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
The colorful feathers of a macaw. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
A macaw flies over buildings in Caracas, Venezuela, June 6, 2019. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
A macaw flies over buildings in Caracas. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
A macaw flies over a rooftop of a building with a piece of banana in its beak in Caracas, Venezuela, June 12, 2019. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
A macaw flies over a Caracas building with a piece of banana in its beak. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
Vittorio Poggi caresses a macaw's head at his house near Caracas, Venezuela, June 18, 2019. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
Vittorio Poggi caresses a macaw's head at his house near Caracas. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
A macaw flies in Caracas, Venezuela, June 12, 2019. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
A macaw flies in Caracas. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
Macaws stand on the rooftop of a Caracas building with the Avila mountain in the background. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
Macaws stand on a rooftop with the Avila mountain in the background. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
A macaw eats a peanut near a chicken head at Vittorio Poggi's house outside Caracas. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
A macaw eats a peanut near a chicken head at Vittorio Poggi's house. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
Two macaws fight for a chicken head at Vittorio Poggi's house outside Caracas, Venezuela, June 18, 2019. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
Two macaws fight for a chicken head at Vittorio Poggi's house. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
Vittorio Poggi puts food to the macaws at his house outside Caracas, Venezuela, June 18, 2019. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
Vittorio Poggi puts out food to the macaws at his house. (Photo: Manaure Quintero/Reuters)

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