Blue-and-Gold Macaw Rico Charms the Internet in Viral Parade Pets Feature

Rico, a Blue-and-Gold Macaw belonging to owner Gianna, became a brief internet sensation this week after Parade Pets published a short viral clip featuring the bird on March 23. The feature pulled back the curtain on what is clearly a full-fledged macaw household: alongside Rico lives Bari, a Hyacinth Macaw, and Mandy, an Amazon, making Gianna's home one of those setups that every multi-bird keeper recognizes immediately.

For anyone who shares their space with a Blue-and-Gold, Rico's appeal to a mainstream audience is no surprise. Blue-and-Golds are popular in aviculture because of their striking color, ability to talk, ready availability, and close bonding to humans, and they are the most commonly kept macaw species in captivity worldwide. What makes the Parade Pets moment notable, though, is that Rico didn't just charm bird people. The clip crossed over to a general pet audience, the kind of reach that takes a well-socialized bird and the right moment.

As of 2025, there are an estimated 1 million Blue-and-Gold Macaws living in captivity worldwide, one of the highest populations of any large parrot. That number speaks to exactly how well this species connects with people, yet viral moments featuring them in a domestic setting alongside a Hyacinth Macaw and an Amazon remain genuinely rare. Bari and Mandy add real context to Rico's story: running a multi-species household at that level requires serious commitment, and Gianna's flock is a reminder of what dedicated bird keeping actually looks like day to day.

The Blue-and-Gold Macaw is renowned for its impressive talking ability, and while whether a parrot learns to talk always depends on the individual, Blue-and-Golds will usually quickly remember and imitate a variety of household sounds, tunes, and words. That personality is a big part of what translates so well on camera.

Captive macaws kept with good diet, exercise, and veterinary care are known to have lived 60 or more years, and people considering a macaw as a companion parrot must be aware that the bird may outlive the owner. For Gianna, that long-term commitment is already on full display across three birds of three different species, and Rico's moment in the spotlight puts a name and a face to what that life actually looks like.