Guwahati: The Assam State Zoo will issue a global appeal for a partner for its lone macaw.

The divisional forest officer of the zoo, Tejas Mariswamy, said the appeal would be issued on Wednesday as the zoo is celebrating the birthday of the blue and gold macaw.

"He is a male macaw, aged 30, and has been alone for over five years now. They normally live up to 50 years. They can breed till they are 40," the divisional forest officer said.

He was brought to the zoo by a breeder in 1985. A girl named Jimly Baruah had adopted the macaw some time ago.

The official said Jimly, who had adopted the macaw, is making a fruit cake for his birthday on Wednesday.

"The girl and the macaw have developed a good bonding," he said.

The zoo is looking for people who would like to adopt the macaw.

"The adoption cost for the macaw is Rs 20,000," he said.

The zoo has so far celebrated the birthdays of its golden langur, white tiger, hippopotamus and the golden cat.

He said it was a coincidence that Debashish Banerjee of Sunshine Birdworld, one of the largest exotic bird aviaries in the country based in Calcutta, would be here on Wednesday.

"It will be a great birthday for him and especially good if we can get a partner donated by someone," Mariswamy said.

He said it would be a great opportunity for birders and breeders here to interact with experts in breeding of exotic birds.

Banerjee is a member of numerous avicultural organisations all over the world, including the American Federation of Aviculture (AFA) and the Loro Parque Fundacion (LPF). He has also toured extensively over Europe and Southeast Asia, visiting countless avicultural setups, bird parks and bird farms.

"His focus today and for the future remains on popularising and promoting aviculture Worldwide, as he strongly believes in captive breeding by aviculturists as one of the primary means of active conservation of birds," said Mariswamy.

He added that the zoo and Sunshine Birdworld are in talks for a partnership in exotic bird conservation.