I encountered two cases with exactly opposite circumstances.
The first case involved a cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus) we found in the wild. This species is widely kept as a pet, and there is no evidence it can form a self-sustaining population in the wild in central and northern China. It may also have difficulty overwintering. Thus, this bird must have been an escapee. However, its flight and tail feathers were very healthy and beautiful, suggesting it had lived in the wild for a few months, long enough to replace any feathers worn in captivity.
We caught it and have kept it as our pet ever since. I marked this observation as wild, similar to feral dogs or cats. But now, I think this case might be different from cats and dogs, which have formed self-sustaining populations.
Another case, quite the opposite, is about a Hwamei (Garrulax canorus) in a cage. This individual had obviously been illegally caught. We called the police and released it back into the wild, and I marked this observation as wild.
The cockatiel was a captive bird both before and after I observed it, but it lived in the wild during the observation. The Hwamei was wild both before and after I observed it, but it was kept in a cage during the observation.
Do you have any suggestions on how to mark these observations?