Parrots - Lost and Found

Some of the people below are looking for their lost parrots, and some are looking for the owners who may have lost the birds, others just looking for guidance. If you have lost your pet bird, or have found one, contact ParrotsNow - and we will post your story and pictures.

Search our other Lost and Found Parrot pages. Click here for listing of all pages.

  Dec. 1, 2003 - LOST

Cindy wrote about her beloved Tiko....

"Please help me find my little birdie! He got out on Dec. 1, 2003."

If you see him or know anyone who has,
PLEASE give me a call at 949-716-9616 or 909-800-6897"

Let us know if you have ANY info.... Contact ParrotsNow

Lost African Grey ...Please help

Near Stockton, California -- November 2003

Celina, from Stockton, CA, writes...

I was searching the internet for places to post my story on and I found your website at ParrotsNow.

On 11/02/03 I was having a garage sale to pay my phone bill. My boyfriend was hurt on the job so we fell behind on some bills. When the day was over I was so eager to get everything put away that I wasn't thinking to lock up Keno in his cage so he couldn't get out. I had him for almost 3 years now. You think I would know better then that. He must have heard my daughter and son playing outside and wanted to join them.

I went to the back and as I looked up he was flying, and he was so high up. I screamed his name several times in tears and hysterical. I had no idea what to do. I called my mom crying so bad I couldnt talk. She immediatly thought somebody died so she started crying.

As soon as I could talk I told her what had happened and she said she was on her way. Within 20 minutes I had my whole family at my house trying to help me find Keno. There was no sign of him.

We asked the neighbors behind me and they said he was in their back yard and flew in to a tree right by my house. He was not there anymore by the time I found this out.

I was devastated. I set his cage outside and had it set up with a trap in case he came back but he didn't. It rained that night for the first time. It was so cold and I was so worried about him.

The next morning I searched the neighborhood, went door to door, called the animal control, humane society, pet adoption centers, vets, pet stores, -- anything that had to do with pets I called them.

Even in nearby citys. I put ads in the lost and found sections of newspapers where it was free, and am trying to save up enough money to put ads in more newspapers. I made flyers with the help of an Aunt. I posted them as many places as I could, and in stores that would let me put them up in. Many places would not let me post fliers. Which is very discouraging at times.

I tried contacting a local news station but they never called me back. I called a few radio stations and one said they would help but never did. Another wanted to help but couldn't. Instead I faxed him a flier and he made copies and passed them out to whomever he could.

I don't know what else I could do. I dream of finding him every night, and wake up disappointed that it was just a dream.

But my luck changed on the 13th of Nov. when I got a phone call by a lady who worked at a Head Start Day Care center on Golden Gate Ave. in Stockton, a few miles away from where I live. She said on the 10th, her and some co-workers were heading out for lunch when Keno flew on to one of their cars. He came down to one of the workers and she could tell he wanted help but was scared. She noticed the band around his ankle and realized he was someone's pet. They tried to catch him but after biting one of them he flew to a nearby tree.

As soon as I heard this, I went down there and looked around. Went to a few houses in the area and posted some fliers. No luck. The people in the area told me that they have been hearing a lot of strange noises in the area. There was not a house in the area that did not have a fruit or nut tree. So he found some food. I feel a little better to know he is ok. At least up to that point.

But I am so worried that I will never find him. I am just trying to get my story out to as many people as I can. If you live in the area or in a nearby town please let people know. If you hear of someone finding an African Grey Congo please call [ParrotsNow at 859-380-7460, and we'll immediately help Keno find his way back home. Or Contact ParrotsNow here.

He is gray with a red tail and black beak. He has a band around one of his ankles with the #MLB and 3 numbers that follow. I will keep the last 3 digits to myself so that I can prove ownership. The M could also be a W. The Vet tells me its an M and the breeder tells me its a W.

I thank you so much for letting me share my story! Keno was 1 month old when we got him. I share a special bond with him. He was such a big part of my life and I miss him so much. And I can't stand to think that I will never see him again. I just go by the hope that one day I will find him. I pray for a miracle every night.

Celina

If you have any info, please let us know right away... Contact ParrotsNow

Please Help.... Nov 15, 2003

--from near Desert Hot Springs, California

We have just received this letter from Maria. If you have ANY help for her, please email or call us immediately, and we will pass any information on to Maria. Call ParrotsNow at 859-380-7460. Contact ParrotsNow.

Hello

I have been going to parrot websites for comfort and information because I have just suffered a terrible and devastating loss of my White Fronted Amazon.

He was lost near 20th street in Desert Hot Springs, California on Nov 13, 2003 around 3 pm.

There is a 1,000 reward, dead or alive.

I am sending a picture of a bird similar to him, except that his markings were PERFECT and flawless and he had brown eyes.

He is 8 years old and speaks Spanish/English/Arabic words. His name is PERIQUITO which means baby parrot in Spanish. He also yells out the names RASHIDA as well as MAJEEED repeatedly.

I am more than heartbroken because he got out the front door while I left the room to go to the other end of my house and yes yes I am blaming myself. He cannot fly well because his wings have been clipped.

He is afraid of people he does not know, but is not wild. If you say his name to him it calms him down a bit.

He has been a part of my life for 8 years, traveled the world with me twice, and he holds precious memories of a daughter I have also recently lost by still repeating her words exactly as she would say them. You can imagine how crushing this is for a mother.
I feel also as if I am reliving the loss of my precious RASHIDA daughter too. It is more than a double dose, let me tell u....the bird brought me comfort because my daughter loved him so much and trained him, ect. I thought I would have him until I die, he perfectly PRESERVED her sentences and manners of speech...and much more.

I am more than broken up. Anyone with ANY information PLEASE Contact ParrotsNow.

I am in the Palm Springs California desert area. It gets cold here at night but during the day it is 70-85 degrees depending in winter. He is not used to being in the wild. I am not sure if he got eaten by an animal, is hurt and can't call me, but the desert here is vast and the trees and palm trees are high and he blends in because he is green.

I have put flyers on car windshields and mailboxes and word spread like fire throughout the neighborhood. I'm really serious about the reward amount.
Neighbors and people have been much more supportive, understanding, and kind than I could ever have possibly imagined....

I know I should give up and pretend this did not happen, but if there is a chance somehow that by a miracle of God he can be restored to me, it would very much cool my eyes and erase my persistent grief, lest I die of another broken heart.
I still walk into the house expecting to hear him, see him, I can't describe the feelings...

Thank you for all kindnesses and help
Maria

Again, if anyone can help, Contact ParrotsNow.

Sept. 2003, Barbara wrote: "Two weeks ago, a small, what we think is a parrot, flew down from the power line outside the garage, when my husband drove up. We brought him in and fed him and gave him water. I went and got the bird cage (from past pet cockatiels and parakeets) and put him in. I purchased food and toys. The next day I put out flyers in all the local stores (we live way out in the country) and in the paper. I haven't had any response yet.

We have named him Hootie (short for Houdini - we know how he got away -- he can open the doors to the cage and let himself out). I have three cats, a lab, and a wolf mix. He is banded so the callers will have to know his breeder number.

He seems to prefer me over the guys (I think he is probably a male) but is not an aggressive bird. He is very happy - singing most of the time. He seems to be very familiar with some of the words I say and knows what to do with everything I have put in his cage so far. He especially loves broccoli, lettuce and dried figs. We are health nuts and he knows when I go to the dried fruit and nut jar. His cage is in the dining room by the patio doors so he can watch outside and he seems to prefer that to any other place in the house.

I am trying to do everything I can for the bird until I can find the owners.

What kind of bird is he? His colors have changed in the short time we have had him. His head was lilac and blue with just the crimson forehead when he flew up. Now it seems to be changing into all crimson. There is not a lot of lilac left. He holds his food with one foot as he eats and does everything with slow and deliberate movements which makes me think he is a small parrot, a conure. I have tried looking up everything about conures, and to find a picture of this one but I can't be sure."

We answered that Hootie is indeed a Parrot.

It appears from the pictures that this is probably a Plum Headed Parakeet and probably fairly young - a year old? (There are more kinds of parakeets than we generally think of.) Any thoughts in identifying?

We've written to Barbara, with some suggestions as to care, etc. If this may be your lost pet, email us, and we will put you in contact with Barbara. Contact ParrotsNow

Barbara has written back: "Hootie seems to be affectionate - he jumps to my finger and climbs to my shoulder to sit under my hair and nibble on my neck. He is still a little skittish when you advance to him to pick him up outside the cage.

We have clipped his wings, but he can still fly although not as high. I
have to be so careful and remember to secure the door of the cage. It is so funny to watch him watching us for the exact moment to creep
stealthily to the door and let himself out.

He has the most amazing repertoire of sounds, some of which almost sound like words, especially "pretty bird". He especially seems to recognize the word "Hello" and scoots to the cage next to you when you say it to him. He also seems to know what "want a bite" is also! He loves the dining room next to the patio doors and watches the flocks of wild birds we feed in the trees and feeders of the back yard. He doesn't even seem bothered by any of our cats - especially the 20-year-old one that can't even hear him, nor can he remember why cats are supposed to be fascinated with birds. The other two only glance at him when he gets louder than the radio or television, which is very often. When I dial a number on the cordless phone it beeps and he can mimic that sound perfectly.

I live outside the town of Downsville, in northeast Louisiana. Way out in the beautiful, rolling, lush country. It has already begun to get
cold here, with very nippy nights and mornings but the days are still
wonderful in the mid 70's. I am glad he found us before winter set in, tho. With the very high humidity here, winter can be very crisp and
unbearable.

He seems to have a voracious appetite, so I am glad he chose a
health-food family. He eats all the veggies we have, even the fresh
stuff from the garden, fresh and dried fruit, parrot mix, grit and
gravel, and I give him the honey treat sticks too. He scissors thru one of those a day if I don't remove it and ration him. I hang millet
sprays, which he in turn spits and sprays all over the doors while he is eating.

I have purchased several toys for him, with bells and ropes and such and he loves them. He likes it too when I play the piano. I place a small bowl of water in his cage each morning and he steps in and sits and soaks himself and the surrounding walls, doors and windows. He gets so wet he is dripping. Personally, I think he is really a pig in colorful feathers that sings instead of oinks! I do not want to feed him too much tho. How will I know that he has had enough? He would eat constantly if I would feed him.

I am still advertising for his owners but with no results. I have had
several who have lost cockatiels but nothing else."

If you happen to be Hootie's owners, please let us know. He is banded, so you would of course, need to identify him. (And "Hootie" of course, is his New name.)

Helen sent in this great story about Corbett.

Corbett is a White-Fronted Amazon, also called a Spectacled Amazon because it looks like she has glasses on.

"My husband took our little bird from a friend who had Corbett (we think that's it's name) that was in a cage with a big Macaw who tormented her. They didn't even know its name or who owned her before. Corbett looked pathetic with most of her feathers plucked from her body. Someone clipped her wings and she was bleeding. You could also see her ears. Well we nursed her to health and she turned out to be a beauty."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sidenote from Jim.... This is just a great story. Lessons for all of us! Read on....
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Helen continues, "Soon after she started to recover, one night while we were doing dishes, she started whistling and saying "Shut up Corbett." We cracked up. We didn't even know she could talk! She started saying "Quack Corbett" and "Corbett Corbett". We were a bit sad about her saying "Shut up Corbett," because we thought that maybe someone always said that to her.

This person got the bird from someone else and they didn't know anything about it. So we determined that her/his name was Corbett. I have no history on her, so it took a long time for her to warm up to me, but she came around.

She loved my husband first since he rescued him. My husband doesn't have time to spend with Corbett, so I took over.

Corbett plays ball with us. We throw the ball (she sits on the refrigerator) and she throws it back. All I have to say is "get the ball" and she runs for it and throws it. It's a stuffed animal type ball.

When I'm down on the floor with her, she seems to talk gibberish. She makes the sound of crunching Doritos, which she loves to eat. Corbett is very social and wants to be around everyone.

When we first got her, oneThanksgiving, it was so funny because we had a tableful of people and she got passed around to everyone. She does bite strangers though if she feels threatened. Strangers can't touch her.

We used a cheap cane, the kind people give as gag gifts for people over the hill. She steps up on it and then gets passed around without people getting bitten.

Well as time passed, Corbett wouldn't let me pick her up. I was determined for her to love me, so I got a little stuffed animal parrot and showed it to her and started talking to the stuffed animal and saying "You're a nice parrot" and I started petting the stuffed animals head and making a fuss over the stuffed parrot. Corbett was watching me like a hawk. Well guess what? I can now pick up Corbett and rub her head and Ican hold her to my chest and rub her eyes, head and ears - I'm in heaven.

We cover her at night and in the morning you hear the sweetest "hello." I just melt. Corbett talks and yells with the water running and when I vacuum too! We whistle back and forth to each other from room to room, changing the kind of whistle by me or her. Never thought I would love a bird so much. She is such a nice companion!
-Helen

Jo sent this email in. With Pics to follow, hopefully:

I was researching parrots and decided on buying an African Grey or Timneh. I had lost my older border collie Splash in April to cataracts and miss her terribly, she was my constant companion at home and I'm a big homebody. Splash preferred being inside with me so I miss her companionship. I didn't want another dog since I still have her sister, Tess who prefers being outside watching birds and squirrels. One Border Collie is enough, so I had decided a bird would be a good fit.

I called around to some breeders and a woman had a shop with several Greys. So Ithought I'd drop by after work and just see. They had three African Greys and a Timneh but all were sold already, except for one Grey. His name was Buddy and he was about two years old. All the others were babies.

The story was that Buddy's owners had left him there for boarding in July and never picked him up. What really happened is they broke up but the man told the woman he had found a home for Buddy. Then he left the state and never came back for him. They contacted the woman who told them that her boyfriend abused Buddy and threw stuff at him. She didn't know how to handle a bird and so didn't want him.

All the shop wanted was to recover his boarding fees which remained unpaid. He'd been there about three months and had boarded there in the past, so they knew he was around two years old.

So there he was standing in the corner on this blue block toy looking bewildered. The shop owner just put him in the birdie playpen a week ago for sale, but he had been in the boarding room prior to that, in a small cage where the boarders stay. So he didn't know quite what to make of being suddenly in a big cage with a dozen other birds.

She got him out and he perched on my arm. He was so sweet and cute and sat on my shoulder for around two hours. The longer I played with him the more he opened up. It was love at first bite. I put a deposit on him that day.

We decided it would be best for Buddy to get to know me before I took him home, so the very next day I took my cage into the store and we put him in it. He loved having his own place immediately.

The shop gal told me that they were afraid of him because he had bit a few people. But he didn't bite me and after that he became more docile with everyone. His true nature came forth and he started talking up a storm in the shop and everybody fell in like with him. I went to see him every day. And after two weeks, Buddy was ready to go home with me. By now, he had learned to bark from the little Boston Terrier in the store.

Buddy settled right in once he got home. He likes the Caribbean Crunch and his favorite nuts are almonds. I have also discovered he likes pizza and Cottage Cheese. He is also a big millet lover.

My Border Collie Tess is quite confused to hear talking coming from the bird cage. Buddy does her "come" whistle and she is so puzzled, she doesn't know which way to go. It's very comical. I've never had a bird before, and I just love him. He's great company for me. I study a lot since I'm in grad school and when I'm not at work, I'm right here at my computer doing research for hours. His cage is right next to my desk in the family room in the center of the house.

I don't have a photo yet but if you want I can get one and send it in. More later, Jo

Thanks Jo. What a great story! You've done things right! Taking your time. Researching. Letting the bird get to know you. And then, providing a good home. Please keep us updated with how Buddy is doing!

As a general rule, what's good for us, is good for our birds (with a few exceptions... NO Avocado, Kiwi.) So, give him cheese, on the pizza, and dairy products (cottage cheese) in moderation. Even the almonds as a special treat - don't want him overweight after all ;-)

And... We'd love to see a picture of Buddy.

Watch for more Bird "Rescue" and "Lost & Found" stories. Contact ParrotsNow with your story