Rescuers try to find owners of parrot who knows one word

ANIMAL rescuers are struggling to reunite a lost parrot with his owner because the bird only knows one word.The exotic bird, described as “very friendly” was found cowering on a fence outside a house in Toryglen, Glasgow, as curious crows and magpies swooped around him.

Getting the bird back home is not being made any easier because he only knows one word: “Hello.”

The African Grey, now named Harley, cannot be encouraged to drop any further clues about his origins, not even the name of a family member.

Harley was discovered on Wednesday morning and the Scottish SPCA are now appealing for his owner to come forward to claim him.

Inspector Kerry Friel said:  “Poor Harley had been sitting on a fence trying to hide from crows and magpies.

“He’s very friendly and kept saying ‘hello’. Harley was also wearing an ID tag so we’re hoping his owners will come forward as they’ll likely be worried about him.

“Parrots are very good at escaping and this tends to happen when their owners are cleaning out their cages or letting them have a fly around a room.

“All it takes is for a door or window to be open and they’re off. Sometimes they get targeted by other birds and arrive injured and exhausted but Harley seems to be in good health.“If no one comes forward for Harley we’ll find him a suitable new home.”

Despite his limited vocabulary, Harley is far more polite than Sparky, a parrot from Kilmarnock who  became a Youtube star after his owner posted videos of him squawking X-rated one-liners such as: “I’ll boot yer b**s son”, “haw b**bag” and “Aw for f***’s sake”.

Harley is now in the care of the Scottish SPCA’s Glasgow Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre in Cardonald.

Roy the parrot hit the headlines last year when it emerged he got into trouble for shouting one word – the name of his owner’s deceased partner. The owner’s new girlfriend objected and Roy was stuck in a garage for three years until he was rescued by Britain’s only parrot psychologist, Glasgow-based Elaine Henley.

Elaine put Roy on Prozac to stop his feather-plucking, a consequence of his days in captivity..

Anyone who recognises Harley  is asked to contact the Scottish SPCA’s Glasgow centre on 03000 999 999.