Vulgar Birds Grounded

Parents learn to watch their language around little kids, or pet parrots. At least they should.

Five African grey parrots have been removed from public view at a British wildlife park after they started swearing at customers.

The foul-mouthed birds were split up after they launched a number of different expletives at visitors and staff just days after being donated to Lincolnshire Wildlife Park in eastern England. The hope is that living alone and exposed to staff who don’t swear (at least in proximity to the birds),  that the feathered friends will become more family friendly.

I don’t recall the bird’s name back when I was at the Lincoln Park Zoo. It was an Amazon parrot who was donated to the zoo by a sweet little old lady who sadly could no longer be care for her beloved bird. This especially outgoing and friendly parrot would go to schools and sing opera, as that little old lady loved to listen to opera. The bird performed opera in several languages. I remember the bird could also bark like a dog and meow like a cat. And could say random things like, “Where are my keys?” and “Robert Redford, Robert Redford.” Guess the little old lady had a thing for that actor.

All was going well until a colleague brought the bird out in the Children’s Zoo to the amphitheater area, and to an audience of around 50 visitors – mostly young children – the bird demonstrated his complete and rather impressive list to spew various obscenities. Needless to say, we all learned a bit more about this little old lady, as the bird had to absorb the vocabulary from somewhere. This pet parrot was never again used as a zoo ambassador. Living 60 years or more, that bird may still be alive and well at the zoo.