25th June 2009

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Colorado bird hoarder cited

A Colorado teenager has been cited by police who discovered that he was stealing baby birds from their nests and storing them in shoeboxes in his bedroom.

The 15-year-old had birdnapped 53 little tweeties before his mother noticed what was going on and called authorities.

Only 13 of the hatchlings, mostly swallows and sparrows, survived, reports local news. They will be released back into the wild in the coming weeks.

The police have absolutely no idea why the kid did it.

“That’s the mystery in this case,” says Longmont, Colorado, Police Sergeant Dave Orr. “We don’t know what his motivation or his intentions were. We questioned him about that and he was not forthcoming at all, in that regard, so we really, simply don’t know.

Tags birdsbaby animalsThe Law

30th April 2009

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This Cockatoo breaks it down

A series of experiments with Snowball, a sulphur-crested cockatoo at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego, have proved that birds can dance.

According to the study, they are the only animals proven (so far) to have an actual sense of rhythm.

During tests conducted by Aniruddh Patel, a variety of Queen and Backstreet Boys songs were played for Snowball to see if the bird would change his movements when the beat changed. Check out the video to see how he reacts as the opening to “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” speeds up. His stomping and head-bobbing keep time. At one point, he even downshifts his stomps to every other beat so that he can keep his moves cool.

Patel’s team theorized that dancing in rhythm relies on the same brain system as vocal learning - a human quality found in most parrots. Still, says Patel, “We were surprised by the degree to which Snowball could adjust his tempo.”

Tags birdscockatoosdancingtalentvideos

27th March 2009

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This parrot has been birdnapped

Internet sensation Gordo the Skateboarding Parrot has been birdnapped.

The 30-year-old Guatemalan parrot, known for his talent on wheels, was snatched from his cage on the front porch of his home in Baldwin Park, California.

Brightening the outlook - Gordo’s devastated owner Fred Mireles points out - is that the birdnapper is “up against a can of worms” because Gordo is innately un-fond of strangers and will start biting.

Tags birdsparrotscrime

24th March 2009

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This parrot is a lifesaver

Willie is a Quaker parrot - which I assume is a breed, not a description of his religious affiliation - who saved a child’s life by alerting the babysitter that the little girl was choking.

According to the AP, last November Willie’s owner, Megan Howard, was baby-sitting when her young charge started to choke on breakfast. Howard was momentarily out of the room, but Willie flapped his wings and repeated the phrase, “Mama, baby,” until she returned and performed the Heimlich maneuver.

On Friday, Willie was honored as an Animal Lifesaver by the Red Cross chapter in Denver, CO, where he lives.

Tags heroismbirdsparrots

19th March 2009

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These chickens are going to court

Roswell, Georgia, resident Andrew Wordes is fighting for custody of the 13 chickens he keeps in his backyard. He considers them pets and, he tells the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the give him “unconditional love.” In the summer, they eat bugs in his fenced yard. In the winter, he feeds them oatmeal with raisins. Neighbors come over with egg cartons for Wordes to fill.

But, alas, apparently keeping chickens is against city law, and an anonymous complaint was filed (by someone jealous of the hens’ life of luxury?). Wordes must face Assistant City Attorney Bob Hulsey, whose views on pet chickens are stated thusly: “I’m old enough and Southern enough that all I remember is you pet chickens long enough to wring their necks.”

(Side note: check out the FRENZY in the comments section, including freshly-laid intel from commenter Chicken Whisperer.)

Tags birdsjusticechickens