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There were, to coin a phrase, three of them in the relationship - plus a parrot called Ziggy.For Chris Taylor, however, the only cloud on his horizon was that his girlfriend did not share his fondness for the eight-year-old African grey he had bought as a chick. But if relations between Suzy Collins and Ziggy were always on the cool side, it seems fair to say that now they must be deep frozen after the parrot's mimicry revealed the existence of Miss Collins's secret lover, known only as Gary. At first, 30-year-old Mr Taylor was amused when Ziggy started screeching...

LONDON - Chris Taylor, a 30-year-old British computer programmer, grew suspicious of his live-in girlfriend when his pet parrot began to imitate her saying, “I love you, Gary.” Ziggy, an 8-year-old African gray parrot, would also make kissing noises whenever the name Gary was mentioned on TV and would mimic Suzy Collins saying, “Hiya, Gary,” every time she answered her mobile phone.

A TALKATIVE parrot was being blamed for the break-up of a couple's relationship after squawking the name of the woman's secret lover, British newspapers reported today. Ziggy, an eight-year-old African grey, prompted a confession from 25-year-old call centre worker Suzy Collins that she was having a four-month fling with a former colleague when the pet blurted out: "Gary, I love you." The bird had previously said "Hiya, Gary" when Collins' mobile phone rang and made kissing noises when the name was mentioned on radio or television but its owner, Chris Taylor, from Leeds, northern England, laughed it off. But the...

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) -- Polly want a burglar? A pet parrot attacked a man who broke into its owner's apartment, and the bite and blood marks helped police identify a suspect. The blue and gold macaw hybrid named Sunshine attacked Michael L. Deeter, 44, after he broke into the apartment, police said. Sunshine had blood on its beak and Deeter had marks on his hand consistent with those made by a parrot. Deeter, of Williamsport, told police the bird bit him very hard after he entered James Erb's apartment and he still had the marks to prove it when he...

A cheating husband was exposed after his wife's parrot mimicked his voice calling out another woman's name. Frank Ficker, 50, has now been kicked out of the family home by wife Petra, also 50, after she heard their 12-year-old parrot Hugo impersonating him on the phone to another woman.Petra, of Freiburg, Germany, said: "Hugo always liked to mimic Frank and he could do his voice perfectly."Frank asking who's at the door, Frank yelling at our nephews, Frank telling me he loved me. And then one day I heard him doing Frank's voice, but saying "Uta, Uta"."Petra turned the house upside...

A Royal navy parrot with a reputation for embarrassing top brass with her foul mouth has been ordered ashore. But it was not Sunny's swearing that led to her being taken off the British frigate, Lancaster. She has been given extended shore leave on medical advice after plucking out her feathers and looking withdrawn. Sunny a six-year-old African grey with the official service number of RN Parrot No 1, has a habit of squawking "arse" and "bollocks" at inappropriate moments. During a visit in 2001 by the First Sea Lord, Sunny was banished to a cupboard but could still be...

Parrot worker left untreated for days By Philip Edwards (Filed: 13/11/2005) Crucial treatment for a hospital worker exposed to Britain's first case of deadly bird flu through his other job as a quarantine worker was delayed by at least three days because of a blunder by government officials, the Sunday Telegraph has learnt. Officials at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs are understood to have risked an outbreak of the disease by failing to alert local health authorities that Howard Savage urgently needed antiviral treatment. Mr Savage, who runs the quarantine centre where two infected parrots died, approached...

A FOUL-mouthed parrot previously owned by a lorry driver has been banished from public areas in a British animal sanctuary after repeatedly embarrassing his keepers. Barney, a five-year-old Macaw, is now kept indoors at Warwickshire Animal Sanctuary in Nuneaton, central England, when outsiders visit after abusing dignitaries with swearword-littered insults. "He's told a lady mayoress to f--- off and he told a lady vicar: 'And you can f--- off as well'," sanctuary worker Stacey Clark said. Nor did the forces of law and order escape, she added. "Two policemen came to have a look at the centre. He told them:...

Researchers explore whether parrot has concept of zeroA bird seems to have hit on a concept that eluded mathematicians for centuries - possibly during a temper tantrum.June 22, 2005 Special to World Science Researchers are exploring whether a parrot has developed a numerical concept that eluded mathematicians for centuries: zero.Oddly, it seems he may have achieved the feat during a temper tantrum, the researchers say. Although zero is an obvious notion to most of us, it wasn't to people long ago. Scholars say it came into widespread use in the West only in the 1600s by way of India, which...

http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~28822~2888206,00.html Nearly 100 exotic birds stolen from home aviaryBy Angie Valencia-Martinez, Staff Writer May 26, 2005 Nearly 100 parrots and other orphaned exotic birds were stolen from an aviary in Box Canyon operated by an 85-year-old bird lover, officials said Wednesday. The birds, including Rosellas, Mexican Redheads and Patagonias, were stolen from the back yard of June Matthews' mobile home, where she has cared for rescued birds since 1984. The Ventura County Sheriff's Department said Matthews reported the birds stolen on Monday, but that an investigation showed they might have been taken from the aviary over the weekend. Matthews...

A New Smyrna Beach man who witnesses said bit off a parrot's head during a billiards game faces animal cruelty charges, the Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman said today. Bruce J. Coates, 34, told deputies he had been drinking and couldn’t remember what happened. But witnesses told investigators that during a billiards game early Sunday morning, Coates grabbed the parrot off the shoulder of another player, put the bird’s head in his mouth and bit it off, said spokesman Gary Davidson. The incident occurred at a party the recreation room of the Saddle Club Estates community near S.R. 44 and S.R....

Foul-mouthed parrot back on board HMS Lancaster steward Jordan Taylor with Sunny Sunny the parrot has a colourful vocabulary A swearing Royal Navy parrot has rejoined her shipmates on a warship after seven months ashore. Sunny, an African Grey, had to leave Type-23 frigate HMS Lancaster while the vessel was undergoing a refit at Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth. Sunny has now resumed her place in the wardroom among the officers. Sunny first became famous in March when she met the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh during a visit to Portsmouth Naval base. Volley of abuse Her keeper, Lieutenant Mari...

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Ananova: Parrot saves owner from fire A parrot squawking and falling off its perch saved its owner from his blazing home. The noise woke Paul Broadhurst, who raced from his bedroom in Stockport, Greater Manchester, into a wall of smoke. Highways officer Paul, 28, escaped but Rocky had to be rescued by firemen. The African grey is in a vet's intensive care reports The Sun. Paul said: "If Rocky hadn't fallen, I would have been frazzled."

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Fearing a parrot named Marshmallow could identify them, three thieves returned to the scene of the crime to silence the bird -- only to be caught by police. After making off with a booty of DVD players, computers, radios, TVs and other electronic gear, one of the suspects realized a parrot in the home had heard him using the nickname ''J.J.'' and was repeating it. ''They were afraid the bird would 'stool' on them,'' police Maj. Billy Garrett said. ''They actually believed he could identify them.'' They decided to go back for the bird, loading it into...

Governmental Awards and Recognition of Falun Dafa from China and the World Since its public introduction in May 1992, Falun Dafa has attracted over 100 million practitioners worldwide in just ten years. Falun Dafa cultivation emphasizes that one should conduct oneself according to the principle of "Truth-Compassion-Tolerance". Regardless of gender and age, regardless of nationality and race, every practitioner who persistently cultivates his/her heart and practices the exercises has benefited tremendously. Constant diligent cultivation has brought significant changes to many practitioners in both physical conditions and moral values. At the same time, Falun Dafa is gaining worldwide understanding and appreciation,...

Papers have been flapping with new headlines about the latest in a long line of alleged dinosaur ancestors of birds. This one is claimed to be a sensational dinosaur with feathers on its hind legs, thus four ‘wings’.1 This was named Microraptor gui—the name is derived from words meaning ‘little plunderer of Gu’ after the paleontologist Gu Zhiwei. Like so many of the alleged feathered dinosaurs, it comes from Liaoning province of northeastern China. It was about 3 feet (1 meter) long from its head to the tip of its long tail, but its body was only about the size...

BBC:(Picture Below) Parrot's oratory stuns scientists By Alex Kirby BBC News Online environment correspondent The finding of a parrot with an almost unparalleled power to communicate with people has brought scientists up short. The bird, a captive African grey called N'kisi, has a vocabulary of 950 words, and shows signs of a sense of humour. He invents his own words and phrases if he is confronted with novel ideas with which his existing repertoire cannot cope - just as a human child would do. N'kisi's remarkable abilities, which are said to include telepathy, feature in the latest BBC Wildlife Magazine....

Parrot's oratory stuns scientists By Alex Kirby BBC News Online environment correspondent The finding of a parrot with an almost unparalleled power to communicate with people has brought scientists up short. The bird, a captive African grey called N'kisi, has a vocabulary of 950 words, and shows signs of a sense of humour. He invents his own words and phrases if he is confronted with novel ideas with which his existing repertoire cannot cope - just as a human child would do. N'kisi's remarkable abilities, which are said to include telepathy, feature in the latest BBC Wildlife Magazine. N'kisi...

The finding of a parrot with an almost unparalleled power to communicate with people has brought scientists up short. The bird, a captive African grey called N'kisi, has a vocabulary of 950 words, and shows signs of a sense of humour. He invents his own words and phrases if he is confronted with novel ideas with which his existing repertoire cannot cope - just as a human child would do. N'kisi's remarkable abilities, which are said to include telepathy, feature in the latest BBC Wildlife Magazine. N'kisi is believed to be one of the most advanced users of human language...