A grey African parrot vanished from his British owner’s home in Torrance, California in 2010 before it reappeared 4 years later. But, this time, instead of British, the pet parrot spoke Spanish.
The parrot, named Nigel, reunited with his beloved owner, Darren Chick. Even though the Spanish-speaking parrot bit the owner when he first saw him, the owner said ‘he’s doing perfect’.
The bird’s British accent is gone and has been replaced with fluent Spanish.
Parrot Comes Back after 4 Years & Speaks Spanish
Although the owner had no idea whatsoever where the parrot had spent the last 4 years, it was really weird because he knew it was him the moment he laid his eyes on him.
Julia Sperling who owns a dog-grooming parlour discovered Nigel after she took him in because he matched an advertisement for a missing pet she had seen.
Sperling explained that the parrot was very happy and was singing and talking uncontrollably. He was even barking with the dogs in her saloon!
He was also saying ‘What happened’ in Spanish.
However, she initially made a mistake and gave the parrot to Teresa Micco, a veterinarian’s technician who was also looking for a lost bird.
After realizing the mistake she had made, she decided to find the original owner.
She tracked him down by sifting through old sale records on the microchip in the parrot. She introduced herself to Mr. Chick and asked if he had lost a bird recently to which he responded negatively. He looked at her as if she was crazy, she recalls. But, once he saw the parrot, he knew it was his old friend.
But, Mr. Chick Gives Back the Parrot
Even though Mr. Chick was over the moon that his once-best-friend parrot was alive and well, he decided to give the parrot back to the Torrance family who took care of it for the 4 years he was missing.
The family was heartbroken that the bird flew away from their home. According to the family’s grandchild, Liza Smith, they purchased the parrot at a garage sale for $400 and named him Morgan.
The parrot learned Spanish from her grandfather who was born in Guatemala. Smith points out that the bird became a very special friend of her grandpa, particularly in the last two years after he lost his wife, her grandma, who used to whistle tunes to the parrot.
Believe it or not, this smart parrot knows the first bars of the music from the movie The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, as well as the names of the family’s three dogs and also loves to bark like they do.
Moreover, the bird enjoys imitating the beeping sounds which the trash-collecting truck makes in the morning, Smith says.
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