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Saved! Exotic Bird on Upper West Side

By Michelle Rafferty


The Oxford Comment guest star Jon (featured on Episodes 1 and 4.5) recently wrote in with this shocking, yet true story:

I was on the UWS on Saturday and noticed this bright orange/green/blue bird standing on the sidewalk chirping. It looked pretty out of place. I went to say hi to him and he flew up and landed on the shoulder of one of the people I was with (see photo). We figured he must have escaped from an apartment window or something. Poor guy was not equipped to handle the freezing cold, so I held onto him and ventured into Columbia’s campus for help. Everyone was very concerned. Then a student told us he was familiar with a good vet in town and offered to bring him in. He was a handsome little fella (the bird).*

Here’s hoping this little bird found his owners! And if you are looking for a quick ornithological fix, I recommend A Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil by Ber van Perlo.

*Upon closer inspection of said photo, Jon surmised the species of the little birdy to be Green-rumped Parrotlet. If you have better guesses, please let us know.

Recent Comments

  1. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Matthew Gallaway, Lauren Barret. Lauren Barret said: Did you lose a parrot on the Upper West Side? https://blog.oup.com/2011/01/exotic-bird/?utm […]

  2. Joanne Rose

    Good job! I hope that little guy found his home. What you found was a beautiful (and so very lucky!) peach faced lovebird. Here is a link to some pictures for comparison:

    http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=653&tbs=isch:1&sa=1&q=peach+faced+lovebird&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=

    I hope if one of my babies ever get out they happen across someone like yourself.

  3. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Kristopher John, Lauren. Lauren said: IS THIS YOUR BIRD?! http://bit.ly/gESNqk […]

  4. judy gerber

    This is a peach faced lovebird. I just lost one, almost 18 years old. If this guy needs a home, I would like to adopt.

  5. Cynthia

    Please contact me! This looks like Baily, a lovebird mix that I lost back in August. I have pictures of her, just email me and I’ll send them to you for conformation.

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