'Depressed' parrot swears after finding new home

A "depressed" parrot that refused to talk when its owner died has started swearing after finding a new home, the RSPCA said.

Jesse, an African grey parrot, was taken to Ashley Heath Animal Centre in Dorset when his owner died.

The nine-year-old had also started to pluck out his own feathers.

His new owner, animal behaviourist Rachel Leather, said as well as swearing he was also making farting noises and playing with his toys.

The African grey parrot moved to his new home in South Wales last month

Parrots learn to speak by hearing words and mimicking them, and often have large vocabularies.

The RSPCA said it "soon became clear [Jesse] was struggling with grief and his sudden change in environment".

He fell silent "except for occasionally whispering 'goodbye' to staff", the animal welfare charity added.

Behaviour and welfare advisor Hannah Hawkins said: "He seemed lonely and depressed after such a loss."

She added: "We knew we needed to get Jesse into a home environment as quickly as possible to ease his stress."

The nine-year-olds feathers have started to regrow, his new owner Rachel Leather said

Jesse went off to his new home in Aberdare, South Wales, with Ms Leather, her family, their two dogs and five cats, in February.

"He has settled in so well," Ms Leather said.

"Feather-plucking can be a difficult habit to break but he has some feather regrowth, so that's a good sign.

"He's also started to play with his toys... and is even grinding his beak which is a signal of relaxation and contentment.

"The fact that he's talking is a really good sign."

She added: "I think he's lived with a dog called Wellard in his previous home, or watched a lot of EastEnders, because he calls both of my dogs Wellard.

"He also says, 'Jesse's a good boy', and then occasionally replaces that with, 'Jesse's a good girl' and laughs."

The cheeky bird has also learned Ms Leather's partner calls her "Babe", so uses it to get her attention.