Birds learning bad language from naughty parrots at wildlife sanctuary

These birds need to mind their beaks!

They are known for being bright, beautiful and sometimes even chatty, but Lincolnshire Wildlife Park says it's had to take in loads of parrots in recent years.

Staff at the park say that many people who adopted birds as pets during the pandemic are now giving them up just a few years later.

Lincolnshire Wildlife Park is home to the National Parrot Sanctuary, which now has more than 1,000 parrots in their care.

And it appears some of the new recruits are settling in and getting friendly with one another, as they are picking up some bad language from the park's infamous swearing parrot wing.

Why are people giving up their parrots?

Steve Nichols, who is in charge of the National Parrot Sanctuary, says the pandemic saw many people buying pets for company, but some owners are unable to look after them anymore.

The charity has had meetings to prepare for how to deal with the demand and will be building more enclosures.

Steve urges anyone who is thinking about getting a parrot to do their research as he says it is "like having a three year old child for the next 50 years."

He describes them as "demanding, social creatures".

Sophie and David have a flock of eight birds!

Are parrots hard to look after at home?

Sophie and David are professional bird trainers and have over 15 years of experience.

They also have YouTube channels, with hundreds of videos helping people to look after their parrots.

Sophie says "Things like social media can give warped perception of parrots doing fun tricks and speaking.

"They need a lot of attention, they can't be put in a cage with seed all day, they need enrichment, they're more like having a dog."

When it comes to the challenges of owning a parrot David says: "Noise is a big thing, the mess is another massive thing.

"They can bite for a multitude of reasons, like if they're scared and unsure. Their beak is their hand, so people can misinterpret what they're trying to tell them and think they don't like them."

Sophie says: "They poo every 10-15 minutes, we have eight birds so you can only imagine.

They say parrots need someone who has time, patience and who can give them attention and space.

David says: "You want to give them the biggest enclosure you can. If they can accommodate two birds that's much better as they can get their social needs met by each other."

Quaker parrots screams can be as loud as a chainsaw!

What's happened to the swearing parrots?

Steve says he has a call "from around the world every week" about the swearing parrots that live at the sanctuary.

People have made songs about them, and they have hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok.

Steve says the sanctuary has had parrots who are able to belt out songs by Beyoncé and using iPads to ask for food, but that all the visitors care about are the swearing parrots.

They are all African grey parrots who have been taught to swear by previous owners and who now teach each other.

So any new arrivals could soon know a naughty word or two!