Cockatiels Found

Missing Cockatiels Found Thanks to Stan and Ollie

Love and Precious (Stand in's!) Owned by Jim Kelly

By John Bingham, PA News

Eight cockatiels with a knack for whistling escaped from another fine mess thanks to help from slapstick duo Laurel and Hardy.

The birds, which were stolen from an aviary in Salisbury last month, were rescued by police after a member of the public heard them whistling the pair’s distinctive theme tune. They were reunited with their owner at a police station today thanks to an anonymous tip-off.

The cockatiels, which were among 12 stolen, first developed their unusual trait after a new addition to the aviary arrived whistling the Laurel and Hardy tune and soon had half the flock singing along. At first the affectation seemed little more than a quirky trait but when birds later went missing police realised it could prove to be an important clue.

Wiltshire Police issued an appeal through the media last month urging members of the public to listen out for birds whistling the tune.

Police received an anonymous call yesterday from a member of the public with an ear for music who heard the distinctive call in the Bishopdown Farm area of Salisbury and remembered the unusual appeal.

The cockatiels’ owner, who asked not to be named, said: “I bought a bird from a man up in Swindon when I was working up there one day.

“That bird had previously been kept in an indoor cage and its owner then had taught it to whistle Laurel and Hardy. “When I brought it down here and put it in the aviary, soon some of the other birds started to whistle as well.” He added that the birds had gone missing over two nights last month.

The first time he discovered some of his birds missing he thought that he must have left the door open but when it happened a second time other items had been also been taken.

The cockatiels proved a hit with officers in Salisbury after they were placed in a cage at the station’s parade room awaiting their owner. But although police officers have been trying to coax them into a rendition of their trademark tune, they appear to be intimidated by the sight police in uniform.

A Wiltshire Police spokesman said: “They are obviously overawed by the strange surroundings. “Two or three of them are whistling although we haven’t heard the theme tune yet but that hasn’t stopped every bobby who goes into the parade room trying.”

The four other birds are still missing