A love-struck parrot’s plan to flee its home backfired on him – when he became lovesick.
The red rumped parrot escaped its cage at the newly-opened Cooney’s Home and Garden store in Letterkenny.
Staff tried all sorts of tricks to catch the colourful bird including a huge net!
But the parrot managed to evade staff roosting in the eves of the store.
Shoppers were left looking skywards as the noisy parrot flew overhead in the store.
But owner of the store Gary Cooney revealed it was love which eventually brought the parrot back down to earth.
“We tried all sorts including some lovely food but nothing would work. The bird was flying all around the shop much to the amusement of shoppers.
“We knew we had to catch it and we were afraid it might escape out of the store and we didn’t want that,” he said.
A plan was eventually hatched to close the store overnight but to leave the bird’s cage open overnight.
Mr Cooney thought his plan had backfired when the female parrot also fled the cage.
But love worked in mysterious ways when the pair soon fled back to their cage for a cosy reunion!
Mr Cooney added “It proves that males, even male parrots, can’t last very long without their partners.
“We’re just delighted they’re back together and we’re going to be more careful in future when opening the cages.”