lehtiartikkeli papukaijasta

Parrot mimicking woman's screams draws police
By Associated Press, 8/29/2003

TUCSON, Ariz. -- A parrot's parody of a damsel in distress caused quite a commotion.

Tucson police and firefighters broke down a door after being called to a house and hearing a woman's screams coming from inside.

But police soon realized that the sounds weren't coming from a woman in woe.

"The parrot's screams sounded identical to those of a distressed adult female," Officer Andrew Davies said in his report.

The ruckus was the work of Oscar, a 2-year-old yellow-naped Amazon parrot.

Police found him intermittently making laughing and screaming sounds as he sat inside his large white cage.

The mix-up began on Saturday when a 911-hang up call was made from the house.

Police arrived to find the house locked with bars on the windows.

Hearing what they thought was a woman's voice, police called the fire department. Crews used a pry bar and a battering ram to get through a door.

Police asked a neighbor to call Dana Pannell, the homeowner. The neighbor said he was home at the time but didn't make the emergency call.

Although the dialer remains a mystery, the parrot is seemingly off the hook.

Pannell's wife, Judy, said Oscar doesn't know how to use a phone.

But Oscar -- named after the Sesame Street character because of his sometimes foul moods -- does have his talents, she said.

"He sings in Spanish," she said.
----------------