A neighborhood in Inverness, Scotland, has been terrorized for months by a single escaped pet parakeet with an extremely specific obsession: the rubber seals on car windows. The bright green ring-necked parakeet has been flying around the Lochardil area since around February and has developed a habit of landing on cars and methodically tearing out chunks of rubber from door window seals and windshield wiper fittings. One resident said the bird stripped all four windows of his car, throwing the rubber over its shoulder as it worked.
Another resident is rumored to have spent over $1,000 on repairs, and some neighbors have started draping tarpaulin over their cars when parked. Despite multiple appeals, Highland Council, the SSPCA, RSPB Scotland, and NatureScot have all declined to intervene, noting the bird is classified as a wild animal even if it was clearly someone’s lost pet. Wildlife experts offered three theories for the behavior: defending its territory against its reflection, craving minerals in the rubber, or simple boredom.
Source: UPI
