A pet parrot that spoke with a British accent when it disappeared from its home four years ago has been reunited with its owner — and the bird now speaks Spanish. The reunion was brought about by a Southern California veterinarian who mistook Nigel, an African gray parrot, for her own missing bird, the Daily Breeze reported Sunday. Teresa Micco tracked Nigel's microchip to Darren Chick, a Brit who lives in Torrance. "I introduced myself and said, 'Have you lost a bird?'" Micco told the newspaper. "He initially said, 'No.' But he thought I meant recently." When she verified Chick's name and said she had his African grey parrot, "He looked at me like I was crazy." He said his bird went missing four years earlier. Little is known about Nigel's whereabouts the past four years, but Chick says the bird's British accent is gone, and it now chatters in Spanish. Chick says last week's reunion brought tears of joy to his eyes — despite the fact that Nigel bit him when he first tried to pick him up. Micco said the behavior was not unusual and that Nigel would settle back in soon enough. "He's doing perfect," Chick told the newspaper by the week's end. "It's really weird. I knew it was him from the minute I saw him." It's the fifth parrot reunion facilitated by Micco, who has been running ads for her own missing bird for nine months. That parrot, Benjamin, flew the coop in February when it darted out a door that was left open. Julissa Sperling found Nigel outside her home and brought him to Micco after seeing one of her ads. But first, she took Nigel to her dog-grooming business. "He was the happiest bird. He was singing and talking without control," Sperling said. "He was barking like the dogs. I'm from Panama and he was saying, 'What happened?' in Spanish." Tags: The African Grey parrot started off with a British accent, but after going missing for four mysterious years, he’s back with his owner and now speaks Spanish. Parrot missing for years returns speaking Spanish. Grey parrot with impeccable British accent returned to Californian owner after four years... but now he speaks SPANISH. California parrot that vanished for four years returns speaking Spanish. Talking parrot missing for 4 years found, now speaks Spanish. Nigel the British parrot returns home speaking Spanish. Nigel the parrot with perfect British accent returned after 4 years speaking SPANISH. Lost parrot returns speaking Spanish. Lost parrot reunited with British owner after four years now speaks only Spanish. Pet parrot with British accent disappears from owner's home, returns four years later speaking Spanish. Parrot with British accent vanishes, returns four years later speaking Spanish. Parrot Missing for Years Returns Speaking Spanish. English-speaking parrot disappears for four years and returns speaking Spanish. British parrot comes back from 4-year journey speaking Spanish. Parrot learns Spanish while missing for 4 years. Parrot with British accent was missing for years - it returned speaking Spanish. Lost parrot returns, speaking Spanish. For Nigel the parrot, a new accent on his squawking points. Parrot that spoke with a British accent returns home after four years speaking fluent Spanish! African gray parrot missing for years returns home with Spanish accent. Breaking News, Latest News, ABC, NBC, BBC, CNN, NDTV, Headlines Times, Now Discovery, Todays News, Upcoming News, USA Today, Latest USA News, NY News, New York Breaking News, Todays Headlines, World News, Latest World News, World Breaking News, Africa Latest News, Africa Breaking News, Fox News, Fox News Channel (TV Network), BBC News, Telegraph, DailyMail, BrisbaneTimes, Guardian, New Zealand Herald, Australian, MSCNBC

• published: 14 Oct 2014
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