A bunch of rude parrots who are notorious for swearing are in the process of being reformed with the help of birds from a new flock, with the hope that they'll adopt less offensive sounds. Back in 2020, five vulgar African gray parrots were donated to Lincolnshire Wildlife Park in eastern England. They were subsequently isolated from the flock in an attempt to improve their language, CNN reported.
Highlights
- Rude parrots notorious for swearing are being reformed with a new flock at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park.
- In 2020, five foul-mouthed African gray parrots were isolated to improve their language.
- Three new offensive parrots named Eric, Captain, and Sheila joined the original swearing parrots.
- Park's chief hope the swearing parrots will learn nice sounds like microwaves and vehicle beeping.
However, starting Tuesday (January 23), the wildlife park’s team has adopted a different and riskier approach of integrating three newly donated, offensive parrots alongside the original five rebels into the flock.
Some rude parrots notorious for swearing are in the process of being reformed with the help of birds from a new flock at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park
Image credits: lincswildlifepark
The three parrots in question are reportedly named Eric, Captain, and Sheila.
The park’s chief executive, Steve Nichols, told the American broadcaster: “When we came to move them, the language that came out of their carrying boxes was phenomenal, really bad.
“Not normal swear words. These were proper expletives.”
“We’ve put eight really, really offensive, swearing parrots with 92 non-swearing ones,” Steve explained.
If the new master plan works, the eight swearing parrots could learn “all the nice noises like microwaves and vehicles reversing” that the other parrots in the flock favor, the park’s chief executive added.
However, if the other 92 pick up the obscenities, “it’s going to turn into some adult aviary,” Steve admitted.
Following the initial isolation, which included integrating the five original birds into the flock, the operation was described as “mostly” successful, according to Steve.
Back in 2020, five vulgar African gray parrots were donated to Lincolnshire Wildlife Park in eastern England
Image credits: lincswildlifepark
Nevertheless, the parrots continue to swear like sailors from time to time, and they even laugh afterward, mimicking the most common reaction to their foul language, CNN reported.
Parrots precisely echo the sounds they hear, so “six of them have got men’s voices, two of them have got ladies’ voices, and when they’re all swearing, it does sound really bad,” Steve explained.
The park has reportedly installed large signs warning visitors about the parrots’ language, but Steve revealed that it hasn’t received a single complaint.
In fact, historically, “we did hear a lot more customers swearing at parrots than we did parrots swearing at customers,” he admitted.
African grays are a highly social species. Because of their intelligence and ability to mimic human speech, African grays are the most popular pet bird in the world.
According to National Geographic, the birds breed well in captivity, and at least 1.3 million gray parrots have been exported legally from Africa over the past four decades, particularly to countries in the Middle East.
"When we came to move them, the language that came out of their carrying boxes was phenomenal, really bad," the park’s chief executive said
Image credits: lincswildlifepark
Swear words are particularly easy to mimic for African grays since they are almost always said in the same tone and context, without any other words surrounding them, Steve explained.
“When you tell someone to eff off, you usually say it the same every time,” he said.
The park’s chief executive further stated: “I’ve just left them up there, and there’s lots of noises, which is brilliant … from squeaking gates to doors slamming, people laughing, and mobile phones.
“I’m hoping that’s part of the settling-in period, but I don’t think they will ever lose the swear because as soon as somebody swears, they’ll be swearing as well.”
Four years ago, the five moved parrots (Eric, Jade, Elsie, Tyson, and Billy) were removed from public view at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park after they started swearing at customers.
The provocative birds were split up after they launched a number of different expletives at visitors and staff just days after being donated, CNN initially reported in 2020.
At the time, Steve said: “It just went ballistic, [and] they were all swearing. We were a little concerned about the children.”
Steve explained: "I get called a fat t**t every time I walk past."
One reader had a perfectly good justification for the birds' impoliteness
Eric, Jade, Elsie, Tyson, and Billy were given to the park from five different owners within the same week and had reportedly shared a quarantining facility together before being placed on display.
Soon after, the park’s staff noticed that the birds shared a propensity to fly off the handle, CNN reported.
Steve recalled: “They literally, within a very short period of time, [started] swearing at each other.
“F**k off’ is the most common one. It’s a very easy one for them to learn.” But the birds would utter “anything you can think of.”
"I love potty-mouthed parrots," a reader declared
