Who's a silly boy then? Cops finger wrong bird

KELLY BURNS/The Dominion Post

PRETTY BIRDIE: Three-year-old Honey Grace Te Rauna keeps a watchful eye on her pet Polly, after the Indian ringneck parakeet was confiscated in error by police.

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He goes by the moniker Polly - but the perky parrot could be forgiven for having an identity crisis.

Mistaken for a stolen rainbow lorikeet, Polly has been at the centre of a whodunit.

On Thursday, he was "liberated" by the armed offenders squad executing a search warrant for stolen goods at a Palmerston North home and whisked into the arms of his relieved owner.

Or so it was thought.

It turns out the police had got the wrong bird, and yesterday Polly the parrot had another ride in a police car as he was returned to his rightful owner.

The colourful bird-napping unfolded after a rainbow lorikeet was reported snatched from its cage in a burglary in Ferguson St on November 20.

On Thursday, a warrant was issued for the AOS to search a Clyde Crescent house and a beady-eyed policeman saw the lookalike Polly in the lounge about 1pm.

The connection was made - despite Polly being an Indian ringneck parakeet. He was positively identified by its "ecstatic" owner and taken home.

But yesterday the mixup was revealed. "There has been a case of mistaken identity," Detective Sergeant Gary Milligan said, adding it was similar but not the missing bird. The person it was taken from stated it was not the stolen bird but was unable to give clear details on who it belonged to, he said.

"So we have acted in good faith and taken it but now realised there has been a mistake from the person who identified it and it's going to be returned."

Polly was taken home about 5.30pm.

Gareth Hancock said Polly had been his three-year-old daughter Honey's pet. They bought him three months ago and had been terrified by the AOS members holding them at gunpoint.

"I thought the police were playing games, it was crazy I kept saying `it's our parrot'." His partner, Faith Barlow, was at the police station when the owner walked out with Polly. "I was like `what the heck, what are you doing with our parrot?"'

But, back at his rightful home, Polly was unfazed by all the drama.

- © Fairfax NZ News