Nigel the parrot was only monolingual when he disappeared four years.
Not much is known about where the African grey parrot went during his four years of freedom, but when he was reunited with his English - born owner Darren Chick in California, the bird chattered in Spanish and repeatedly brought up someone named "Larry," 9 News reported on Tuesday.
The reunion began when Veterinarian Teresa Micco had also lost her African grey parrot and was contacted by a dog spa owner who said they thought they had found her missing bird, Benjamin.
Though Benjamin and Nigel looked almost identical, a scan of Nigel's microchip did not return Micco's ownership information. As it turns out, no one had registered the microchip, but paper sales records were traced to Animal Lovers pet store, reported the Daily Breeze.
After investigating the tracked paper sales, Micco and Happy Trails owner Julissa Sperling located Nigel's owner, Chick. He was surprised and excited to be reunited with his bird, who had traded the British accent he learned from Chick for Spanish during the years he was gone.
"He was the happiest bird. He was singing and talking without control," Sperling said. "He was barking like the dogs...and he was saying, 'What happened?' in Spanish."
The pet initially bit Nigel's hand, likely because they had been separated for some time, but the reunion made Chick shed a tear.
As for Micco, she said her own missing parrot had been seen numerous times lately, and is confident she'll be reunited with him soon.
African grey parrots are traded on international markets and can closely mimic human dialect, making them a popular pet for those who want companionship. This was the fifth African Grey parrot that Micco reunited with its owners after hers flew the coop out an open door in February, Opposing Views reported.
