How to Recover a Lost Quaker Parrot
by Mattie Sue Athan
Every year, we hear from a number of people with Quaker Parrots that have flown away. Mattie Sue Athan has assisted with many escaped parrot recoveries and is considered an expert on this topic. Here she offers step-by-step advice for the owner of a lost parrot. We have seen many recoveries of lost birds when owners follow this advice.
Question: My Quaker Parrot flew away. What are a handfed Quaker’s chances of survival? And what can I do to get it back?
Answer:
Accidental escape is one of the most common tragedies to befall the companion Quaker parrot. In the past this represented a danger to the environment because wild-caught Quakers could survive easily in the wild. However, an escaped handfed Quaker’s chances of survival are not especially good, especially in areas where there is raptor activity. Fortunately, handfed Quakers know where “their bread is buttered”. In my 20+ years of experience recapturing Quakers in urban settings, I see that handfed Quakers usually find accommodating humans and “adopt” them, usually within the first 24 hours of escape. For this reason, I expect a handfed Quaker recapture to primarily be a public relations project. If you don’t know where the bird is, you must advertise to find it.
Typically, the bird is returned by humans who have been caring for it as soon as they see the advertising. Call the local newspapers, the humane societies, animal control, local bird dealers, avian veterinarians, groomers, and recapture services. Be sure to report your lost “property” to the police. If the bird is found and the people holding the bird won’t relinquish it, the police may intervene. You must be able to prove ownership, possibly with a recorded band number, registered DNA configuration, micro-chipping or by identifying physical or behavioral anomalies in the bird.
Place ads in the local newspapers, on church and grocery store bulletin boards. Make a flyer with a photo or a reasonable likeness of a Quaker. Prepare an 8-1/2 x 11 inch white original so that it can be easily copied on to brightly colored paper. The flyer should also contain a contact phone number, if possible, and alternative contact phone number, such as a pager, and the street corner or local landmark nearest to where the bird flew away. The flyer should mention small rewards available for information leading to the location of the bird and a more sizable reward for the return of the bird. It’s a good idea to minimize the value of the bird, possibly, in the case of the Quaker Parrot, mentioning that the bird is noisy or of less-than-perfect disposition. Identifying characteristics may be mentioned, such as missing toe or banding on a particular leg.
Talk to everyone you see, and make lots of flyers to just hand to people. Use a different color each time the flyer is reprinted. If the recapture process lasts a while, the signs may have to be occasionally reposted after bad weather, and a new color will help people to understand that the search is still “fresh”, and they should call if they see the bird. Don’t forget to take your flyers down immediately upon recovering the bird. It’s only polite, and in some places you may be fined if you do not take them down.
During late summer or early fall, there may be sufficient ripe fruits to sustain the bird wild for a while. In the case of a true “recapture” wherein we know where the bird is, a handfed bird will usually come willingly to the beloved owner. Expect a really good flyer to fly down. Expect a poor flyer to climb down. It’s easier to lure a Quaker parrot with jealousy (have the favorite person stand hugging the most hated person) than with food.
Don’t give up. Keep looking. A bird doesn’t usually just disappear. Somebody has it or somebody has seen it, or they will see it soon.
A friend told me that he lost a pair of Quakers in northern Colorado on the 4th of July in about 1985. Exactly one year later, also on July 4th, he was contacted by a neighbor who reported that he had captured the birds in his hen house. There had been no reported sightings of the birds in this rural setting for that entire year.
Wild-caught or poorly socialized Quakers might have to be trapped. Trapping instructions for Quaker Parrots may be found on page 81-82 of Guide to the Quaker Parrot.
Mattie Sue Athan has been a companion parrot behavior consultant since 1978. During that time she has averaged two to three new Quaker clients per week. Her first book, Guide to a Well-Behaved Parrot, is an industry standard. Her second book, Guide to the Quaker Parrot, sold out the first printing in 5 months. She also wrote Guide to the Senegal Parrot and Its Family and Guide to Companion Parrot Behavior.
Email: msathan@aol.com
i mean that’s cool for Alex
my quaker parrot cuca flew away the other day at about 3 pm yesterday and I searched for her shes flown away before and usually she comes back and when I look for her I call her name and she responds, but I have not heard her respond at all. we will be posting up flyers soon but Im afraid that a cat mightve got to her or something I live in nyc soo theres alot that couldve happened to her. is there any thing else I can do?
I’m so happy thank goodness cuca came back today
I found her ontop of a roof poor thing she is so skinny and her wings got longer and so did her tail. looks like somebody found her and tried to keep her but let her go for some reason
I lost my quaker parrot last evening.The problem is im from India and there are plenty of crows,pigeons and kites(predator birds).The people here are not that bird friendly and might shoo him away if he approaches them.I am very tensed .The ads in the newspaper will come only tomorrow.I have put flyers around.I love my baby he is a sweet-heart.I dont know what to do.Also my cockatiel is very attatched to him.:(
i lost my quaker parrot last evening.. and have been frantically searching for him all over the neibhourhood..i put up flyers,informed the building security gaurds..im really heartbroken.nyother ideas?
I lost my blue quaker “Englebird” on friday night in Boise Idaho, I have posted to Craig’s list, told the parrot store lady, and am making fliers tomorrow. I have also posted to several other lost/found sites. I saw hawks in the area shortly afterwards, so I am scared they got her. I miss my little birdy that was just getting good at talking. Any sightings please email me at moreismore69@msn.com or call 208-867-8333
thank you and good luck to all of you parrot parents
I am fostering a Quaker Parrot that was found on the Southfield Freeway in Dearborn, MI near the end of July 2009.Please contact me with any behaviors you can describe,if banded/unbanded,if talks/or not.Pics would be most helpful. have reason to believe this Bird was gone for a while,maybe many months.Thanx! Denise Landrum denise_landrum@yahoo.com 911ParrotAlert Volunteer
I was befriended by what I think maybe a quaker parrot yesterday evening by my pecan tree. I live in zip code 77023. I want to post flyers to try and reunite the creature with its owner. Anyone have any ideas as to what radius a quaker will travel? How far away should i post flyers? Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks for your time and efforts.
I will check back and for any postings.
I lost my quaker parrot, Smokey, this morning 9/29/09. He flew out the window, I live in Brooklyn so if anyone has seen him, I would love if you contact me. I am so heartbroken over this. He is handfed and I have had him for about a year. He is very intelligent and talks a lot. I will put up some flyers and I hope and pray that I find him.
is your email with an underscore or all together?
denise_landrum@yahoo.com or
deniselandrum@yahoo.com
i lost my quacker parrot Yoshi on Saturday noon. He flew out my window. hes about 4 months old and very friendly. love to fly on people’s head. poor thing must be scared. please help/ Opa-locka Fl, US
Don’t know if you found your bird or not but there was a green quaker with blue on its wing tips and reddish-orange legs in my backyard a few days ago (we have a picture of it). We fed and watered it but then it flew into one of our trees where it spent the night;unfortunately it was gone the next morning. North Scotts. area. Thought I would give you an FYI just in case.
I lost my pet quaker today. I have had him for over three years and am very attached to him .He flew away and became startled and I was unable to find him.He is a good talker frequently saying pretty bird,good boy kermit,good morning and many other phrases. I also have a cockateal and they chatter all day. His wings are not clipped and so I dont know how far away he flew.I live in Carteret County in eastern NC.Please call me if you find my Kermit 252-728-5944 or 252-725-2920. Thanks so so much.
I lost my quaker on my birthday Nov. 3, she flew out the door….in Tallahassee Fl. on Keith St….
i lost my quacker on 11/6/09 we were looking 4 hi like krazy.then he could hear his sound that he makes. we founf him on a wire he was 2 high to get him and then we flew away . =[ . we hope we find him + we wont give up
We lost our Quaker Parrot 12/10/09 in St. Petersburg, Florida when he flew out the back door as we were letting our dog out. We are heartbroken. She is a junk food junkie and I know the first morning the sun came up and she didnt get her lucky charms it probably wasnt a great day for her. She is quite the talker and sings with me all the time. I am praying we get her back. She is not tagged or micro chipped, her wings are not clipped, but I can identify her by her vocabulary. Please help us find her if you can.
Thank you Jeff for the good news. My baby escaped on Christmas Eve and I really miss her. To hear of other people’s success in recovering these beautiful creatures is a great comfort.
Our quaker parrot just flew away, we live in Weston fl and we are calling him and he is not responding. Is very dark here and even if he talks a lot, he doesn’t talk at night tome, so it makes it even more difficult. We will pay 100 if you can get him back to us, his name is pepe and he talks a lot. Gd bless your soul! :’(
I feel so sorry for you Jose!
hi, just wondering if you ever found your quaker. there has been a quaker hanging around in greenville near newry lane since last summer. saw it around christmas too. just curious, don’t think it has a leg band but i’m not positive.
I just wanted to tell you that last summer my Quaker Parrot was missing for three days. I had a call from someone that said they had him and they would never tell me their address or bring the bird by. I called the police and the police say that since he was lost and not stolen they couldn’t go to their house and get the bird EVEN THOUGH my bird was micro chipped! I was told that all they could do was call them and ask them to return the bird. They stopped answering the phone. Nothing I could do. HOWEVER, they never even had my bird to begin with. He was found two days later in a park by a couple and brought to one of the vets offices that I had called. I also sent out postcards to 500 people in the area. I don’t recommend doing that unless its been several days. Because by the time people got the postcards he was found and then I started getting prank phone calls from people screaming that I will never see my bird again!
2-22-10 A man lost his quaker parrot yesterday in hollywood beach,Fl.I saw him calling her.After he left ,I heard her ,then saw her.She is posted up in a very tall pine.She has been there all night and is calling for him,but i dont know how to coaz her out of the tree,or where to find him.I stood wistleing for a while,she answered back…this went on for an hour.I had bread,but I know nothing about parrots.If anyone reads this and knows how to coaz her down ,i will take care of her til i find the man who lost her.Please let me know…
Hey guys,
i have learnt my lesson well and truly! CLIP their wings! We thougth we’d be nice, and let our 6 month Quaker’s wings grow, as he enjoyed flying around the house.Well we lost our Harry Boy 1 month ago, when i was moving house. He got a fright and took out of the front door. He got chased by Myna birds, which are unbelievably territiorial and a pest here in Sydney.
We started searchign straight awayI managed to track him, by using google maps and the direction he took off to get an idea of where he could have gone. we have heaps of high gum trees where i live, so we figured he would have flown to them. I kept calling out to him, rining his bell toy ( a fav toy) and waiting for a response. We eventually heard him crying for help! We found him in a high tree, about 5 m + high, sqauking and in a big fright. Poor little boy was stressed like something! The myna birds dove at him, and he flew off.
We then used google maps, again to track where he went, and found him up a gum tree 20 m +tree in a house in our neighbourhood. We spent the whole day trying to coax him down, but he was too scared.By this time it was getting dark, the fire brigade couldn’t get him down, so we camped out in the garden.
Contacted a tree loper, who came at 8am on a Sunday morning. The man was lovely, but Harry got a fright when the man climbed up and flew off again.
Spent Sudnay morning searching for him (again used google maps, in ariel view to get an idea of where he could have gone, plotting his direction, and anrrowing it down to tall tress).
Found him, squaking in his unique tone. However he was very scarred and wasn’t as responsive!
the tree loper man came again and climbed up, this time using a pillow case. Harry was so happy to be saved (myna birds again were starting to attack him) he walked onto the man’s arm, who then GRABBED him and popped him in the pillow case.
We were very lucky that we got Harry abck, and that it was raining the whole 2 days. If it was our usual Australian Syney summer it would have been 40 deg and he would have died from exposure!
We have learnt our lesson, and keep Harry locked up when pple are goign in/out the house anbd clip his wings frequently!
Don’t give up if you have lost you Quaker. The best thing i would recomend is to use goodle map in areial veiw to plot out the route where he coud have gone. Persist, door knock on every neighbour’s door who hasn a tall tree. Keep looking, seriously, I spent 2 days seraching for him. Calling out to him and try to hear him, cos he will def call back!
Hope this helps…. loosing a bird is soo sad, and Quakers are the best pets!
We lost our quaker yesterday evening thats 3/7/10. we live in the the raleight/kinghtdale area in NC. His name is Beazer he is vary tamed. We have had him since I was a little girl and hes never been outside before. PLEASE if anybody finds him please call (919)-219-2290. We love him and miss him very much. thank you
I lost my quaker parrot May 19 2010, she flew out of our house when the door was open and onto a really tall tree, when we call to her she calls back so we know she’s there but we cant see her because of the trees leaves camaflouging with her feathers. If anyone in West Haven, Connecticut finds a quaker parrot with a distinct deformation on her bottom beak please let me know, my poor baby is probably cold and hungry and she has me worried sick!
OMG!! We found our quaker! using the tips on this site we put out a cage outside and continuosly called her, eventually we found our precious baby perched up on a tree calling out to us we spotted her and continued to call her eventually coaxing her out of the tree and into the palm of my hands!! She is back in her cage now eating like a crazy maniac!
5/22/2010
Our quaker parrott flew out the back door today, if anyone in Hemby Bridge, North Carolina sees a Green quaker parrott with a band on it’s left leg,Please contact us via this email address. Cablesm@windstream.net
Thank you
A quaker parrot was found near our home on May 16th….he says the name Albert all the time (not sure if that is his name or the owners), he is very polite saying thank you & your welcome, good morning, etc. – he is quite the talker. I would love to find his owner since I can’t keep him (I have 3 other parrots & I just can’t take another…we are running out of room)…if anybody knows who this parrot belongs to please have them contact me ASAP at mmbuzzard@frontiernet.net
Thanks
On 5/23/2010 A Quaker Parrot showed up at my house would like to get it to the riteful owner, it has some identifing marks that you will need to know to get this bird. If it is your bird discribe it. I live in the Conover NC area.
I have found a quaker parrot in Indianapolis, Indiana. This bird is very sweet and I am sure someone is missing it very much. I would love to return it to its owner. If you have lost this bird please contact me. A local pet store has loaned me a cage and given me food, so it is being taken care of.
Found a Quaker Parrot in Lincoln Nebraska-April 2010
We would love to help it find its family!
Found a Quaker Parrot in Eastover, SC (near Columbia) First saw the parrot on Sat. May 29, again on Sunday, May 30. It is hanging out in our yard, comes onto the deck for food. We are trying to capture it to protect it from predators. If you think this could be your parrot, please email mfnorris70@yahoo.com. I would love to help find its way home.
My quaker Parrot Marvin flew away this morning she got out while i was putting in mu air! shes been near open windows before,I guess today was her big day for an adventure .
Iam so broken…..My heart flew out the window today.I live in brooklyn Ny Near a very big park! I have her cage on my fire escape and, I searched the hood all Day! Shes really friendly and, the park was so crowded ,and She loves people food!!!! My next step will be to put up flyers and I posted lost and found on Craigs list… Iam just a mess and just want her back so bad!
Our green Quaker flew away last week when we were getting ready to take it to the vet to have it’s nails filed and wings trimmed. Her name is Angel and we miss her terribly. I live in Columbus, Indiana. If you have seen her please email me at cdb7519@yahoo.com. I read a post by Julie in Indianapolis and wonder if it is Angel you have found. I have no idea how to contact you.
Lost our Quaker Toño tonight in Hollywood FL,33020, very funny bird so sad
if any info please email me at elmono125@hotmail.com never thought would be doing. thanks.
i have fond a missing quaker parrot it is green and grey me and everyone else that fond him are trying to get him back to his owner who ever that may be. we fond him at saint pius high school yesterday in albequrqe new mexico my email is jackandmax12@hotmail.com please contect me if hes yours
We have lost our quaker parrot on July 03,2010 around 2pm in Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn. She is about 1 year old,very friendly and talks a bit. She is our life. She is the child we do not have. I have tried to have children and cannot she is our child. Please if any has seen her or gotten her please contact us. God will bless you. I have faith she will appear.
Found green Quaker Parrot in North Port, FL on August 2nd. If you are missing your bird…please contact me.
My Quaker flew away on August 7, 2010 in Deer Park, Texas. I have had her 4 years and am very heart broken.
I have been waking around whistling and riding my bike as well.
The neighbors down the street saw her 2 days later and said she flew southeast. I have talked to several people around the neighborhood to spread the word. I hope she found the local quakers on the south side of town.
I am not sure if she would find other people or not, she was usually somewhat timid and very cautious.
Does anyone know about their homing/navigation skills and about how far they travel?
Do they flock with other species?
I lost my Quaker Parrot mid August 2010. Little green guy.
I miss him so much!
If anyone finds him in NE Portland, Oregon PLEASE email me, and return him. He is dearly missed by me.
Kerrihannah2@gmail.com
Thank you