By Tim Binnall
Cops in New Jersey got quite the chuckle when their animal control officer was dispatched to rescue a seemingly out-of-place parrot that was spotted in a tree only to discover that the bird was actually a ceramic decoration. The amusing 'rescue' reportedly occurred last Wednesday afternoon when the Princeton New Jersey Police Department received a call from resident Tim Lynch, who alerted them to "a beautiful parrot" seen perched in a tree within a wooded area of the community. Worried that they might frighten the exotic bird and cause it to fly away, the concerned citizen snapped a photo of the animal and passed it along to police.
Animal Control Officer Jim Ferry subsequently met the caller at the location of the sighting, where the parrot was still in the same spot where it had first been seen. As the duo cautiously approached the creature, Lynch recalled, they noticed that the animal was remarkably rigid, which caused him to mournfully muse to himself that "this poor thing is dead." However, his fears were soon put to rest when Ferry got a few feet away from the bird and realized that it was, in fact, simply a remarkably realistic statue, leading the animal control officer to joke that "this was probably the easiest catch I've ever had." Sharing the story on social media, the department assured residents that the faux parrot "is being lovingly cared for" until its owner comes forward to claim it.