Parrot
squawks on cheating lover's affair
A devastated
Englishman learned the horrible truth that his
girlfriend was cheating on him - straight from
his pet parrot's mouth.
Chris Taylor's parrot Ziggy began squawking
"Hiya, Gary" every time his girlfriend
Suzy Collins's mobile phone rang.
The African Grey also made kiss noises each
time it heard the name Gary on television or
radio.
At first amused owner Mr Taylor, a computer
programmer, dismissed it as something the bird
had picked up watching TV.
But then he snuggled up beside Suzy on the sofa
in their flat in Leeds and Ziggy cried out in
Suzy's voice "I love you, Gary." The
cat was finally out of the bag.
Call-center worker Ms Collins, 25, broke down
in tears and confessed to having a four-month
fling with a former colleague. She had met her
lover in the flat while Ziggy looked on.
Her confession ended their two-year relationship.
It also led to 30-year-old Mr Taylor parting
company with his pet - because it kept screeching
out her lover's name.
Mr Taylor wasn't sorry to see the back of Suzy
after what she did, he said. But it really broke
his heart to part with eight-year-old Ziggy
which he had bought as a chick.
"I lost my girlfriend and best mate at
the same time. But it was torture hearing him
repeat that name Gary over and over," he
said.
Mr Taylor named the parrot after Ziggy Stardust,
David Bowie's alter ego. It learned to reproduce
the line "Put on your red shoes and dance
the blue!" from the Bowie song Let's Dance.
Ziggy has since found a new home with the help
of a local parrot dealer.