A woman has been reunited with her beloved parrot after the jailbird spent the night at a north-east police station.
Named Arnold Schwarzenegger, the African grey parrot flew off from owner Agnieszka Szospkowska’s home in Fraserburgh on Wednesday night.
Police took to social media to tell of their “strange guest” who ended up behind bars at their Finlayson Street base.
The post said: “Fraserburgh officers got a strange station guest tonight.
“This pretty polly was handed into the police station. Has anyone lost a parrot?”
Now Arnold and Mrs Szospkowska have been reunited at home in the port, bringing an end to what was a frantic search for the 19-month-old parrot.
The 34-year-old supermarket worker said the young bird had been spooked by something while he was enjoying some autumn sunshine.
Mrs Szospkowska: “It was really nice weather and when it is like that we always take him outside.
“He was sitting on my husband’s arm but he was scared by something and he just flew away.
“We were looking for him everywhere and we couldn’t find him.”
Mrs Szospkowska used social media herself in her hunt for Arnold, with her Facebook posts prompting a fellow Fraserburgh resident to inform her he had been handed in to the police station.
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“I was looking for him until about midnight and then got up again at 6am to start all over again,” she said.
“He is very friendly with us but is suspicious of strangers so I never thought someone might catch him.”
She said Arnold could talk and had picked up a few phrases in her native Polish – though their home address appears not to have been one of them.
She believes he flew the short distance from her home in Queen Mary Street to the town’s Academy Road.
Mrs Szospkowska said: “He likes to talk and because we are Polish he calls on our dog in Polish.”
Last night, police confirmed their temporary winged inmate had been was now “free as a bird” following his visit.
A fresh social media post said: “Pleased to confirm that our rather unusual Fraserburgh station guest is now free as a bird and has been reunited with its owner – we enjoyed taking you under our wing.”
