Hooligan parrot ‘Rocky’ causes reign of terror by dive bombing neighbours

A hooligan parrot has been carrying out a reign of terror in his neighbourhood.

Terrified residents are forced to keep an eye on the skies for five-year-old Rocky, who has a tendency to escape his house and dive bomb them.

Owner Anna, who does not want to be identified for fear of reprisals, says she has become a pariah after dozens of ‘swooping’ complaints from locals.

She now tries to keep the African Grey, known to some locally as ‘Houdini’, under lock and key but he has been able to find a way out just as successfully as his name sake.

The escape artist also has a penchant for attacking windscreen wipers at a Waitrose car park and ruining basketball games by swooping on unsuspecting young players at the local court.

Anna, from Worcester Park, south west London, has had to set up a Facebook account for Rocky after being repeatedly tagged in posts about his bad behaviour on local community groups.

When called out to retrieve him the mum-of-two is sometimes forced to bribe him with his favourite snacks of hummus or chocolate coins.

But the lovable rogue also has a loyal fan base, with some residents reporting they have spent some pleasant hours with Rocky in their garden or at the pub.

Anna said: “I got him during lockdown and he couldn’t fly at that time. He was just under a year old and his wings had been clipped.

“His feathers started growing back and he learnt to fly. The first time he flew out of the house we went into a huge panic and went searching for him. This happened a few more times and every time we panicked – but always managed to get him back so I relaxed a bit.

“He learned to fly home again so then I didn’t worry as he would fly home at dusk.”

Rocky was getting out so frequently Anna decided to let him become a free-flying bird.

She said: “He would turn up at people’s BBQs, in the summer he loves going to people’s parties. He loves going to the scout hut and he used to go to the pub and share people’s fish and chips.”

But Rocky’s agreeability was short-lived as lockdown came to an end.

Anna said: “Things took a turn. He started attacking everyone, even people he formerly liked. I think he thought the whole area was his territory.

“He likes to go to Waitrose car park and sit on the ticket machine then attack the cars in quite a destructive way. He attacks windscreen wipers on people’s cars and the boot badges. I have had to pay for replacement parts before.

“I once had to go get him from the local primary as the infants were in the playground and he was swooping really low to make them all duck. He doesn’t bite the children – but he will bite teachers and they were really cross.

“He also sits on the goal of the basketball court and swoops at the children and ruins their games.

“He particularly dislikes blonde ladies and will attack them if he sees them. There’s one blonde lady who is particularly terrified of him. He once landed directly on her head at the park.

Anna says she has now decided to try and keep him inside in what she says is an “unfortunate” move. She continues to keep fans updated with the ruffian’s movements on Facebook by posting videos and snaps.

She added: “Apparently they hit the teenage years when they are eight. He is nearly five and already a bit of a nightmare.”