Wolf whistles in the street are hard enough to bear during the daytime but when you get them in your bedroom at daybreak something has to be done about it.

Karen Percival, of Moorgarth Avenue in York, puts her fingers in her ears to cut out the endless chatter from the stray cockatiel, nicknamed Birdwhich she and her husband have been looking after. Picture by Paul Baker

Karen Percival, of Moorgarth Avenue, York, and her husband Martyn are considering wearing earplugs to bed because of the racket made by ta stray cockatiel Karen took in a week ago.

She rescued the bird from a fifth-floor window ledge at work and brought it home to share a cage with her own 14-year-old cockatiel Megan in the couple's bedroom.

Since then the bird has been imitating household sounds, wolf-whistling, and noisily waking up at sunrise every morning.

It also has a favourite phrase which it repeats incessantly and the noise is driving Karen and Martyn up the wall.

"It's a lovely little bird with loads of character but it just won't shut up," said Karen, who is more used to Megan's muted tones and is finding the early wake-up calls difficult to cope with.

"He's so noisy chirping away to himself all the time.

"We've just been calling him Bird for the time being, and other things you can't print in the Press when he's woken us up at 4.30am.

"He imitates everything - even the sound of us spraying on our deodorant in the mornings.

"He's a lovely bird but he's obviously been well-trained and somebody must be missing him terribly."

Karen is appealing for Bird's owner to come forward and claim him.

"They tend to escape at this time of year when it gets warmer for summer and owners leave the windows open," said Karen.

"I'm just worried he might belong to a family with kids and they will all be heartbroken waiting for him to come home.

"But if they don't come forward I've had no shortage of offers from people with a little more space and he will definitely find a good home in the end," she said.

If you are the owner of Bird, contact Rebecca Gilbert at the Evening Press to get in touch with Karen. You must be prepared to prove you are the owner by telling us what Bird's favourite phrase is.

The number is York 653051 extension 387.

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