How do I get a wild bird out of my home?

November 1, 2012 4:39 PM

There's a wild parrot in my house, how can I get him outside?

I know birds can follow a light out, so I've pulled all the curtains and closed all doors except the big front doors, but he is not interested. I can't throw a towel over him because he's perched on my ceiling light, and we have very high ceilings.

Any other ideas?

posted by Greener Backyards to Pets & Animals (7 answers total)

Will it be better at dusk, when it's suddenly much darker in the house? Or maybe he'll just go to sleep.

I haven't had any luck getting birds out except by chasing them (and half the time they bash their heads on something) or by finding someone with a bag on a hoop and stick. Probably that means animal control.
posted by small_ruminant at 4:42 PM on November 1, 2012

Trail of birdseed leading to the door? The wild parrots around here (Australia) are very keen on sunflower seeds so if you have any of those in the house you could try them. They have good eyesight and seed recognition abilities, so I think putting a small pile near the door and another just outside might work. And then maybe just wait and ignore. I expect it will leave of its own accord within a couple of hours.
posted by lollusc at 5:13 PM on November 1, 2012

How did he get in? Is that avenue still open to him?
If he doesn't leave of his own accord, and you don't mind if he's sick or injured, I'd bring a dog over to unsettle him, or, if parrots down there also disdain crows, play a bunch of crow sounds.
posted by Cold Lurkey at 5:37 PM on November 1, 2012

I have no specific parrot experience, but I've had luck with some smaller birds by swatting at them with a broom. If you're lucky, they'll head towards the open door, if you're not they'll fly around and poop everywhere. Maybe both. This is only if you're in a hurry to get it out and close up the house- if not, maybe just wait and see if he'll go for some seeds or leave on his own.
posted by Secretariat at 7:08 PM on November 1, 2012

AR you sure he's a wild parrot and not an escaped pet?
posted by fshgrl at 9:19 PM on November 1, 2012

The poster is in Australia, where there are numerous indigenous parrot species, so chances are good the assessment is correct.
posted by dhartung at 12:45 AM on November 2, 2012

Thanks for all the replies, bird seed at the door seemed to do the trick. He left after a couple of house leaving a nice trail of green parrot poo across my carpet!

The bird came down the chimney, but seemed uninjured. And they are very common in this area, so I feel safe in assuming it's wild.
posted by Greener Backyards at 12:55 AM on November 2, 2012