HOSE A PRETTY BOY THEN? Firefighter Jim Riding's team 'coaxed' Ollie the parrot to safety with a jet of water.

HAVE you heard the one about the parrot who was scared of heights?

Although it sounds like a joke, the real-life fear was no laughing matter for Ollie and his devoted owner Mario D'Amico.
The bird's phobia only became apparent after he escaped out of an open window at Mr D'Amico's Musselburgh home.

Used to being confined to the house, the Australian Red Sided Eclectus seems to have initially enjoyed his taste of freedom.

Taking off from Musselburgh, he flew at least a mile, before settling in a picturesque spot in Inveresk Village. But that is where his adventure came to an abrupt end - when fear left him stuck near the top of a 50ft tree.

Ollie is thought to have spent four days frozen on the upper branches, unable to fly away or feed.

The bird was eventually rescued by firefighters using a high-powered hose to "scare" him from his perch. Mr D'Amico said: "The bird is free to fly around the house all day, but we are usually very careful about leaving windows wide open.

"Last Monday was a very hot day and we had him shut in his cage because we had all the windows open in the house.

"But when he got out that night he flew straight up to the skylight, which we didn't realise was still open wide, and that was the last we saw of him."

The next day was spent searching for the escaped bird and Mr D'Amico put adverts in the Evening News and on local radio stations offering a reward for the safe return of his beloved parrot.

By Thursday, he was beginning to give up hope of ever finding his pet, until his neighbour told him he heard a bird while out walking near Inveresk Estate.

"We rushed up there and we could hear a bird saying "hello" and we knew we had found Ollie," said Mr D'Amico. He was in a private estate, but the owners of the property were very good and let us come in. He knew we were there and kept saying 'hello mummy, hello daddy' and 'good boy, bad boy', but he just wouldn't come down."

The estate owners said they had heard Ollie's squawking all week but had not initially realised where the noise had been coming from.

Mr D'Amico eventually had to give up trying to coax the bird down from his perch on the highest tree on the estate and headed home for the night.

But he realised there was a more serious problem when he returned the next morning to find Ollie in exactly the same spot, on the highest tree in the estate.

He called the Scottish SPCA, where an inspector deemed the situation "life-threatening" for the parrot, as he hadn't eaten for days. The fire brigade were called in, but found the tree was too tall for them to climb, leaving them with only one option - using a high pressure hose to "scare" him off his perch.

Mr D'Amico said: "I didn't think it was a very good idea in case he flew further up the tree.

"But we were really panicking by this point and were desperate to get him down, so we decided to chance our luck with the hose and eventually he came down. I was in tears of joy.

"He is usually very good at jumping off his perch and on to things, but I think he must have been spooked. He was maybe scared of heights."

He added: "He is grounded until next year. He's had enough freedom to last him a lifetime. He is a part of our family and we don't want to lose him again. The house was so quiet without him."

Jim Riding, watch manager of the crew who brought Ollie to safety, said: "We couldn't climb the tree because our own safety comes first so we decided to use a high pressure hose reel jet to try to scare the bird into coming down.

"There was a risk he would fly off elsewhere but the owners agreed to give it a go.

"It's the first time I've ever been called out to rescue a parrot - it's usually cats that get stuck up trees. It was eventful to say the least."

Robert Baldie, an inspector with the Scottish SPCA said: "He was probably scared of heights. He's used to being in a cage and then suddenly he's stuck up a tree.

"He had been without food and water for about four days and it was very cold, so he was in danger. He was also in danger from birds of prey so we were all keen to get him down as soon as possible."

Edinburgh Evening News - He's no parrot - he's chicken

Firefighters Rescue Parrot With Phobia Of Heights

June 20, 2007 12:17 p.m. EST

Derek Kreindler - AHN Writer

Edinburgh, Scotland (AHN) - Ollie the parrot may be able to fly, but whether he can handle such lofty heights is another matter.

The Scottish parrot had to be rescued from a tree top by firefighters after he escaped from a skylight in his home in Musselburgh, near Edinburgh. The Australian Red Sided Eclectus flew for roughly a mile before landing in a 50 foot high tree top. Ollie became so paralyzed by fear that he stayed in the tree top for four days.

Ollie's owner, Mario D'Amico, began to give up hope until a neighbor reported hearing Ollie's characteristic call of "Hello" emanating from a nearby treetop. "He knew we were there and kept saying 'hello mummy, hello daddy' and 'good boy, bad boy', but he just wouldn't come down" D'Amico told The Scotsman.

The Scottish SPCA was called in, and in turn quickly called firefighters to rescue the parrot. The situation was deemed "life-threatening" since the parrot hadn't eaten in days. Firefighters couldn't use a ladder due to the height of the tree, and were forced to use a high-pressure hose to "scare" Ollie off of the tree.

"He was probably scared of heights. He's used to being in a cage and then suddenly he's stuck up a tree" said Robert Baldie, an inspector with the Scottish SPCA in an interview with The Scotsman.

AHN | Firefighters Rescue Parrot With Phobia Of Heights | June 21, 2007

These are testaments that parrots are nervous about flying DOWN from high up, not necessarily afraid of heights - flying down really takes skill.