05/28/2026
Lmao this is great!
In 2020, a zoo in England became the center of a viral story after five parrots were separated for swearing at visitors. According to CBS News, Lincolnshire Wildlife Park had welcomed five African grey parrots named Billy, Eric, Tyson, Jade, and Elsie. After being quarantined together, the birds quickly picked up foul language and began cursing at guests. Park chief executive Steve Nichols explained that while swearing parrots are not unusual, having five birds encouraging each other was unprecedented.
The parrots didn’t just swear randomly. One would start, another would join in, and soon the group erupted into a chorus of profanity followed by loud laughter. Visitors often found it funny, with some laughing when the parrots told them to “f*** off,” but staff worried about children being exposed to the language. Nichols noted that the parrots seemed to know exactly what they were doing, timing their insults to get reactions from people and laughing back when visitors laughed.
According to BBC, the zoo decided to separate the parrots into different enclosures to prevent the behavior from spreading to the rest of the flock, which numbers around 200 African greys. Nichols joked that if the five birds taught the others, “we could end up with 250 swearing parrots.” Despite the disruption, he admitted that the incident brought unexpected amusement to visitors and highlighted the intelligence and mischievousness of the species.
Image was made using AI and for illustration purposes only.
