Meet Percy the pint-loving parrot who loves nothing more than going down the pub and ordering a drink as he perches on the bar.
The black-headed caqui – or monkey parrot – has proved a feathery man’s best friend for Colin Martin, 60, and the inseparable pair regularly enjoy a drink and a game of pool down their local.
Two-year-old Percy goes on the bus and even rolls over and pretends to be dead drunk when he wants to go home from Colin’s boozer at the end of the night.
Chirpy Percy even raises a claw when he wants retired children’s entertainer Colin to take him for his daily trip to The Magnet in Boston, Lincs.
And when they aren’t chatting up birds in the bar they go for long walks in the park and shopping trips in town.
Colin, who hand-reared Percy when he bought him at 12-weeks old, said: “We do pretty much everything together and he’s been a loyal companion.
“I’ve taught him to lift his claw, so it looks like he is raising a glass as if to say: ‘do you want to go for a pint Colin?’ – so that’s when we go down the pub.
“We hop on the bus together and to into town and when I get to The Magnet he even bobs his head until I order a pint and a packet of crisps.
“I think he’ll be wolf-whistling at the barmaids next – he’s turning into a proper lad.
“He sits on my cue as I play pool and perches on the edge of my pint glass. And just to be clear I don’t ply him with booze though, he just comes along for the ride.
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“When he is ready to go home he can do this thing where he lies flat on his back in my hand – like he’s playing dead, or drunk.
“He must have seen a few of the guys on their backs at closing time and thought that’s when it must be time to go home.
“Sometimes we go into shops together or down the park – I think a parrot can truly be a man’s best friend.”
Percy is somewhat of a local celebrity in his town and was even snapped with the Olympic Torch when it passed through Boston in June.
He even as his own Facebook page set in honour of him.
Colin added: “People love him and the tricks he can do. When I show them the pint glass raising and the rolling over like he’s drunk – people are absolutely amazed.
“It’s rare that you can tame a parrot to such this extent, but I’ve been working closely with him and we’re inseparable now.”
