Our beloved parrot, Tuca, flew from our home on Friday, June 3. We searched desperately for her around our neighborhood, with no luck. But thanks to a kind stranger and a column by Kim Ode in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, we were reunited with our lost bird on Tuesday, June 14.

As we later learned, a woman named Sue, who lives along Minnehaha Creek in St. Louis Park, found a small green parrot in her back yard on Monday evening, June 13, and brought it inside just before a thunderstorm hit. The bird was near death; it had cloudy eyes and could barely move. Sue rushed out and bought parrot food, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables, for the bird, and kept it safe and warm overnight. The next day, after she got home from work, Sue did an on-line search for "lost-parrot-Minneapolis", and found Kim's article, which had just been posted that afternoon on the Star-Tribune's website. Sue called us on Tuesday afternoon, and we went to her house. We could hardly believe that it would really be Tuca, as Sue lives 4 miles from our home. The bird was in pretty bad shape when we got to Sue's house and didn't react to us; it just climbed up on my (Teresa's) shoulder and went to sleep.

We thought that it probably was Tuca, but could not be sure, as she is not banded. We asked Sue if we could take the bird home and get it some medical attention, which it needed very badly; and if we determined that it wasn't our bird, we would return it to Sue, who had fallen in love with the bird and wanted to keep it. Sue kindly agreed, and we took the bird home.

As soon as we got in the door at home, the bird perked up noticeably. We set the cage on the table, and the bird said very clearly, "I'll be right back!" This is one of the many phrases that Tuca says, so we immediately knew that it was her. It was an extremely emotional moment for us.

Tuca lost one-third of her body weight, going from 160 grams to 107 grams. She lost all of the feathers under her neck while she was out, so we think that she must have either been crawling into tight spaces to hide, or perhaps was attacked by another bird or animal. But our vet said that she didn't have any parasites, and suffered no long-term damage. With proper nutrition, lots of rest, and plenty of loving, she soon gained back all her weight, and started speaking all of her goofy phrases. She was very nervous for some time, especially if she heard a crow or other big bird outside.

We later figured out that Tuca flew along Minnehaha Creek, which runs just a block from our house and is also in the back yard of Sue's house. Several people reported seeing a bright green bird flying along or near the Creek during this time, and on reflection, we are certain that it was Tuca. We had posters hanging all over the area, and many people were looking out for her; we even heard little kids--whom we didn't even know--walking down the street calling out, "Tuca! Tuca". We met so many kind and concerned neighbors while we were looking for Tuca; it was quite amazing. One great guy even bought fresh sunflower seeds and re-filled his bird feeder in hopes of attracting her (we had talked with him several times on our early-morning walks, and told him that she loves sunflower seeds). What a caring and thoughtful person.

We want to again thank all of the wonderful people in our area who helped us look for her, and who provided emotional support and encouragement. It really makes us proud to live in a community that has such wonderful, caring individuals in it.