Parrot teaches fellow birds to swear

Nuneaton, England -- The owner of a wildlife sanctuary in Nuneaton, England, says a young parrot has been teaching foul language to its avian brethren.

Geoff Grewcock, owner of the Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary, said 7-year-old macaw Barney apparently learned his profane vocabulary from a previous owner and has been teaching the naughty words to other talking birds, The Daily Mail reported Tuesday.

"I knew that Barney could swear but what has happened is shocking," Grewcock said. "He's been teaching the other two when we had our backs turned. It sounds like a builders' yard, with all the abuse flying about."

"We have got another African Grey called Sunny who squawks 'shut up' at them when the swearing starts -- but they don't take any notice," he said.

Grewcock said workers at the sanctuary have tried to curb Barney's bad linguistic habits, but to no avail.

"We have tried everything to get Barney to curb his language and now we have got another two to contend with," he said. "These birds can live until they are 70 so there are potentially another 60 years of this to contend with."

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.