One-legged parrot to be fitted with prosthetic leg

London, Feb 24 : A one-legged parrot is perching on a scientific breakthrough, for it is about to be fitted with a 'wooden leg'.

'George' the parrot, a ten-year-old African Grey, lost a claw after being attacked by a wild animal, which broke into his cage a year and a half ago.

The missing limb means whenever George tries to sleep, he slips off his perch, squawking "Bloody Hell!" in surprise.

The birdie's owner was concerned for him, and so Sheila Weare sought advice from experts at the University of Salford.

"You can tell by the way he fidgets that he's not comfortable and he has to bite the bars of his cage at night to balance," the Telegraph quoted Weare, as saying.

In the therapy, the perch will be fitted with a specially-moulded slot, into which George will be trained to insert his stump at night.

Dr Glyn Heath, who runs the animal prosthetics firm Lacerta, said that this is the first time he has worked on a parrot.

"While I've worked on dogs, rats and even a panda, George is my first bird. He's quite a challenge as he'll be more difficult to train than a dog. But with the simple solution, I'm hopeful that we can give him a little more comfort," he said.

ANI