Most people rightly assume when they see a big colorful bird flying around that it is some sort of tropical species. Perhaps a canary or a parrot?
However, veterinarians got the surprise of a lifetime recently when members of the public brought a giant orange bird into their clinic.
The individuals had seen the injured bird lying along the side of the road, assumed it was someone’s pet and decided to bring it in to get checked out. However, upon closer inspection, the tropical-looking bird turned out to actually be a seagull!
The Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital posted all the surprising details of the strange story on their Facebook Page.
“When they called to say they had picked up an orange bird, we had no idea what to expect – and would never have guessed at this!” the post reads.
The bird was found in Haddenham, Aylesbury, UK — an area that is definitely not known for their orange birds.
Normally, herring gulls are mostly white with gray and black markings on their wings.
However, what the vets discovered next was beyond crazy.
The bird was, in fact, a bright-orange herring gull, although, not due to genetics.
“He had somehow gotten himself covered in curry or turmeric! It was all over his feathers, preventing him from flying properly,” explained the vets.
The bird had literally gotten itself covered in so much curry powder that it changed its color and prevented it from flying!
How does a seagull get covered in curry, you might wonder? It turns out, the vets have no clue.
“We have no idea how he got into this predicament but thankfully, apart from the vibrant colour and pungent smell, he was healthy.”
Luckily, all it took to get the seagull cleaned up and ready to be released again was a nice quick wash.
“Our veterinary team bravely bathed the gull (now named Vinny after a Vindaloo curry) to clean off his feathers. He managed to cover them in curry water, but eventually did let us scrub him clean,” the post reads.
It is a story that is both strange and hilarious at the same time.
To no one’s surprise, the incident pretty quickly got a lot of media attention and people on Facebook had a lot of unanswered questions as well. One user even speculated that the bird might have been part of an obscure recipe until it was eventually able to make its daring escape.
It’s certainly fun to think about.
While odds are we will probably never learn the full truth about the seagull curry incident, really, we are just glad the bird is okay.
“He is now looking much better and should be able to go for release very soon! As we say, we never know what will come through our doors next!”
Here’s to hoping that Vinny the Vindaloo curry seagull never ends up back in their hospital ever again!
Read the full Facebook post from the Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital discussing the orange seagull below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
