Owners offer $10,000 reward for lost parrot

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Owners of a missing parrot that speaks with a Brooklyn accent and imitates cell phone sounds are so distraught about their loss they have issued a $10,000 cash reward for the bird.

The African Grey parrot named Franklin vanished without a trace from a New York pet boarding house last week while the family was celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday in Florida.

Franklin's owners returned to New York after they were told the bird had been reported missing from the Sutton Aviary in Manhattan.

"I have had Franklin in my life for about 18 years. I was never blessed with children. He is my son," Leigh Ann Frankel, the parrot's owner, said in an interview.

Detectives are investigating the disappearance of the bird, who was adopted when he was two years old and has distinctive bright red feathers. African Grey parrots can sell for up to $3,000.

Franklin mysteriously disappeared from his cage at the aviary. Staff noticed the empty cage but Frankel said the bird's beak had been filed down so he couldn't have opened the cage by himself.

She believes the bird was either stolen or that there had been a tragic accident at the store.

"The bird had to have been stolen," said Marcia Habib, the owner of the aviary who said she saw nothing unusual on the day of the disappearance.

Frankel said she is offering the reward for the bird which she said helped her get through some difficult times in her life.

The African Grey is one of the most popular bird pet in the United States, Europe and the Middle East because of its longevity and ability to mimic speech and sounds, according to BirdLife International.