Cheeky Elle: belle of Tauranga Bird Show

Move over Elle Macpherson, there's another Australian Elle who is gaining plenty of attention.
Greerton Hall was filled with about 600 birds for Tauranga Bird Club's 55th annual show at the weekend but there was only one eclectus - a rare, beautiful purple-and-red-feathered parrot with a penchant for nibbling her owner.
Tauranga Bird Club president Dallas Pitt said there were few eclectuses in New Zealand and to have a female eclectus like Elle in the show was a real treat for bird lovers and novices alike.
They were considered an endangered species in the wild because their natural Australian habitat kept getting destroyed. Because they were not native to New Zealand, it was nearly impossible to bring them into the country and it was not often breeders hatched females, he said.
Former Tauranga man Dean Billings and his partner, Kim Reilly, brought Elle from Hamilton to take part in her first bird show.
At only seven months old, hand-reared Elle can already talk and was a popular highlight at the show. "She's only just started really. She can say 'hello'," Mr Billings said.
"We have had her for about two months now."
And already her love life has been taken care of. At their Hamilton home, Mr Billings and Ms Reilly have a male eclectus named Alex, with beautiful bright green feathers.
Mr Billings said Elle already had a "cheeky" personality.
"She bites me a bit."
Mr Billings and his partner have more than 100 birds in 52 aviaries at their home. He said looking after birds was relaxing.
"They are a lot of work but they are satisfying."