Morris Mynah, the talking mynah bird, was less than impressed to hear the lawnmower had been stolen from his home at the Native Bird Recovery Centre.
"You're a cheeky boy," he said, presumably directed at the thief, who struck overnight on Sunday, June 19.
Centre manager Robert Webb said it was going to cost the charity about $1000 to buy a new mower and replace the fibrolite the thieves had ripped off to gain access to the space the machine was stored.
"You're going to have to do the lawns all yourself now," Mr Webb told Morris Mynah, who attacked his carer's hand in response.
Mr Webb said the centre prided itself on keeping the grounds tidy and attractive for visitors. When the Northern Advocate went along, Mr Webb was showing around a group with members hailing from the UK, Germany and France.
"The frustrating part is that it's $800 for a new lawnmower. These little mongrels will pinch it and get $20 or something," he said.
Mr Webb said new planting along the property's perimeter had hidden the mower's storage space from the view of passing drivers, which may have encouraged the thieves. He planned to put the new mower in a different place.
"There's a lot of people from all walks of life that'll see us down the road and come up and say gidday and say you jokers do a good job. So a lot of people support us and will probably be quite shocked to hear this has happened," Mr Webb said.
Whangarei's Native Bird Recovery Centre provides help, treatment and rehabilitation for injured and ill native birds so that they can be returned to the wild. It also gives birdlife education to schools and visitors. The centre was founded in 1992 by Mr Webb and wife Robyn, and was run by a small band of volunteers.
It survived on support of its sponsors as well as public donations.