Visitors to Queen Elizabeth Park will soon no longer be greeted with a "hello darling" by Charlie the cockatoo, who is moving to a new home.
The parrot has been an attraction at the park aviaries for 19 years but is shifting house to Kaitoke as Masterton District Council hasopted to demolish the bird cages in the park.
Charlie, a female cockatoo, will be moved to HUHA - Helping You Help Animals Charitable Trust - a "safe haven" for animals. Founder Carolyn Press-McKenzie said they were looking forward to meeting and getting to know Charlie. She said they often took in animals who were "retired" and looking for a place to call home. Mrs Press-McKenzie said the cockatoo would be surrounded by other animals and people, and she planned to keep people updated on her progress on their Facebook page.
"It'll be a new adventure for her," she said.
Parks and recreation manager Grant Hathaway said the sanctuary had taken a special interest in the bird as the bare chest she's had since arriving at the aviary drew a lot of negative attention - but technically she was in good health.
"She's certainly not going because she's considered an abused bird," he said. "She needs company and the best handling to ensure no further stress."
He said the aviaries at the park are to be removed, leaving only the peacock enclosure, in the next few months.
In 2006, Charlie's mate George was brutally stomped on and left for dead by a Masterton teenager and his associates. The two cockatoos had been together for eight years, and a memorial for 35-year-old George was installed in a garden by the aviaries. Mr Hathaway said all the other aviary birds were to be found new homes too.
