Pappagalli da guardia
Elvis, 6 anni, e Cilla, 3, sono cresciuti in Spagna imitando un cane che abbaiava sempre e i quarantenni coniugi Tate di Telford, Shropshire, titolari di un'impresa di sicurezza, li hanno impiegati con successo per spaventare i ladri e ora sperano prolifichino


Parrots scare thieves away by mimicking a dog's bark. Green-winged macaws Elvis and Cilla have been on duty at a security company for the past year. Owner Trevor Bate, 44, said: ‘They picked it up when we lived in Spain, where our neighbour had a Scottie dog called Bailey and it would bark all the time.
‘His owner would come out and shout at him. Once we returned to the UK, we thought this would be an ideal way of saving money on a guard dog’. But Elvis, six, and three-year-old Cilla aren’t always angry birds – they can be quite affectionate, squawking ‘give us a kiss’, ‘hello’ and ‘fabulous’ whenever they get a treat. ‘Elvis and Cilla might sound mean at times but they are really friendly birds,’ said Mr Bate’s wife, Louise, 42. ‘They’re part of the family, so I thought it was fair to include them in the family business’. The birds stand watch outside MP Guarding security company, in Telford, Shropshire, and Mrs Bate hopes they will breed – despite Elvis’s lack of interest at the moment... Metro