Flyaway lovebird befriends Portsmouth painter and decorator Dean

Dean Zammit, 36, discovered the bird after hearing screams from his neighbour's garden.

'˜It was about 8.30pm and my neighbours were having a barbecue,' he said. '˜All of a sudden I heard screams - I went over and a parrot had fallen out of a tree. It flew straight over to me and perched on my shoulder. It was still on my shoulder four hours later. It hadn't budged.'

The bird, believed to be a lovebird parrot, has shown nothing but affection for its new owner since they found each other two weeks ago.

'˜Whenever I'm in the house it will fly straight to me - it snuggles up to me, sleeps under my chin, rubs my face. The other night I had a nightmare getting it back in the cage I bought, so I had to let it sleep next to me. Luckily, I didn't have any droppings on me in the morning.'

Lovebird parrots are named for their strong, monogamous relationships - usually with other parrots.

'˜I thought it might have been interested in my beard, but nothing changed after I shaved it off,' said Dean

Dean, who lives in Buckland, found the parrot in good health, although slightly scruffy looking with long nails and a blunt beak. Suspecting it is a lost pet, Dean has taken the parrot to a local pet shop to see if it had been reported missing, and he hopes to find the owner eventually.

'˜My mum kept parrots. She passed away a couple of years ago, so I like to think it's a sign from my mum. If no one claims it, I'll keep it and name it Mary - after my mum.'