Parrots kept company by wild rook

Jackie is likely to see her owner as another rook

A Devon man has reared a wild rook alongside his collection of parrots.

Peter Thornhill, from Buckfastleigh, found the bird as an abandoned fledgling about six years ago and thought it may have been a jackdaw.

After seeking advice from the RSPB, Mr Thornhill adopted the bird and named her Jackie.

He said Jackie is quite a character - who can say phrases like "good boy", enjoys a tot of whisky, and even has regular manicures at the vet.

The rook's playmates are Connie, a 27-year-old South American Conure, Kasuku and Chester - two African Grey parrots, aged 10 and 21.

She's just one of the family Peter Thornhill

"The parrots get on fine with Jackie - there's no problem at all with jealousy," Mr Thornhill told BBC News.

"Sometimes if I bring them into my office they'll pick up a bit of paper and start throwing it to each other.

"She also loves sitting on the back of the chair watching the television."

As well as nuts and seeds, Jackie is rather fond of cheese, scrambled eggs, crisps and pepperoni.

The RSPB says rooks are highly intelligent creatures

"Jackie's a real character and she's just one of the family," Mr Thornhill said.

Tony Whitehead from the RSPB said rooks were known as highly intelligent, social birds with the capacity to mimic.

He said it was likely Jackie, as a fledgling, would see Mr Thornhill as "another big rook".

The oldest recorded wild rook is nearly 23 years old, but as mortality is higher in the wilds, Jackie could live longer.

But she is unlikely to match her parrot pals, some of whom are known to live to the ripe old age of 100.