Owner neglects to retrieve rescued bird

A black-hooded parakeet found in an old machine shop at the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. has a new home.

Flathead County Animal Control Officer Paul Charbonneau said the brightly colored bird, native to South America, was taken home by a veterinary technician at the Central Valley Animal Hospital after its owner failed to retrieve it.

The bird was found by a pair of security guards at the closed aluminum plant April 10. The guards put the parakeet in a box and alerted Charbonneau. It had a band on one of its legs with an identification number and was taken to the animal hospital so its owner could be located.

On April 15, a man called the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office to report he was missing a bird and believed the bird found at the plant could be his, but he never showed up to claim it.