Charlie (parrot)

Charlie (allegedly hatched c. 1899), also known as Charlie the Curser, is a female Blue-and-yellow macaw living at Heathfield Nurseries, a pet sanctuary in Reigate, Surrey, United Kingdom. Charlie became famous when The Daily Mirror published an article about her in January 2004.

The bird's owner, Peter Oram, claims Charlie is over 100 years old.

Claimed association with Churchill

Oram also claims that Charlie was the property of Sir Winston Churchill while he was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during World War II. Oram claims that his father-in-law, Percy Dabner, sold the parrot to Churchill in 1937 and then reclaimed the bird shortly after Churchill's death in 1965. According to the stories, the vocal bird was taught by Churchill to shout curses at Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, to the chagrin of officials within the British government.

Oram's claims have been solidly rejected by the administrators of the Chartwell property, Churchill's former country home, who have no record of any parrot. Further, Churchill's only surviving child, Lady Soames, has denied her father ever owned a macaw. According to Soames, Churchill did own an African Grey Parrot named Polly, but sold the bird before assuming the role of Prime Minister.

References

• "Daughter scotches Churchill parrot claim," BBC News. 21 January 2004.
• Hoffman, Bill. "Churchill's parrot still squawking at 104," New York Post. January 20, 2009, p. 7.
• "In A Flap Over 'Churchill's' Old Bird," Sky News. 20 January 2004.
• Lyall, Sarah. "Reigate Journal; Parrot May Have Been Churchill's, but She's Not Saying," 'New York Times. March 9, 2004.
• "Winston's obscene parrot lives on," BBC News. 19 February 2004.
• Winston Churchill's Parrot – 2010 video on YouTube