What was thought to be an exotic-looking orange bird found on the side of a highway was actually a seagull that has been covered in curry.
Passersby found the bright orange bird stranded on a British highway and animal rescue hospital was called to tend to the bird. The caller specifically described the bird to be “like a winged Cheeto.”
At first, the Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital did not know what to expect when the bird was taken into their care. “This is one of the strangest casualty circumstances we have seen in a while!” they posted on Facebook.
They thought the bird was an exotic bird that happened to fly along the highway. However, they thought wrong. It was just a seagull.
“He had somehow gotten himself covered in curry or turmeric! It was all over his feathers, preventing him from flying properly,” Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital said in their Facebook post last July 1. “We have no idea how he got into this predicament but thankfully, apart from the vibrant color and pungent smell, he was healthy.”
The rescuers and vets named the seagull “Vinny” after the Vindaloo curry. The hospital said he had a pungent smell, but healthy. All they needed to do was bathe Vinny and remove all the curry in his body so he could fly again.
“As we say, we never know what will come through our doors next!” the group said.
Vinny is actually the only bird in Buckinghamshire to get himself into this kind of situation.
Another seagull fell into a chicken tikka masala when scavenging for food back in 2016. He was also rescued and taken to Vale Wildlife Hospital & Rehabilitation Centre in Gloucestershire, England.
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