A pet female silver crested cockatoo at a wildlife sanctuary in Nuneaton, England, has spent the last two weeks sitting on chocolate Easter eggs waiting for them to hatch.
Geoff Grewcock, owner of the Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary, said the 17-year-old bird named Pippa has never been overly maternal, but has been diligent about perching on the bowl of eggs he put out for visitors two weeks ago. "She went straight over, climbed on the creme eggs and that was it. She thinks they're her eggs. Until she clicks they're not real eggs, we'll just leave her there."
Pippa is a fiercely protective mother - When anyone gets near the bowl of Cadbury's Creme Eggs, she flaps her wings and screams. "If you try to take one of the eggs she goes absolutely crazy. Now I'll have to go and buy some more so that my family have something for Easter Sunday -- I'll be keeping the new batch well hidden."
Grewcock said he thought the bird's attachment to the candy eggs was funny at first but now he finds her behavior worrisome. He said he's begun taking the eggs away one by one when Pippa isn't perched on them, and he's noticing a change in her behavior.
"I think she thinks they should be hatching now and has starting pecking at them," he said. "It's very strange."