Magistrates' Court was told yesterday.

Magistrate the Wor. Cheryl Mapp found Dennis DeSilva stole the bird. But under Section 64 of the Criminal Code, she did not register a conviction against the Paget man.

If DeSilva, 30, keeps out of further trouble for the next 12 months, he will not have a criminal record as a result of the theft, Mrs. Mapp said.

Prosecutor Sgt. Peter Giles said DeSilva was a new employee at the Mermaid Beach Club on South Shore Road in Warwick, where the cockatoo was found missing from its cage at about 6 p.m. on September 6.

Brian Alkon and Roger Munro own the cockatoo and 13 other birds, Sgt. Giles said. They state its value at $1,200.

Police were called, and the investigation led to a residence on Burnt House Hill in Warwick, where the cockatoo was retrieved.

Sgt. Giles said he did not oppose a Section 64 for DeSilva, since it appeared he was the victim of a joke.

Mr. Archie Warner, DeSilva's lawyer, said a chef at Mermaid Beach was "somewhat of a prankster'' and told DeSilva he could take the bird.

An owner went to DeSilva's house and asked for the bird, but left a message with his mother because DeSilva was not at home. DeSilva had taken the bird to a friend's house, and by the time he returned home the next day and received the message, Police had been called.

"The bird was returned safely to the owner and all ended well,'' Mr. Warner said. "There was no damage whatsoever.''