Monday, and captured it after a chase. They are keeping it until the owner claims it.

Drax Darby, 16, said the Sandys Parish Constable told them the bird was worth between $3,500 and $4,000.

He described the bird as "not huge'', and about nine or ten inches in height.

The wings have been clipped so it cannot fly.

"It's about three-quarters green, with a yellow head and blue above the beak,'' he said. "It's really colourful under the wings.'' His friend, Iain Roberts, 15, said they saw the parrot hanging upside down from a tree branch in his friend's garden. The bird then fell into the bushes, so they got a blanket to wrap it in.

"We chased it down a little hill (onto a beach),'' he said.

The parrot enjoyed a meal of water and Italian croutons before it was put to bed early, he said. "It was really tired.'' The Sandys Parish Constable later came by to look at the parrot and file a report. He brought a cage with him.

"He's kind of hanging upside-down in the cage at the moment,'' said Iain. The parrot's owner, or anyone with information about the owner, can contact the Sandys Parish Constable at 234-1010 or 234-0445.