Helen Dance said the death nine months ago of her husband, George, who had raised the parrot from a chick, took a heavy toll on Fred, an African Grey parrot, The Sun reported Thursday.

Dance said experts told her the parrot seemed to be suffering from a deep depression because he could not understand George Dance's sudden absence. The widow said Fred had bitten off all of his neck feathers and spent most of the day bobbing his head up and down.

"He has been in quite a state since my husband died. Fred was very close to George and became depressed," Dance said.

However, she said the bird seems to be coming out of his inner darkness now that he's on a twice-daily liquid form of Prozac designed for birds, known as Clomical.