Owner reunited with parrot after proving she speaks Slovak

Feb. 22 (UPI) -- A parrot found at an Irish airport was returned to her rightful owner after he was able to prove that the wayward bird speaks Slovak.

The Dublin Airport launched a campaign to find the bird's owner after it was found by a worker during a runway inspection Sunday. The Irish wing of Lidl supermarkets said on Twitter that a missing parrot poster in one of its stores appeared to show the same African gray.

The airport said returning the parrot to its owner was complicated by the fact that four people had come forward to attempt to claim the bird.

The man who put up the poster in the Lidl supermarket was able to prove his claim, however, when he told officials the parrot, named Hugo, knows some words in Slovak.

Animal experts played some Slovak voice recordings for Hugo and confirmed that Lubomir Michna was the rightful owner.

"When the voice recording was sent to me and I played it for Hugo she reacted instantly and became animated and excited," Dan Donoher of the Kildare Animal Foundation told Euronews.

Michna was reunited with Hugo and allowed to take her home.

"As soon as the carrier was opened, Hugo jumped onto Lubomir's arm and cuddled into his neck. You could see they have a really close bond, it was lovely," Donoher said.