May 18 (UPI) -- A macaw parrot from a Rhode Island zoo got carried away by high winds during a flying exercise and turned up on a power line outside a home a few miles away from the facility.
Vicki Scharfberg, a spokeswoman for the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, said the three macaws were allowed to fly free Wednesday as part of their normal training.
"This is a very normal part of their training -- it is not an escape," Scharfberg told Patch. "They are athletes; they'll likely be out flying again either today or tomorrow and learned from their experience."
Scharfberg said high winds put a wrinkle into the exercise.
"They know their way home but the high winds got them outside their usual flight area and so they went for a bigger fly," Scharfberg said.
She said the birds traveled about 4-5 miles.
One of the parrots ended up perched on a power line outside Julia Bedard's Cranston home.
Bedard detailed in a TikTok video how she spotted the bird, identified as Rainier, on the line outside her house and contacted the zoo.
A crew from the zoo soon arrived on the scene to take Rainier home.
Scharfberg said the other two macaws were also safely located and returned to the facility.
