A parrot who went viral singing Beyoncé’s If I Were A Boy ‘saved his performance’ of the song until he had an audience because there were no guests to entertain during the pandemic, his owner has revealed.
Nine-year-old Yellow Crowned Amazon parrot Chico went viral earlier this week after he was filmed perfectly belting out the lyrics to the pop song at his animal sanctuary in Boston, Lincolnshire.
Lincolnshire Wildlife Park CEO Steve Nichols appeared on This Morning today where he explained that his parrots had been generally ‘quieter without visitors’ during the coronavirus pandemic.
He added that ‘as soon as the doors opened’ , Chico, who also mimics other artists such as Lady Gaga and Freddie Mercury, belted out his ‘huge retention’ of the song, which Steve said the bird had been ‘saving’ until he had an audience.
A parrot who went viral singing Beyoncé’s If I Were A Boy ‘saved his performance’ of the song until he had an audience because there were no guests to entertain during the pandemic, his owner Lincolnshire Wildlife Park CEO Steve Nichols revealed on This Morning
Nine-year-old Chico wowed social media users earlier this week with his rendition of the pop icon’s tune
Appearing on the programme, Steve said: ‘We’ve heard him [singing] over the last ten or 12 weeks.
‘But we also have a research centre for observation and one of the things we discovered is what was happening with the animals during the Covid-19 crisis.’
He explained: ‘While everything was really quiet and we were closed for 24 weeks, [we wanted to know] will they be better or will they be worse?
‘We set up cameras around the park and we did notice they were quieter, but when we opened, as soon as the doors opened, [we heard] this rendition.’
Steve appeared on This Morning earlier today to discuss the hilarious viral video, and said Chico and the other parrots had been quieter during the pandemic when the sanctuary didn’t have any visitors
He added: ‘We heard this huge singing parrot, it was as if [he thought] “I now have an audience, let’s give them what I’ve got.”‘
Footage of Chico performing the Beyoncé track has been viewed over 10,000 times since being uploaded last week.
He hit all the right notes as he sang the opening lines to the 2008 hit by the 38-year-old US megastar while visitors could be heard chuckling in the background.
The talented bird can also mimic other pop tracks including Poker Face by Lady Gaga, Firework by Katy Perry and You Drive Me Crazy by Gnarls Barkley.
He told hosts Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield (both pictured) that ‘as soon as the doors opened’ , Chico belted out the number
Steve explained that Chico would have learned the lyrics to the song through his previous owner, and told that while other birds will mimic human sounds until they get attention, Chico ‘doesn’t shut up’.
He said: ‘All these parrots have come from homes from around the UK and obviously his previous owner was a big Beyoncé fan, a big Lady Gaga fan and a big Freddie Mercury fan.’
Steve continued: ‘So when there are people here, usually what parrots do, they [want to] stimulate a response from us, so once they stimulate that response so they go quiet.
‘But Chico is different, once he starts he doesn’t shut up.’
Footage of Chico performing the Beyoncé track has been viewed over 10,000 times since being uploaded last week
He explained that the organisation began as a place to home unwanted birds, saying: ‘It was to assist animals that were unwanted pets or didn’t fit anywhere.
‘We set up the sanctuary about 20-years ago and since then we’ve spread our sings and grown.
He went on: ‘When we first set the charity up I took a group of parrots to children’s hospices and we found it really fulfilling, but health and safety brought an end to that .
The parrot regularly breaks into song at the attraction in Boston since arriving at the sanctuary 18 months ago
‘That’s what gave me the idea to build a sanctuary, where the children could come see us there.’
The Yellow Crowned Amazon is able to repeat human speech in a clear voice and can live often up to an astonishing 100 years old.
They are native to tropical South America, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago where they feast on a diet of fruits, nuts, seeds and berries.