9 Stolen Exotic Birds Could Die

Nine costly exotic birds stolen from a West Hollywood pet shop were still missing Saturday, their need for special care making it unlikely they would survive if they were not found today, authorities said.

The missing birds, including a 4-foot-tall hyacinth macaw valued at $18,000, were taken from their cages about 4:30 a.m. Friday by thieves who used dog sweaters to grip the feathered bodies and transfer them to a sack, said Fernando Nuno, co-owner of the Amazon Rainforest Pet Shop on Santa Monica Boulevard.

“The birds are my life. I don’t know how this can happen,” said Nuno, who had bred many of the birds himself. “We just want the birds to get back to their homes.”

Nuno said some of the birds could die within three days if they were not hand-fed a special formula.

The authorities have gathered evidence showing that more than one person took the birds, said Sgt. Bruce Thomas of the West Hollywood sheriff’s station.

The thieves must have known the birds’ value, Nuno said, because only the most expensive ones were taken. An employee discovered the theft Friday morning, Nuno said. The back gate had been bent and the alarm system disabled.

Along with the hyacinth--whose name is Rio and, at 13 months, has learned a few phrases, such as “Goodbye” and “How are you?”--the thieves took three umbrella cockatoos, a rose breast cockatoo, two Durbian parrots, an Amazon yellow nape and a Goaphen cockatoo named Lucky, Nuno said.

Some of the birds, including Rio and Lucky, belonged to celebrities who boarded their pets there while away on movie shoots, Nuno said. Others, such as the three umbrella cockatoos, had been sold but were living at the store until they were old enough to eat on their own.

One of those birds was to be delivered Friday to a man planning to give it to his wife for her birthday, Nuno said. She had already visited the bird several times and begun bonding with it.

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Times staff writer Claire Luna contributed to this report.