Caique Stolen From Petstore

Not too long ago we heard of a black headed caique chick involved in an attempted robbery at Omars Exotic Bird Store. Its happened again, this time in Long Island.

Cops: Man steals pricey parrot in West Islip

BY MATTHEW CHAYES |matthew.chayes@newsday.com9:06 PM EST, January 27, 2009 Surveillance video shows a brazen parrot thief hiding a $1,399 baby black-headed caique bird in his jacket, then walking out of the West Islip pet store that was selling the bird without paying.

Suffolk County police detectives are scrutinizing the footage to try to identify the man videotaped in the avian apprehension from BTJ's Jungle pet store on Sunrise Highway, a department spokesman said.

The three brothers who own BTJ's Jungle couldn't at first figure out where one of their caiques had gone, but realized they'd been victims once they reviewed hours and hours of surveillance video, co-owner Tom Niehoff said Tuesday, the day that the theft was reported to police.

"It's a pricey bird," Niehoff said. "The bird that he happened to pick is a very quiet bird. They don't make a lot of noise."
The theft occurred on Jan. 19 when two men walked into the store, police said. Immediately upon entering, one man made a beeline for the tank holding the bird and placed it in his jacket. Then with an accomplice, he bought crickets.

The theft of the caique is at least the second time on Long Island in less than two months that animals have been taken out of a store undetected.

In December, a man hid a foot-long baby nurse shark in his jacket; Nassau police arrested that suspect, Elbert Starks, 30, of Freeport, a month later.

"People are stealing left and right there," Niehoff said as a menagerie chirped in the background.

There is a video too that can be seen here