Parrots sometimes just can't seem to shut their mouths.
These incessantly chittering and mocking birds can be quite annoying for some people. But for others their noise is music to the ears.
And for one guy in Australia, his parrot is more than just a noisemaker - he is a life saver.
Anton Nguyen of Brisbane was sleeping when he heard a noise followed by Eric, his pet parrot, calling his name.
"Eric started to yell so I woke up and I smelled a bit of smoke," The Week quoted Nguyen as saying. "I grabbed Eric, opened the door and looked to the back of the house and saw some flames."
"Anton!" "Anton!" cried the parrot, Nguyen said - who just lost his two-story house to the fire early Wednesday morning. But his life was spared thanks to the squawking Eric.
Nguyen's house was already engulfed in flames by the time firefighters arrived at around 2 a.m. The firefighters spent more than an hour putting out the flames in the Brisbane suburb, reports said.
Most homes in Australia are required under the law to have functioning fire alarms - but the shrewdly squealing bird proved to be a very effective substitute.
He said his house had smoke detectors, but Eric alerted him before they went off. Nguyen said he escaped with a bag of a few possessions only.
Nguyen is in shock but well. "Everything's alright so long as I have myself and Eric," he said.
