PARK staff left bereft by the death of a foul-mouthed parrot have welcomed its replacement in the aviary.

Staff and visitors to Darlington’s South Park were saddened by the passing last month of Max the parrot who amused visitors with his insulting vocabulary.

Following an online appeal to replace Max, a Darlington family donated their African Grey parrot, Lollipop, to the aviary.

She was introduced this weekend after a period in quarantine and from her early behaviour it seems that the park has replaced a swearing parrot with a dancing one.

Park ranger Debbie Hall said: “She is settling in fine. I’ve not heard her talk myself, but my colleagues have heard her saying things.

“I have seen her dance though; hopefully she will be just as exciting as Max was, but in a different way.”

Lollipop, known affectionately as Poppy by park staff, is six-years-old and was donated by the family who did not have enough time to dedicate to her, but still wanted to see her.

Miss Hall said: “African Greys are very social.

“They like it when people give them attention and talk to them; they have the intelligence of a three to four-year-old child.

“They latch on to certain sounds because they know it gets them attention, even if they don’t necessarily know what they are saying.”

Miss Hall added that she hoped Lollipop’s dancing would prove as big an attraction as her predecessor’s swearing did.