Skittles, a playful parrot stolen from its perch in Brea last weekend, is reunited with owners

Two days after the colorful parrot was stolen from its perch, Skittles once again playfully chirped and bounced on the shoulders of its owner on Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 13.

It was the first time Skittles had been home, at Omar’s Exotic Birds in Brea, for a few days.

That’s because the 4-month-old gold cap conure, who was being weaned before going to its new home with La Palma police Sgt. Won Koh and his family, was taken from its perch at the store on Sunday afternoon.

The sergeant’s wife, Michelle Koh, said their children, ages 3 and 5, named the bird Skittles “because she’s sweet on the inside and colorful on the outside.”

The family, who bought the $800 bird six weeks ago, were devastated when they heard Skittles was stolen.

The Brea Police Department, along with the store and the parrot’s owners, asked the public for help in finding Skittles and the person who took it.

On Tuesday afternoon, they got their wish.

Someone dropped off the bird in a box at the business next door. Skittles was returned.

“(Skittles) was chirping,” the sergeant’s wife, Michelle Koh, said of getting the bird back, “she came out of the box and I literally broke down into tears.”

In a Tuesday afternoon phone interview, birds squawked and chirped in the background of the store as Michelle Koh her children played with Skittles.

Her two children, ages 3 and 5, walked around Omar’s Exotic Birds with Skittles on their shoulders.

“She was so hungry, we fed her,” Michelle Koh said. “When I tried to put her down, she wouldn’t come off of me — she just wanted to cuddle.”

The cheerful reunion came two days after a woman allegedly smuggled the parrot out of Omar’s Exotic Birds in Brea on Sunday afternoon.

The small bird-store chain lets the birds perch openly without cages, allowing customers to play and interact with them.

“We were quite busy and somebody came in,” said Trevor Ward, the Brea store’s manager. “Spent time with the bird, took advantage of the policy and took the bird.”

Skittles is a friendly, playful and outgoing bird.

A woman, captured in surveillance footage, smuggled out the parrot in her blouse while crossing her arms, Ward said.

Because Skittles is still a baby – the species has a lifespan of up to 22 years – the store’s bird handlers were especially concerned for her safety. The parrot can’t eat solid foods on its own yet, Ward said.

Accompanying the suspect, who was in her 40s or 50s, was a man in his 50s, Brea Lt. Tim Mercado said. Police believe they were in a black Chevy Silverado with a crew cab and trailer, he added.

On Tuesday afternoon, a female brought the parrot in a pet carrier box to a business next door to the pet store, Mercado said. The manager of that store, Wholesale Nutrition Center, then brought the box to Omar’s Exotic Birds.

It’s unknown if that person is the same woman suspected of taking Skittles, he added.

Although the parrot is back, safe and sound, Mercado said the investigation will continue.

“It’s a good ending to a story,” he said. “We’re glad we got that property back, but detectives will follow up with it.”

The lieutenant asked that anyone with information on the case to contact Brea police at 714-990-7625.

Four years ago, two men stole a $1,600 African gray parrot while employees were busy tending to other birds and customers at the Brea store. Zephyr, who was also four months old, was anonymously returned within a week, left outside of the store in a box, unharmed.

The Koh family said they are overjoyed to have a similar outcome.