The macaw, Polla, drank brandy and coke

They identified Polly, an African grey, by asking its owner to compile a list of the words it knew - many of which were extremely vulgar.

The Cape Town officers were shocked by the parrot's vocabulary and pleaded with its owner to take it back.

Piet du Plessis said his pet birds Polly and Polla were stolen from his home two years ago.

Polla, a macaw, he said, had a weakness for brandy and coke.

"I don't understand how they could be taken from their cages, but I suspect they had been drugged," Mr du Plessis said.

Mr du Plessis had reported the theft of his pets at a local police station.

Both birds have now been returned to him but he is still worried they might be stolen again and so he sleeps with both birds at night, he said.