Staff at a UK wildlife hospital were in for a surprise after a mysterious bright-orange bird turned out to be far less exotic than expected.
Back in 2019, a member of the public spotted what looked like a tropical bird stranded on the side of the A41 and rushed it to Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital in Aylesbury. With its striking orange hue and apparent inability to fly, the vets assumed they were dealing with something rare and possibly foreign.
They were half right.
Upon closer inspection, and a much-needed bath, the truth came out. The flamboyant feathers weren’t natural at all. The “tropical bird” was, in fact, a very ordinary seagull. A very orange seagull.
After a good scrub with soap and warm water, vets discovered the bird’s natural white and grey feathers hiding beneath what turned out to be a thick coating of curry or turmeric.
“We have no idea how he got into this predicament,” the team posted on Facebook at the time, “but thankfully, apart from the vibrant colour and pungent smell, he was healthy.”
Nicknamed Vinny (after vindaloo, naturally) the gull had apparently taken a dive into something spicy. Whether it was a discarded takeaway container or a vat of curry water remains unclear, but the result was one of the more bizarre rescue cases the hospital had seen in years.
“When they called to say they had picked up an orange bird, we had no idea what to expect,” the staff wrote. “This is one of the strangest casualty circumstances we have seen in a while.”
While Vinny recovered just fine, the incident has resurfaced on social media, sparking jokes and fake tan comparisons.
One commenter dubbed it “the bird version of a spray tan gone wrong,” while another joked: “Seagull works part-time at a takeaway. Times are tough, man.”
A third added: “It probably tried to steal a bhaji and fell in instead. Classic gull behaviour.”
Thankfully, Vinny was cleaned up and cleared for release, proving that not all heroes wear capes; some just need a bath and a break from Indian takeaway leftovers.
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