An exotic-looking orange bird baffled staff at a UK animal rescue center, until they realised it was just a seagull covered in curry or turmeric. The Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital said in a Facebook post last week that they had "no idea what to expect" when some people called them to say they had picked up an orange bird. The group had come across the bird on the side of a highway in Buckinghamshire.
"When they called to say they had picked up an orange bird, we had no idea what to expect - and would never have guessed at this!" they said in their now-viral Facebook post.
The bird, a herring gull, had managed to get itself covered in curry or turmeric. "It was all over his feathers, preventing him from flying properly. We have no idea how he got into this predicament but thankfully, apart from the vibrant colour and pungent smell, he was healthy," the hospital said.
The hospital staff named the bird Vinny after Vindaloo curry and bathed him to clean his feathers. "He managed to cover them in curry water, but eventually did let us scrub him clean," they said.
They also shared pics of Vinny's dramatic transformation as he went from orange to white and grey.
Their post has gone viral online, collecting over 2,700 'likes' and a ton of amused comments.
"Perhaps he always longed to be a Golden Eagle!" joked one person in the comments section. "He's definitely had an adventure somewhere," said another.
Incredibly enough, this is not the first time a seagull has managed to douse itself in curry. In 2016, pictures of an orange seagull - it fell chicken tikka masala - went viral online.