My exmother-in-law had a sulphur crested cockatoo that lived in a large aviary in her backyard. The cockatoo was very naughty and very clever. It managed to make an escape hole for itself that people couldn't see. At first it would just escape and go to the chilli bush and eat chillis, damaging the bush in the process. Later, it got cheekier and would hop up the front steps and chew the top step. The damage wasn't noticed immediately, because the bird cleverly attached the step from underneath. The step had to be replaced.

When I was first married, my husband and I lived in a room under the house. I was in my room reading one day and the cockatoo escaped. When I decided to go upstairs, I opened the door and there was the cockatoo. It decided it was not going to let me out of the room, for every time I tried to move it ran towards me trying to peck my feet. I had to keep running back inside so it wouldn't get me. At last I'd had enough. This bird was not going to keep me prisoner any longer. I seized a bottle of wine and used it to fend the bird off, while I made my escape - backwards once I got out of the room. My husband looked out of the kitchen door while I was walking up the steps backwards, still fending the bird off. He didn't rescue me, he just roared with laughter and called his parents to come and have a look.