Hold the crackers…Polly wants a passport!

If you’re planning a trip to New Zealand’s South Island in the future, beware the possibility of pilfering parrots.

A cheeky bird known as a kea spotted a Scottish holidaymaker’s passport within a bag in the luggage compartment under a tour bus, snapped it up, and made off with it into the underbrush. Police told a local newspaper that the passport was unlikely to be found in the vast rainforest of Fiordland National Park, near where the tour bus had stopped.

The kea is the world’s only snowline-dwelling parrot, widely known for its inquisitive nature, and can often be found attacking rubber items like windshield wiper blades. This recent incident, however, may be a worrying indication that the species is now expanding its operations into the world of identity theft.

You could be forgiven for laughing at the plucky parrot’s hijinks, but spare a thought for the poor man who will now have to pay up to £250 and wait up to six weeks for his new travel documents.

The moral of the story? Passport covers made from birdseed are probably an idea whose time has come and gone.