Mr President! Brenda Lee's parrot Barack, seen here in this November 29 photograph, ruffled his owner's feathers when he went missing for three weeks. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer

OH, THE trouble of sharing house with a celebrity. Brenda Lee, owner of an African Grey parrot named Barack, found that out three weeks ago when the truant bird flew his coop. His flight may not have got as much press as the man for whom he was named, but his escape certainly ruffled the feathers of his mistress.

"I opened the cage and as usual he climbed on to my shoulder, but on that day he decided to fly away," Lee told The Gleaner. Lee frantically launched a hunt for the bird. She placed an ad in The Gleaner with Barack's photo, posted flyers at stores throughout the Liguanea/Barbican area in St Andrew and got radio stations to broadcast lookout calls.

One week after his escape, she got a call from a family in Barbican who had adopted Barack after he flew into their home. It was while getting feed for the hungry bird at the Hobby Hut store in St Andrew that they saw one of Lee's flyers and contacted her.

Previous ill luck

It was great news for Lee, a Hong Kong-born horticulturist who has lived in Jamaica for more than 30 years. She had owned two other African Greys - one flew away while the other was eaten by her dog.

"I was so relieved, I couldn't go for him. A friend had to go get him," she said of Barack.

The African Grey is mainly found in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has a lifespan of 70 years.

Lee bought Barack one month ago from a breeder in Montego Bay. She said she named him after the United States President-elect Barack Obama because he chatted up a storm on the journey back to Kingston.

This Barack, however, won't be taking to the skies again. His owner has had his wings clipped.