The 8-week old bird found itself a new home in the process.
The cockatiel escaped last week after a golden elm tree, which was built into the aviary, fell and broke the enclosure.
Aviary manager Bob Smith said although he had removed some birds out of concern for the tree falling, the incident still came as a shock.
Searching around Gore, many birds were recovered, but the cockatiel was not found until last Sunday night.
Marion McFadzien said she noticed a new farm hand pecking around their cattle yards — the 8-week-old missing bird had made its way to the farm about 20km from home.
Mrs McFadzien called her daughter, Jessie, to help her catch the bird, assuming it was someone’s pet.
She only found out about the aviary escape from a neighbour.
‘‘It’s amazing that she could have flown that far and survived.
‘‘Maybe she noticed the grain at our place or something, and it was incredible she didn’t get trampled by the cows.’’
The cockatiel was kept by the McFadziens with their birds, and the young bird even made a friend with another cockatiel before being returned to the aviary.
It did not stay for long, however, as Mr Smith decided the bird had found a good place to roost and it has now taken up a new perch at the home of
Mrs McFadzien’s mother-in-law.
Mrs McFadzien said Mr Smith did a wonderful job of caring for the aviary and providing the Gore community a nice place to come for a roost, calling him very generous with his time and hard work.
About half a dozen birds are still at large, including Mack, another cockatiel, who has been at the aviary for 18 years.
No timeline has been given for repairs to the enclosure, although contractors have visited to assess damage to the site.
