Rogue Bird Terrorizes Travelers at Chicago O’Hare Airport Before Unexpected Rescue
Travelers at Chicago O’Hare International Airport shared their journey with a rather unusual passenger on Oct. 13. A large green bird had made its way into Terminal 5. Some people might read or listen to music to pass the time; this bird decided that the people waiting for flights were worth investigating… and occasionally pecking.
The bird, which CBS News reports is a type of parrot, swooped toward unsuspecting travelers and landed on their belongings. Some passengers even found themselves serving as temporary perches. Attempts to approach the feathered visitor often ended with a decidedly unfriendly response.
An airport employee named Paris Elbert recorded the commotion and later spoke with CBS News Chicago. He said the encounter continued for hours during his Tuesday afternoon shift.
Although the footage quickly attracted attention online, there was a more pressing question at the airport: How could anyone safely catch the bird?
Viral Video Shows Bird Causing Trouble at O’Hare
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Elbert shared footage of the encounter on TikTok under the username @paris_global, joking about the unexpected bird attack during an otherwise ordinary airport shift.
The video showed the bird moving among travelers near the check-in counters. Its behavior became unpredictable and especially troublesome when people attempted both to catch or avoid it.
Elbert recalled that people initially found the animal adorable; opinions quickly changed when it started treating everyone as either a perch or an enemy.
In separate reporting, ABC7 Chicago also obtained video of the incident. A witness told the station that the bird had been rescued and the situation resolved.
Elbert told CBS News Chicago that the bird had entered the terminal through an open door from outside.
Airport Cleaning Worker Finally Catches the Bird
The solution eventually came from a member of the cleaning staff, who reportedly used her shirt to capture the animal after other efforts failed.
According to Elbert, the woman then took the bird to a veterinarian for an examination. The hope was to determine whether the animal belonged to someone who might be searching for a missing pet.
This line of thinking seemed especially relevant at the time because the bird did not resemble the pigeons or sparrows travelers might normally expect to encounter around an airport. It had bright green feathers, although the area around its neck appeared unusually bare.
Its exact species and ownership have not been publicly established. No verified public update has established whether the veterinary examination identified the bird’s owner or whether it was reunited with a family.
The mystery of where the bird came from may remain unsolved; however, one airport cleaning worker managed to accomplish what a crowd of curious travelers couldn’t: bringing O’Hare’s unexpected visitor safely under control.
