A parrot saying "hello" woke his Texas owner up to find, and then shoot, a burglar in his garage, local media reports.

"I guess you could call him a stool pigeon," owner Dennis Baker told the Dallas Morning News.

It was the fifth time the home, which is also used as a locksmith shop, was burgled this month.

So when Baker woke to the sounds of Salvador, his Mexican Red-headed parrot, saying "hello, hello" he knew something was wrong.

Baker grabbed his gun and shot the burglar in his garage. The man died at hospital, police said. 

"I have tools in my garage, my house and my van," Baker said. "They were coming here like they owned the place. I hate what happened, but somebody has to do what's necessary."

The bird also chirped "hello" when police arrived, Baker said.

"Sometimes he says 'hi' but you can't get him to speak on cue," Baker said. "He has a mind of his own."

Texas has recently eased restrictions on people confronting intruders in their homes, businesses or cars. They are no longer obligated to retreat before responding with deadly force.

But police told the paper that this was not the reason behind a recent spate of home or business owners shootings intruders.

"We get them over the year from time to time," Sergeant Larry Lewis said.

Neither Baker nor the police were immediately available for comment.

Source - SMH

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