HIALEAH, Fla. – Hialeah condo residents are upset after two pet birds were stolen off a balcony in broad daylight; the thief was caught on camera.
It happened at around 2 p.m. near West 12th Avenue and 47th Place on Thursday.
In the video, the man is seen scaling a first-floor apartment security gate to get to a balcony on the second floor.
“That’s a rat,” said bird owner Miriam Cruz. “That’s not a thief. A thief is a different thing, but that’s a rat.”
Cruz said she came home to find the cage and her two cockatiels missing.
She assumed that someone had broken into her unit, not a bad bird guy taking off from the outside.
“He held himself with one hand and held the cage with his other, as he climbed back down with the birds,” said Cruz. “I’m normally always there at that time in the living room, always.”
Neighbors are also crying foul.
“I feel like it’s so unnecessary, so low,” said neighbor Maria Salvarrey. “To even take them in a bike it’s so unnecessary.”
In the full video, the man can be seen driving past the apartment on his moped before quickly turning around.
He pulled into the parking lot and wandered around for a bit.
The cockatiels are normally kept inside, neighbors said, but the thief struck at just the right time of day.
Cruz said she loves those birds and taught them to speak and sing. She badly wants them back.