Man Takes Fly Mugshot With Parrot Pal He Brought To Court

An Oregon man has taken one of the most arresting mugshots we’ve seen, with the help of his beloved macaw.

Craig Buckner showed up at the Washington County Courthouse on Monday for violating a release order in connection with multiple misdemeanor thefts, the Smoking Gun reports. He thought he would just be ordered to turn himself in  and then be free to leave, according to KPTV.

Figuring that it wouldn’t take long, Buckner brought along his pet macaw, named Bird, and had Bird wait for him in the courthouse courtyard.

Instead, the judge ordered Buckner to be taken into custody. That’s when he started getting worried about the 4-year-old parrot.

”He was very concerned about his bird,” Sgt. Bob Ray of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office told OregonLive.com. “Mr. Buckner is very attached to this bird.”

Deputy Shoana McKelvey, who took Buckner into custody, tried to get “Bird” out of the tree, but the well-trained macaw refused to budge from the branch for anyone but Buckner, according to a department press release.

It wasn’t exactly department procedure, but McKelvey decided to wing it. She let Buckner have access to his bird while he attempted to find a friend who could take custody of it.

Bird was even allowed to sit on Buckner’s shoulder for the booking photo.

Eventually, a friend was able to come and take Bird off Buckner’s hands until he can resolve his court matters.

McKelvey’s actions may have just been her parroting the department’s core values, according to this quote from the department’s press release:

“Our Sheriff’s Office has very strong core values of doing the right thing. I also have very strong moral values of treating all people with compassion no matter what role I am taking.

“Mr. Buckner was already in a stressful position and did not need the additional stress and worry of his loved pet, Bird! Bringing the two together brought me joy and brought relief to Mr. Buckner and safety to his bird.”

Buckner’s bond is $10,000. As of Friday, jail records listed him as still in custody.