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Little girl lost without her feathered friends

Marie Burchill
17/ 4/2008

A FOUR-YEAR-OLD girl has been left distraught after her two pet quails fled the coup.

Little Naomi Smith used to spend hours sat watching her beloved pets.

But she, along with her 13-year-old brother Matthew and Victoria, 17, were devastated after the latch of the birds’ hut in their garden blew open in the wind.

The family – who live on Sibson Road in Chorlton – are asking for help to track down the much-loved Italian birds after they went missing four weeks ago.

Mum Julie Smith and her husband Terry say that their three children – Victoria, Matthew and Naomi – are ‘devastated’ by the disappearance of the two birds.

There has been one possible sighting of the birds since they went missing – on nearby Vincent Avenue – and neighbours are now being asked to keep their eyes peeled in case the birds show up.

Julie – who bought the quails from a pet shop in Timperly just one month before they escaped – said: "The children are so upset that the quails have gone. We only had them for a short time, but they had really built up close bonds with them, particularly Matthew.

"He used to sit out in the cold when we let the birds out of their hutch and he would watch them for hours on end.

"My four-year-old Naomi keeps asking where the quails have gone and each time she walks past their hutch she says ‘That’s where our quails used to live’.

"One neighbour said he did see some birds in his garden, but he wasn’t sure if they were actually quails.

"It’s just going to be a case of keeping our eyes peeled and hoping that we find them.

"The children have put posters up all around the surrounding roads in our neighbourhood and we are keeping our fingers crossed that they are still out there."

Quails are distinguished by their stocky bodies and long, pointed wings – and they have a very distinctive bird call. The upper parts of the birds are streaked brown, while their underparts are generally an orange colour. The Smiths’ quails – one male and one female – are thought to be just under one-year-old.

If anyone spots the birds, they should call 0161 286 2191.