The Snitch Parrot

Calabria, 2010. A small house in a small town. A married couple. An African Grey parrot. A regular visitor named Roberto, who comes round to play cards and stay late. Over many months, the parrot — listening to the wife call to her guest — learns the name. Eventually, the parrot says "Roberto" continuously. Apropos of nothing. As background. The household stops noticing. What they don't know: the Carabinieri have placed listening devices in the kitchen, in connection with an unrelated investigation. The devices record the husband and Roberto planning an armed robbery of a jewellery shop. They record the post-robbery debrief. And, in the background of every recording, they record the parrot. Saying Roberto. At the trial in Reggio Calabria, the defence attempts to argue the audio is unreliable because of the bird's contributions. The judge declines, observing that the parrot is, in fact, a remarkably consistent witness — saying Roberto whether Roberto is present or not, which independently confirms it has been hearing the name for a long time. Kit and Eden on Italian wiretap procedure, fifty-year-old parrots, and the tactical mistake of saying anyone's name twenty-three times during a felony.