To those who think parrots are only capable of mindless mimicry, Willie is certainly no bird brain. According to CBS4 in Denver, the parrot’s owner, Meagan, was babysitting two-year-old Hannah Kuusk when she left the child unsupervised to go to the bathroom. It was then that Hannah started choking on a pop tart, unbeknownst to the sitter.
Recognizing that the child was in distress, Willie began flapping his wings hysterically, squawking, “Mama baby! Mama baby!” alerting Meagan to hurry out of the bathroom. She then performed the Heimlich maneuver on Hannah, who was already turning blue, and saved her life. Meagan says if Willie hadn’t made a fuss, she wouldn’t have come out of the bathroom in time, and Hannah would surely have suffocated.