Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 27, 1990 TAG: 9007260594
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B2 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ST. AUGUSTINE, FLA. LENGTH: Short
The birds, with a combined value of $20,000, were taken earlier this month from the Solano Creek Aviary in St. Johns County, said owner Charles Solano.
Macaws, the largest members of the parrot family, are natives of the jungles of southern Brazil. The majestic hyacinth, a cobalt-blue macaw, is rare in captivity and not all that common in the wild.
The birds were tracked down to a mobile home outside Lynchburg, Va., after some detective work by Solano and Barbara Gardner, curator of the aviary.
A friend of Solano's who lives in Lynchburg drove by the home, spotted the birds in a cage outside and contacted authorities.
The Campbell County, Va., Sheriff's office got a search warrant and recovered the birds on July 21. They were kept in a pet store until their return to Jacksonville late Tuesday.
William Dale Daniel, 23, of Lynchburg was arrested on charges of burglary and grand theft and St. Johns County authorities are seeking his extradition to Florida.
Solano and Gardner suspected Daniel after the birds turned up missing on July 4.
Daniel had visited the aviary to buy a less-expensive bird but made such a fuss over the macaws that Gardner couldn't help but remember him, Solano said.
When Solano discovered the aviary had been broken into and the birds gone, he combed his records and found Daniel's address.
by CNB