This here is Pickles, a green and very talkative rose-ringed parakeet last seen in a tree in the Haupt Garden behind the Smithsonian Castle. Pickles’ owner Scott likes to take the bird on his shoulder, pirate-style, for walks around the National Mall on weekends, and on nice days, perch Pickles on tree branches in the Gardens to let him get some nature.

Yesterday, Pickles disappeared. He turned his back for a moment while sitting on a nearby bench, and when he noticed that the normally noisy parakeet had fallen silent, he checked and saw that Pickles was gone.

Now, Pickles can’t fly (wings clipped, of course), and there were no large predators in the area, but there were crowds of people. We’re hoping it’s just a kind soul who saw what he or she thought was a lost bird, but after Molly the Dog’s disappearance from the P Street Whole Foods there’s cause for further concern.

Scott has talked to Smithsonian guards, Park Police, and MPD, and has flyers ready to put up. If any of you WeLoveDC readers know where this bird might be, drop me a line by email, IM or Twitter, and I’ll pass on the word to Pickles’ rather devastated owner.

Paulo Ordoveza

Roving Asian mendicant, can occasionally be seen wandering the streets of downtown Washington, muttering unintelligible gibberish to passers-by while pushing a “bag lady” shopping cart full of old blankets, American flags, soda cans, and healthy secondhand snacks from organic food shop dumpsters. Used to live in a cardboard box at 16th and K but the rent was too expensive.