Store owner: Thieves swipe birds worth thousands of dollars

The Associated Press
Sunday, March 18, 2018 9:24 a.m. | Sunday, March 18, 2018 9:24 a.m.

This undated photo provided by Birds-N-Paradise pet store shows Patagonian Conures, three of the six birds stolen from the Birds-N-Paradise pet store in Menifee, Calif., early Friday, March 16, 2018. Store owners said each Patagonian Conure is worth $950. (Lori Lister/Birds-N-Paradise via AP)

This undated photo provided by Birds-N-Paradise pet store, shows a white-bellied caique parrot named Sweetie, one of the birds stolen from the Birds-N-Paradise pet store in Menifee, Calif., early Friday, March 16, 2018. Store owners said the parrot was worth $1,400. (Lori Lister/Birds-N-Paradise via AP)

This undated photo provided by Birds-N-Paradise pet store shows a Galah cockatoo, also known as the rose-breasted cockatoo, one of the birds stolen from the Birds-N-Paradise pet store in Menifee, Calif., early Friday, March 16, 2018. Store owners said the bird is worth $2,200. (Lori Lister/Birds-N-Paradise via AP)

MENIFEE, California — A business owner says thieves smashed a window of a Southern California pet store and made off with six birds worth thousands of dollars.

Birds-N-Paradise co-owner Erik Schreiner tells the Press-Enterprise newspaper in Riverside that surveillance footage shows at least one shadowy figure stealing the birds early Friday.

He says the thieves took three Patagonian conures worth $950 each; a caique parrot worth $1,400; a rose-breasted cockatoo worth $2,200; and a yellow nape Amazon parrot worth $2,500.

Schreiner believes the theft at his shop in the city of Menifee is tied to other recent bird heists in the region. Thefts have occurred at a bird farm in Redlands and an exotic bird store in Cypress in the past few weeks.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department says it's not clear if the crimes are linked.

Email Newsletters