Japanese police were at a loss for clues after they found an escaped African Grey parrot sitting on a fence.

Until, that is, the bird began to talk - and told everyone its name and address.

The red-tailed parrot was picked up earlier this month in the town of Nagareyama, on the outskirts of Tokyo, after a woman called police to say that it was perched in her backyard.

After a night at the station, where it kept quiet, the parrot was handed over to a local animal clinic, where it soon started greeting people and singing popular children's songs.

Shinjiro Uemura, a local policeman, said that it was not until ten days later that it started repeating its name - "I'm Yosuke Nakamura" - and its full home address down to the street number.

“We checked the address, and what do you know, a Nakamura family really lived there. So we told them we’ve found Yosuke,” Mr Uemura said.

The African Grey parrot is considered one of the most intelligent birds and experts say it has the cognitive ability of a six-year-old. The Nakamura family told police they had been teaching the bird its name and address for about two years.

It is still unclear why Yosuke refused to sing at the police station. “I tried to be friendly and talked to him, but he completely ignored me,” Mr Uemura said.

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