Store Owner: Thieves Swipe 6 Birds Worth Thousands Of Dollars

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MENIFEE (AP) — 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.