Swearing parrot

An Orthodox Jew was threatened with divorce after blowing several thousand dollars on a parrot that swore like a trooper, Israel's mass-circulation Yediot Aharonot said today.

After he brought his feathered friend home, the man's religious household in the Tel Aviv area was bombarded by insults such as "son of a bitch" and "homo" from the bird.

When its owner sought rabbinical advice, the rabbi recommended that the parrot be slaughtered - or have its tongue cut out for being foul-mouthed.

But the horrified pet owner's wife threatened divorce if the bird went for the chop, and the parrot finally found refuge in a zoo.