A bird on the loose inside Chicago O'Hare International Airport's Terminal 5 spent Tuesday afternoon perching on travelers' heads, landing on their luggage, and trying to bite travelers who got too close to the Air France check-in line. The chaos stretched on for hours before an airport janitor finally cornered the animal using her own shirt.
The bird, which appeared to be a type of parrot and was missing feathers around its neck, had entered the terminal through an open door from outside, according to CBS Chicago. The incident quickly went viral on social media after Paris Elbert filmed the scene unfolding during his Tuesday afternoon shift.
Elbert told the station the ordeal lasted for hours, and that the bird did not shy away from confrontation. “It was funny but it was crazy. Sad too,” he said, describing the scene. He added that travelers who got too close learned quickly that the bird chose fight rather than flight, attempting to bite several people who approached it.
Bird Perches on Travelers and Luggage
The bird perched on travelers' heads and landed on bags near the check-in line. Staff are now trying to determine whether the bird is someone's missing pet.
PAWS Chicago recommends checking a found cat or dog for a microchip; if the pet has no microchip and no owner comes forward after a finder waits three or more days after posting online and putting up flyers, the finder may choose what to do next, according to PAWS Chicago. Elbert said he would share an update once he learns more about the bird's fate.
A Terminal Built for Bigger Crowds, Not Loose Wildlife
The scene played out in a recently modernized terminal. The City of Chicago completed a $1.3 billion, four-year modernization of Terminal 5 in January 2023, expanding the building's footprint by 350,000 square feet and boosting gate capacity by 25 percent, according to the City of Chicago.
Chicago has its own long history with escaped exotic birds. One theory is that some of the city's feral Monk Parakeets, which have lived in the city since the 1970s, escaped a shipment at O'Hare in the early 1970s, as reported by WTTW. Those parakeets went on to establish wild colonies on the South Side that have survived northern Illinois winters for decades.
Wildlife Headaches Extend Beyond the Terminal Doors
Birds can pose hazards to aircraft at O'Hare. Research published through USU Digital Commons has found that raptors and other bird species account for roughly 25 percent of all damaging wildlife strikes at O'Hare in baseline studies.
Those concerns aren't just theoretical for O'Hare-bound flights. On January 12, 2025, a United Airlines flight bound for Phoenix had to turn back and land at O'Hare after suffering a bird strike shortly after departure, per Wild Goose Chase. That same flight, a United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9, struck a wild coyote on the runway, forcing the aircraft to return safely to the gate, as Hoodline previously reported. Years earlier, on October 14, 2022, a Miami-bound United jet made an emergency landing back at O'Hare after striking a bird during its initial climb, according to FOX 32 Chicago.
Wildlife-related disruptions aren't unique to Chicago's airfield, either. A similar American Airlines incident at New York's LaGuardia Airport involved a rejected takeoff after a suspected bird strike, which proved to be a false alarm, Hoodline reported. Nationwide, wildlife strikes remain a concern for aviation. As for the parrot that briefly ruled Terminal 5, its fate — and whether it belongs to anyone — remains unknown for now.
