A VALUABLE parrot stolen from a Warrnambool breeder's backyard aviary has been returned safely to its owner.The bird, one of a rare pair valued at $25,000, was discovered by Connemara Road resident Lois Smart after it landed at her front door on Friday night."I thought it was my cat because it comes around and jumps on the screen door so I yelled at it," Mrs Smart said yesterday.When the noise continued, she went to investigate. "It was this really beautiful yellow bird. You could see he wanted to come in," she said.Mrs Smart unsuccessfully tried to entice the bird with a piece of apple, but her neighbour Gordon Bellman managed to grab it after placing some oats on his fence. They were worried that Mrs Smart's cat or the Bellman family's dogs might endanger the parrot, so Mr Bellman contacted one of his friends who kept budgerigars in an aviary."I'm thrilled it's back with its proper owner. It was a real adventure for us," Mrs Smart said. Warrnambool police returned the bird, a prized Queen of Bavaria conure, to owner Arthur Dawe on Saturday morning."He was quite happy to get his bird back, although we are still on the look-out for the other one," Sergeant Dale Barclay said.The parrots, native to Brazil, are endangered in the wild and rare in captivity. They are noted for their bright yellow plumage and dark green wing tips.Mr Dawe, who has been breeding birds for 64 years, bought the pair eight years ago and believed they were one of only a few pairs in Australia.The parrots were taken on Wednesday night after thieves cut through aviary wire and took a breeding box with the birds still asleep inside.