Bird Thief Flies the Coop

William Spare is having a hard time imagining life without Tahoe, the 13-year-old macaw that was snatched from his arm Friday morning in Long Beach.

About 10 a.m., Spare was on his way to a job interview at a mortgage company when a teenager grabbed the bird and ran, Long Beach Police Sgt. Paul LeBaron said.

Spare, 56, who has been unemployed and living in motels for the last year, said he was concentrating on the job prospect and was in a hurry because he was late when the teenager “came out of nowhere, grabbed her and ran.”

Spare said he ran after the suspect and “almost caught him, but he’s a young kid, and I’m older.”

The teenager, with Tahoe in his arms, ran north on Lemon Avenue from Pacific Coast Highway.

Police described the suspect as a thin, 5-foot-2 Latino, about 17 and wearing a green hat.

Spare never made it to his interview.

Tahoe, born the runt of the litter, has been with Spare since she was a fledgling. Police say the yellow and blue bird is valued at $2,000, but Spare says she’s worth a lot more.

“She’s just the love of my life,” he said. “When things got bad, she kept me laughing. She was kind of my clown jester.”