325 pet birds found in Illinois townhouse

A group of Chicago bird fanciers issued a call for donations to help care for 325 parakeets, canaries and other feathered pets found in an Aurora, Ill., home. The birds were removed Friday, along with 120 dead birds, from a townhouse belonging to a self-described bird hoarder. The Greater Chicago Cage Bird Club stepped in to assist and placed the birds into quarantine in storefront, the Chicago Sun-Times said. The group was seeking donations this weekend to foot the bill and is working on plans to offer most of the birds for adoption. The birds belonged to 57-year-old computer programmer David Skeberdis. He had earlier promised the city he would get rid of the birds, but balked at the $13,000 price tag for the job, the Chicago Tribune said. City officials operating under a court order began exploring the townhouse Friday and reported that while the power and heat were on, the place was filled with trash, droppings and piles of bird seed. Birds were crammed into the basement and second floor of the residence. "It's really difficult to count (them), as you can imagine," Deputy Fire Chief John Lehman said. "They were flying all over the place."