Meet The Man Who Cut Off His Ears To Look Like A Parrot

A MAN who had his face and eyeballs tattooed to look like his pet parrots has gone a step further — by cutting off his ears.

Englishman Ted Richards, 56, is obsessed by pet parrots Ellie, Teaka, Timneh, Jake and Bubi and has his face tattooed with colourful feathers.

But the animal nut — who has 110 tattoos, 50 piercings and a split tongue — has taken this obsession once step further and has had both his ears removed and is planning to find a surgeon prepared to turn his nose into a beak.

Ted, a retired shoe factory worker, got his first tattoo in 1976 and has since built up a collection of body modifications covering almost his entire body — including a peace sign branded on his left shoulder with a 750 degrees centigrade hot iron and two magnets implanted in his hands.

He shares his home in Hartcliffe, Bristol with his four parrots, as well as South American green iguana Iggy, and pit bull terrier Candy.

He scours the internet looking for new procedures and says his facial transformation is a tribute to his “babies” — Ellie, a green winged macaw, and Teaka, a harlequin macaw.

Ted is keeping tight-lipped about who carried out the six-hour operation, but insists he is “happier than ever,” and has even now got himself a girlfriend, Suzannah, 31.

Since undergoing the operation Ted says the only issue he has is keeping his glasses in place — so he has had two small metal pins added to the side of his head.