Bowerbird rescued from certain bottle-cap death

A satin bowerbird has been saved from a slow and painful death by a bottle-cap ring stuck around its head and mouth.

The bird was found by a resident and taken to the Australian Reptile Park, north of Sydney, today.

"The ring had flipped around the bird's neck, effectively blocking the bird's wind pipe and making it impossible for the beautiful bird to close its beak," the park's general manager Tim Faulkner said.

Mr Faulkner rescued the bird by cutting and then removing the ring.

The bird was then released back into the wild.

Mr Faulkner urged people to be more careful when disposing of rubbish.  

"Satin bowerbirds collect blue and purple items to put in a bower to attract females," he explained.

"This is a natural behaviour that has been occurring for thousands of years but now humans are sharing their habitat at an increased capacity, more potentially harmful items to birds start appearing in their bowers."

"Luckily for this satin bowerbird there was a happy ending. More and more frequently animals are being brought in with human waste obstructing parts of their body."

"We as Australians need to take more care of throwing away our trash not only for the benefit of the animals, but for humankind as well."