Chirping 'bird boy' found in Russia

A young boy is close to being more bird than human because he was never spoken to while living in a virtual aviary, according to reports from Russia.

Authorities say the 7-year-old boy’s only form of communication was “chirping” after spending his life in a bird cage-filled apartment with a mother who treated him like one of her pets.

The “bird-boy” – whom authorities said suffered from Mowgli syndrome, from the Jungle Book character raised by wild animals - didn't engage in any normal human communication but instead learnt the language of birds, the report said.

The boy’s 31-year-old mother fed him and didn't physically harm him – she just treated him like a bird.

Social worker Galina Volskaya said authorities were shocked when they found the boy in a two-bedroom apartment – which had bird droppings scattered across the floor. “When you start talking to him, he chirps,” Volskaya said.

Volskaya also said when the boy becomes frustrated by being unable to communicate with authorities using bird-talk, he waves his arms as if they were wings.

The boy’s mother has given him over to authorities, who have reportedly placed him in an asylum.