Myna birds, native to Southeast Asia, are prized for their ability to repeat human phrases. In a zoo in Hubei, China, one such bird was known to spout off courteous, friendly sayings to visitors: things like “hello,” “good fortune,” and goodbye. According to China Daily, sometimes it “even sang a song.”

But then the unthinkable happened. One day, the adorable Myna bird got wise, stopped being nice, and began yelling profanities at whomever would listen. “The Myna has a good memory,” zookeeper Li Yun said. “Maybe some tourist taught the bird this bad language.”

In any case, the zoo’s staff decided to take the renegade bird off of display, and move it to an isolated room for some Clockwork Orange-style rehabilitation. Zookeepers played tapes of “polite phrases” for the Myna, and plan to deprive any future offenders of food.

(Photo: Erik Dunham)