Escaped birds captured and returned to Roger Williams Park Zoo. How they lured the birds back.

PROVIDENCE — Blueberries were instrumental in getting Chip, a chicken-sized tropical bird, out of a tree and back home. Roger Williams Park Zoo.

After flying out of the zoo’s Rainforest exhibit with his father Monster during a thunderstorm last month, Chip a blue-throated guanit spent more than a week in the park and surrounding neighborhoods before a keeper was able to pull it out of a tree in Cranston on Saturday with a fruit treat, according to Jenny Theuman, the zoo’s animal care manager.

“He was very excited” about the blueberries, Theuman said.

With Monster’s return last Wednesday, Theuman and other team members are relieved and happy to know that the two birds are back in the safety of the zoo. She didn’t sleep much last week.

“It was stressful,” Theuman said. “Our job is to take care of them.”

With the birds on the loose, zoo staff became concerned when it rained, was windy and when the temperature dropped below 60 degrees. They feared the birds could become prey to predators like coyotes, foxes and cats.

“They don’t know how to be afraid of a predator,” Theuman said.

Chip is less than a year old and was born at the Providence Zoo. Monster, 16, is a little more worldly, having lived in other zoos, Theuman said.

Did the birds eat it?

In the wilds of Providence and Cranston, free-ranging birds ate leaves, insects and any fruit they could find, according to Theuman. Zoo staff were able to control them because many residents reported sightings, she said.

“We watched them eating in the trees,” Theuman said.

Luring the birds out of their comfort zone in the trees wasn’t so easy.

Although both birds have lost some weight, they appear to be in good health, according to Theuman. Veterinarians are checking to see if they have contracted any illnesses.

Theuman attributes his escape to curiosity and typical bird behavior. They were flown out of the Rainforest exhibit following a storm that brought hail as well as thunder and lightning that forced visitors and zoo staff to seek shelter indoors. When the large group left, a door remained open long enough for the birds to move toward the outside light, Theuman said.

“It was opportunistic and curiosity got the better of it,” said Theuman. “All birds are, in some way, attracted to light.”

She said: “We are so, so, so happy they are home.”

This article originally appeared in The Providence Journal: Escaped birds captured and returned to Roger Williams Park Zoo.