‘He is completely free. The window is open and he could go if he wanted to but he chooses to come back every half an hour or so,’ she says.

‘To be honest, I can’t see him ever leaving. He comes and goes and he knows where home is.

Vikkie Kenward, 29, from Horsham, West Sussex, rescued the baby bird in May after he fell out of his nest. She nursed him back to health and he hasn’t left since, despite having plenty of opportunities.

In fact, the black crow, whom Vikkie named Fagin (damn, we were hoping for Sheryl), is now like her tiny black shadow and follows her everywhere.

‘If I get in the van he jumps in with me. He comes through the McDonald’s Drive Thru with me and sits on the head rest,’ she says. He also sits on her head in the morning while she does her makeup and sometimes enjoys vegging in front of the TV.

‘If I’m watching telly he’ll either be off doing his own thing or sitting on me – perching on my arm or on my shoulder,’ Vikkie says.


'He views me like a mum, but I never expected to have a baby.'

When Fagin wants food, he flies up to Ms Kenward and 'squawks' at her - and often steals things around the house