Sir Neville slowly descends the grand staircase, revolver in hand. A ghostly apparition moves in the dim light near one of the windows. Two loud reports from his revolver echo through the mansion.
Servants appear lights are turned on.
Closer inspection reveals that the window has been forced and Sir Neville's prized Patagonian parrot is missing from its cage. Neville immediately suspects his archrival from the All-England Bird Show, Sir Smedley. Subsequent investigation reveals that Sir Smedley does indeed possess a Patagonian parrot, and he maintains he captured it from the wild in Bolivia. Moreover, only five such parrots, including Smedley's, are found to be present in England after an exhaustive search by the police. Chief inspector Basil Nabdaphew enlists the aid of Professor Lodsagel who proposes to use DNA fingerprinting to investigate the case.