Originally Published: 07 NOV 23 12:57 ET

By MICHELE GILE

ORANGE COUNTY, California (KCAL) -- Orange County deputies are searching for the balding thief who stole an exotic gray bird from a Lake Forest shop.

The bird, named Baby, is a 3-month-old Congo African parrot with distinctive red feathers on its tail. It was being raised inside Omar's Exotic Birds, along with many other birds getting ready to be adopted.

"Little creature's life is in jeopardy," said Cinder Strahl, a manager at the shop. "This is a nursery of sorts. Everbody who is out here on a stand is under 4 or 5 months old. We are weaning them in order to provide a pet not a project to people who want to have a feathered pet."

The shop said that the suspect was a balding man wearing a red shirt and dark jacket who posed as a customer. Security camera footage captured the man slithering through while employees were busy helping potential new owners.

One angle showed the bird-napper hiding behind the cages with Baby clutched close to his chest. After a while, he snuck out the front door with the expensive gray parrot and hopped into an SUV that resembled a Lincoln Nautilus.

Baby was promised to a woman who had recently lost her husband. She had already placed a deposit or the exotic gray parrot to be her new companion.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department is investigating the theft. There is a $2,500 reward for the safe return of Baby.