He Was Struggling With Lockdown Loneliness, Then Two Birds Started Visiting His Window

October 2, 2021

Ben Newmarch made an unexpected friendship in 2021: two rainbow lorikeets.

10 months ago, Ben started living on his own in Sydney. He was feeling very lonely during lockdown -- and that's when the birds started visiting him.

At first it was just one. He named it Peter.

"I couldn't leave for the next hour and a half - I just sat there just let him play," Ben told ABC News.

Over the next few months, Peter would come and go. Eventually, Peter started bringing his "girlfriend".

"That was a turning point," he said. "And it was strange, because it was when I started to really feel my solitude in lockdown that the lorikeets were coming more and more often. And whether or not that was coincidence, that's when I started to take notice of them."

Ben posted a video montage of his new friendship to TikTok where it instantly went viral.

Watch the TikTok video below.

@birdsandben

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♬ Everyday - Buddy Holly