A seagull was turned bright orange after falling into a vat of curry as it scavenged bins for food.
Rescuers found the bird, who has been nicknamed ‘Gullfrazie’, among food factory waste on Monday coated in chicken tikka masala and reeking of spices.
He was pulled from the mess by workers at the site in Wales before being taken to Vale Wildlife Hospital near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.
Lucy Kells, veterinary nurse at the hospital, said: "He really surprised everyone here - we had never seen anything like it before.
"He had fallen into a waste vat of curry that was outside, it was chicken tikka masala.
"The thing that shocked us the most was the smell. He smelled amazing, he really smelled good.”
Staff at the hospital used washing up liquid to return the gull to his original white colour but they were unable to wash away the smell of curry.
The bird was put into a cage after his ordeal. Staff are feeding him meat, dog or cat food and pieces of chopped fish to build up his weight.
"He is a bit skinny so we are building his strength up a bit," Mrs Kells said. "I guess that's why he was trying to get a piece of meat from the vat and fell in."
He will be transferred into an outside aviary to re-waterproof his feathers in the coming weeks before being released into the wild.
Mrs Kells added: "I think he has been put off spicy food but otherwise he seems to be doing really well.”
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