For many of us, Alexa is a handy helper around the house. For Rocco, however, Alexa is the soulmate he’s been searching for.

I hasten to add, Rocco is a parrot.

The African Grey parrot aused a bit of trouble in his previous home, at the National Animal Welfare Trust sanctuary in Berkshire, after upsetting visitors due to his blue language. He was then rehomed – and his new abode is where he discovered Alexa.

But Rocco’s love for the virtual assistant device may not be as pure as initially thought – he started using the Amazon Echo in his new home to order all the things he likes to eat.

Living with his new owner – Sanctuary worker Marion Wischnewski – Rocco has been causing a whole heap of mischief with Alexa serving as his partner in crime. His breed is highly well known for its mimickingskills, meaning he was able to add his preferences to a virtual supermarket list

Rocco with his Amazon Echo. Credit: INS News Agency

Marion said: “I have to check the shopping list when I come in from work and cancel all the items he’s ordered.”

On his list he’s added a whole range of fruit and veg, including melons, broccoli and raisins (pretty healthy) along with ice cream (ok, not so healthy).

He’s also ordered some pretty random stuff such as a lightbulb and a kite – well, why not?

To be fair, Rocco doesn’t only cause havoc with his shopping demands. He’s been known to ask Alexa to play his favourite music – songs by Kings of Leon, to be exact.

Rocco with his Amazon Echo. Credit: INS News Agency

“They chat away to each other all day. Often, I come in and there’s music playing,” Marion added talking about her parrot’s ‘relationship’.

It turns out Rocco isn’t the only parrot to cotton on that he can order from Amazon – last year another African Grey from London (we’re seeing a common trend here) started sending gift boxes to itself.

Buddy, from Greenwich, can be a bit of nuisance – he not only orders from the online shopping site, but copies his owners’ voices.

It would, at first, seem that purchasing from Amazon is too easy – but it seems to me that this is simply the start of the parrots’ rise to power.

Never mind worrying about the ‘planet of the apes’ – looks like the parrots are taking over.