A man became stuck in waist-deep mud earlier this week trying to save his parrot – luckily, the local firefighters knew how to help the ensnared duo.

The man from Belleville, Illinois often goes biking around the neighborhood with his pet bird on his shoulder. As they were passing the dredged lakes of Bicentennial Park this weekend, the parrot accidentally got stuck in the mud.

The owner tried to rescue his bird only to become trapped in the dangerous sludge himself.

Thankfully, someone heard the man calling for help and dialed the fire department. Rescue crews arrived on the scene and devised a plan to get him out.

"He was probably several hundred feet out into the mud with the parrot on his back," Fire Chief Tom Pour told the Belleville-News Democrat. "It was challenging because you couldn't just walk out there and hoist him out. It was like quicksand."

The firefighters collected several ladders which they used to create a kind of bridge across the drier areas of the muddy lake. Then, they crawled across the ladders until they were close enough to haul the man and his parrot – both of whom were fortunately unharmed – out of the pit.

The grateful man was given a thorough hosing down after the rescue, which brought a pleasant end to an "unusual and dangerous situation", says the fire department.

(WATCH the rescue footage below)

Fly This Story Over To Your Friends: Share The Rescue Tale With Your Friends – Photo by Belleville Fire Department