A rogue cockatoo has shown that Australians’ love of baked goods isn’t limited to the human species, after it stole an unlucky bystander’s meat pie.

Photos taken in Lorne, Victoria, by Angela Tunzi and shared with ABC Melbourne show the cheeky bird eating the full sized meat pie it brazenly plucked from a person’s hands well out of reach on top of a parking sign.

“He was hilarious and enjoying the audience whilst fending off other cockies,” said Angela.

The ABC asked readers if they’ve ever experienced anything like it, and the responses show that Aussie birds have not only a well-developed palate, but the brazenness to take the food right out of your mouth.

“Once I pulled a meat pie out of the bag and just as I went to take a bite, a kookaburra swooped down and grabbed it! What is it with Aussie birds and meat pies??!”

“One took a sausage out of my son’s hand at a friend’s BBQ.”

“An emu once mugged my sister for her bag of crisps.”

“My dad had a kookaburra steal a snag off the BBQ in a park once.”

“I had a kookaburra pinch the pork crackling I was saving off my plate, whilst I was eating my roast pork sandwich.”

“A kookaburra swooped down, seemingly out of nowhere, & stole the sausage right outta my sanger at Wiseman’s Ferry.”

“A friend and I at a cafe heard a wife chide her husband for saying watch my plate. Just as he stood up to leave a Kookaburra swooped in and stole his whole rump steak. Did the same thing, flew to a tree and looked down at everyone as if to say ‘got ya’, then flew off with the spoils. It was hilarious. I believe the restaurant cooked him another (steak that is, not Kookaburra).”

The lesson in all of these stories? Keep your eye on the pies and the skies!