Calcutta: The high court on Monday ordered Alipore zoo to give a macaw from its collection to a resident of Bhowanipore after it emerged that one of a pair of birds belonging to him had died in its custody.

Avinandan Mitra, a chartered accountant known to be a bird collector, had filed a writ petition last year when the zoo failed to return to him one of two macaws confiscated by the customs department from his car in 2012.

Mitra was asking for the macaw pair to be returned to him on the basis of the court's ruling in a case he had filed against the customs department in 2015.

When his new petition came up for hearing, the counsel representing the zoo told the single-judge bench of Justice Debangshu Basak that one of the macaws had "died in the meantime".

Justice Basak gave the zoo authorities four weeks to give Mitra a macaw as replacement for the one that died.

The zoo intends to appeal the order before a higher bench, the counsel later said.

For Mitra, the battle began on August 6, 2012, when he had sent an employee to Madhyamgram in North 24-Parganas to collect a pair of macaws from a private collector. The car was intercepted by customs officials on the way back and the birds were confiscated and sent to the zoo.

V.K. Yadav, member secretary of the Bengal Zoo Authority, said one of the macaws "died a natural death" but could not tell the age of the bird.

Yadav said it was unethical to keep exotic birds in private houses. "It amounts to animal cruelty," he said.

Mitra could not be reached for comment.

Macaws, among the most intelligent of avian species, can have a lifespan of more than 50 years in captivity. "After 5 to 6 years, it is difficult to tell their age," said a city-based birdwatcher.

Macaws are native to North and South America. Blue and gold macaws, red and gold macaws, scarlet macaws and hyacinth macaws are popular pets.